Blah Blah Blah, Present Day and a Lesson... Failed?!?

**Feel free to skip this blah blah blah (Background Information) portion of my post if you just want to read about the little boys' experiences.  No feelings hurt :-).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

MONEY
I was raised to think about the actual cost of an item before making a purchase.  We went to discount stores and always bought things on sale.  When going out for pizza, I was limited to one drink, and my mom clipped coupons every Sunday.  We never bought anything we couldn't afford and often used the wish-list and lay-away systems in order to get things we wanted. 

When I got my first 'real' job and started making the big bucks ($3.35 an hour!), before I bought anything I always figured out how many hours I had to work to pay for it. After doing the math and learning how many pizzas I had to make or Saturdays I had to forfeit, I usually decided to take a pass.

I love the fact that my parents raised me to understand the value of a dollar, to earn my own money, not to buy something unless I could afford it, and that I was entitled to nothing!  Because I truly value these life-long lessons, I started talking to my kids about money the first time we went into a store together (An example of a one way conversation we had when they were infants... "What?  We are not paying $32.00 for a can of formula.  Off to another store we go".)  They now understand that we do not buy certain things because they are not on sale, because we do not need them or that they are just too expensive.  Furthermore they understand that we do not always get what we want.

CHARITY
No matter our financial situation growing up, I was taught to help those less fortunate than us and to share.  A couple examples...  1- My family 'adopted' a child from another country (meaning we made a financial donation) to help her eat healthy foods. 2- I had my own church envelopes that a portion of my weekly allowance went into (a whopping $.10 if I remember correctly).

To pass the charity lesson on, we often have the boys go through their toys and pick several to "give to the babies" (that's what we've called it since they were babies themselves, so the term stuck).  Surprisingly they are quite good at it.  So much so, I sometimes veto their donation recommendations, knowing that they will still get a lot more use out of the toys in question.  I also try to make a big deal when we see other kids share with those less fortunate.  For example, after I found out my nephew, Joey, asked all of the kids who were going to his 5th birthday party to make a donation to build a playground for special needs children INSTEAD of bringing him a present, I was all about sharing that lesson with my boys (If any of you want to donate to the great cause, please click here :-)).  And I couldn't not mention all of the hand-me-down toys Charlie (and the rest of the cousins) give us on a regular basis.  My boys are very fortunate to be surrounded by so many sweet, caring and generous role models!

PRESENT DAY

When I saw the school supplies charity box at our gym and the office supply fliers with all their back-to-school deals, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

First we went to look at the charity's display and donation box.  I explained to my boys that some kids do not have school supplies and that they need people to help them.  As the conversation continued, all of us concluded that we should to go shopping so everyone could have school supplies.

We then hit the stores.  The boys got their own baskets, searched, counted and then placed the sale items in their baskets.  When done shopping they stood in line, waited their turns, put the baskets on the counter, paid the cashier, and took their change and bag full of goodies.  While going through this lesson I was hoping the boys would gain a deeper understanding of how the whole buying process works.  I also wanted them to have a better understanding of the value of a dollar (sale vs. full priced items, etc.), and of course charity.

My little bargain hunters.  They did a great job finding the deals, and seemed to understand why we had to buy specific glue, crayons, paper, etc.

My trio waiting in line so nicely, right behind another little blondie who was buying his own Kleenex for his preschool classroom.  I guess my lesson is pretty typical :-).

Connor making his first purchase, ever so serious.

Store number two's line (different store, different deals!).  Again, they waited very patiently.  Standing in line for a bounce-house or roller coaster is one thing, but at a store to buy school supplies for other kids?!? 
I was impressed!

Aidan waiting for his change and school supplies.

Liam's turn to pay.

And get change!

The next day the boys were excited to make their donations in the gym's charity box.

LESSON... FAILED?!?

For a short time I was feeling pretty good about this successful lesson of mine.  That is until we were leaving one of the stores when Connor turned around, looked at the cashier and said "Thank you for all of the money!"  Seriously?!?  I then realized that my boys do not yet understand the different monetary values, so the way Connor understood it was he gave the cashier one bill and was given MORE bills PLUS coins PLUS a bag full of school supplies.  Grrr!!!  Good thing I'm starting somewhat early with this lesson...  Clearly I have some work to do!