Blake recently decided he would like to learn how to play Checkers. We don't own the game, so Ryan and I told Blake he would have to buy it. He grabbed his piggy bank, and with Ryan's help, counted the money he had collected so far. He had about $2. We told him he would need more money.
Blake burst into tears, and when we asked him what was wrong, he muttered, "But I don't have a job."
That's when Ryan and I decided it was time for Blake to learn how to earn money. We told him we would give him jobs. He earned his first dollar by unloading the silverware from the dishwasher.
He wanted a bigger job, more money. So Ryan offered him $5 to help move the flagstone in our yard.
Blake put on a pair of work gloves and, well, got to work.
A job well done, and at the end of the day, Blake had $7. He'll probably earn a little more this weekend, and we can head to Target on a mission to buy the boy some checkers.
MEANTIME.....
Cade isn't so much learning life lessons, as he is just learning life.
A few days ago, some UCD researchers spent some time with him learning some lessons about how babies' brains work at such a young age. Cade donned a goofy headband, fixed with a camera, and watched some images on a screen while the researchers tracked his eye movement.
He didn't earn any money like his big brother, but he did get this fancy certificate.
My two cents on both experiences? You don't need a few bucks or a certificate to know that some of life's lessons are truly priceless.
