Sooo, wasn't much into TV. And I'm still that way. Now when I'm sitting watching something on TV, it gives me the itches. I start to need to do things. It's irritating. I can't relax. Some people say that they like to relax, so they'll watch TV. When I want to relax, I just take a nap. That's relaxing. I don't really see anything better than napping to get relaxed!!
Sooo, (lets see if I can't start every paragraph with a long sooooo) this attitude, or sickness, or blessing, however you see it, spreads over into anything TV related. i-touch. smartphone. i-pod. android. blueberry. i-touchpad. i-whatchamajiggy. i-shouffle. walkphone. bluetooth. So many electronic devices out there. I don't understand any of it. Needless to say, my kids want them.
Sooo, these things aren't cheap. Like, really. Not. Cheap. And personally, I think the only expensive thing any child should ever own is an i-nstrument. You want a $300 toy? Sure, here's your French Horn. Not something the size of a stamp!
And I'm dead set against it. My kids think that the reason they don't get said objects is because they're 1 of 7 children. That is part of the reason, but the other part is, I said so.
And they beg, and they beg, and they beg. And I end up sounding like a broken record. Do they even get that phrase, "broken record"? Probably not.
And then one day, a light bulb went off in my head. And I gathered my sweet treasures and said, "If you really want your i-stuff, you'll have to earn it." They cheered. I raised my hand so they wouldn't waste too much time cheering. Because they know they get paid for chores and grades.
"You have to earn every penny of it sewing or winning essay contests."
Here's another catch. Lets say they make $10. First they pay tithe, leaving $9. Then they have to put half of that into their savings accounts, leaving $4.50. So although they make $10, they get $4.50 to put towards their black hole of time toys.
Soooo, here's my thinking. None of my kids so far loves to sew. They do it because they have dreams. Sewing is hard for them. I'm standing right over their shoulder, expecting perfection (if you sew, you know what I mean. You start a project just a tad bit off, it ends a train wreck. Hey, lesson in life!!)
I hate the idea of my kids making enough to buy i-whatevers. I don't like to see society's kids with their noses down, fingers flying, while the days shine bright and beautiful.
However, by doing it the "hard" way, I'm hoping for some valuable lessons. #1. learning a trade. Girls AND BOYS benefit from learning to sew. #2. Appreciating hard work. #3. The whole, don't start something wrong, it'll end disasterous lesson #4. Feeling of pure accomplishment #5. Entreprenuership ~ is that even a word? And if it is, how the heck is it spelled? #6. Maybe after working so hard, I'm hoping in the end, they won't want to spend their hard earned money frivalously (there's no spell check in blogs.)
Right now they'r making bags. "Church" bags I call them because we go to church every Sunday and they're perfect for scriptures, notebooks, pens, magazines, lost sock, random tossed shoe, jacket no longer needed. You get the picture. They're selling for $35. It costs $18 to make them (on a good day). Leaving them $17. Tithing brings it to $15.30. Half of that is $7.65. They want $200 toys. They'd need to sell over 26 bags. Bwahahaha (evil laugh spelling?) this'll take them years!!! :)
Here are some samples. If you like any of these, they're ready to ship. If you want something else, just let us know! The kids are anxious to make millions! :)
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