For the past several months we’ve been giving Bridget spare change here and there.

We taught her what a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter look like. She can distinguish between the different coins, but she really has no concept of the value of the coins (She would happily trade you a dime for a couple of pennies). Being so young we didn’t really think it was quite time to try to teach her “about” money – so all she knew is that it is money… and its hers.

She liked to pour money from one container to another, cook it in her play kitchen and serve it up as anything from soup to mac & cheese. She would sometimes drag it around the house in her purse. Regardless of what she did with it, it always made a mess – sometimes all over the house. And then there was that incident with one of her friends swallowing a couple of pennies… his mom had a little bit of dirty work to do after that… so sorry Michelle.

And then a few days ago she called her dad into her room and asked him if he wanted to play “Rain Money” – Neither of us knew what that game was or how to play, but Dave soon learned. She had him lay on the ground and she took handfuls of money and dropped it over his body. Coins went everywhere.

Here are a couple of pictures of “Rain Money.”

Although the there is a certain humor to the game of “Rain Money” – and to the meals made of money – we decided that it might be time to try to explain to Bridget that money has a purpose (other than as a toy). So last Saturday we counted up all her money (mostly pennies) – $5.19 – and took her to the store so she could buy a toy. The toy she really wanted was $15, but there was a smaller version that was $5. I tried to explain to her that she could take her money back home and save a little bit more to get the bigger toy, but she decided on the instant gratification of the smaller toy. She’ll get it one of these days.

She has asked a couple of times about her money, and I have to remind her that she has a toy instead… she seems okay with that.

Yesterday we started a new thing where she can earn quarters for tasks that she does around the house (above and beyond those things that are expected of her). I’ve been trying to explain things in numbers of quarters… 1 quarter can buy a bouncy ball, 6 quarters for a PEZ dispenser, or 20 quarters for another $5 polly pocket type toy.

So far she has one quarter! Wish us luck!
(I can’t wait for the tithing lessons :))