Today First Mate made careful piles of coins and counted them. Four quarters make a dollar. Ten dimes make a dollar. Each dollar was a mark on the paper and in the end he counted those up to see how much he had. This all suddenly made sense to him for the very first time. It was a great thing to witness.
This was all sparked by Japan and our thoughts heading there. I made several items that I'll be selling with proceeds to go to charity and he decided he was ready to give the money he has been collecting too. It all added up to $10.65. He has been collecting these coins out of the pockets of others for the last few years - mostly from guests to our home since we rarely use cash anymore. Coins he found on the street made their way in there too, he is always picking up pennies. I never gave him any money for his bank so for him to have collected $10.65 out of nothing is quite a feat for a four year old. I think I'll advise him to start asking for the green paper stuff next. Fundraising in his future?
I joke, but really, I think giving (even when small) is a lesson worth experiencing. And the math was cool too.
