Blowing in the wind

Do you know, when I'm in pre-primary - which is not that far away, after the school holidays - I and Daddy are going to make a chinook. A REAL chinook. 

Oh, ok.

Yes, and we're going to go away on holidays in it. And you'll have to put some mooky in some bottles for Girl. Because we'll be going for months and months.

Oh, are you and Girl going without us?

No, the whole family will go together, but there's no bed so you can't lie down during the day.

Ok. Where will we sleep?

Oh, well.. there are sleeping quarters. But they're potential sleeping quarters, so there's a sign during the day saying you can't sleep here. Not until night time.

Right.

And do you know what the roof will be made out of?

Nope.

Wood! And we'll use plastic and metal and stuff we find in the back yard.

Ok.

And guess how we'll do the washing while we're on holiday? Because there's no washing machine.

I don't know.

In the swimming pool! And we'll open a little hatch in the floor and squeeze the washing out so the water goes out the bottom of the chinook. And then we'll hang them out to dry in the air as we're flying along.

Ok.

And now we have to look on the internet to find out how to make a real, working chinook from backyard detritus. 

Show me the money

We recently decided Boy was ready for a little more responsibility around the home and some financial remuneration in return.

He's had some funny ideas about work and money in the past. One day, quite some time ago, he decided to unroll toilet paper all over the house. I berated him for wasting money - now daddy would have to work even more to buy more toilet paper. Oh my folly! If it wasn't bad enough to be guilt-tripping a two year old, he took me literally and started telling anyone who'd listen that daddy worked in order to buy toilet paper.

Then, Boy and I went along to a riverside festival where daddy was helping on a one-hole golf game. After that, he would tell everyone that daddy worked with golf balls at a park.

More recently, we managed to explain to him that actually daddy mostly worked behind a desk with a computer. So, having explained the concept of pocket money - you work and we pay you, like daddy works to earn money - he declared: Yes, that's a great idea mummy! You can set me up on the computer with some work to do and then I can earn some money.

We explained his work would be doing helpful things around the house. And it's been good - he's been generally a lot more helpful!

We decided on $3 per week, but $1 would be 'taxed' for a savings account. He is very keen to find out what he could spend $2 on. $2 doesn't buy much these days, of course. It is the price of a round trip on the miniature railway out near his grandparents' place, which is a good reference point for him. After handing over his first lot of earnings, I asked him whether he wanted to spend it now or wait till next week, when - presuming he was similarly helpful - he would have more. How much more? Two dollars, plus two dollars equals....? FOUR!

Oh! I'll wait till I have FOUR dollars!

We scoped out K-Mart, calculating how many weeks he'd have to save to buy particular toys. He really wanted the big lego set, but when I explained that would mean waiting an entire year, he thought perhaps he'd choose a smaller thing.

And every time he NEEDS something I say: Yes, maybe you can buy some with your pocket money. And today, he's made his first purchase. I bet you'll never guess....

Yep, a packet of plastic hooks for hanging stuff on your wall. They will be used to finish the construction of his cubby house.