Elementary Economics

Yes, today was the "Grand Opening" of the Grade 2 Grocery Store / Banking Institution! My son was so excited when I picked him up today! "Mom, we had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and everything!". "I have a BANKBOOK and I even got my first PAY-CHEQUE" (right on track, dad)! It appears that every child received their first Friday $40 pay-cheque or "advance". He tells me that they can also earn up to $10 per day (with opportunity for up to a $5 bonus/day for working hard). Develop that work ethic early! For now, J figures he's going to "save up" so he has at least few hundred dollars to start out with. Anyway, they were basically just introduced to the components of their little mock economy today - but were not permitted to start spending/ordering until next week. Learning some financial restraint... This monopoly money however, is burning a hole in his pocket! That's all he could think about. He was telling my friend SM about this new unit at his school - and she said she had something similar, called "Consumer Ed" when she in grade 6. I don't remember anything like that when I was at school, but I do remember how my parents paid us a nickel each time we painted a section of the fence (and various other odd jobs around the property). I think this is great, and we've often "hired" J to do work around the building project as required. He's great at picking up nails - and is paid a whopping penny for each one! With any luck, we're hopeful that this will serve as an incentive to motivate him to further his education!