$61.69

That's how much Katheryn had saved up from her piggy bank. 

We started it back in August.

Yesterday it was time to count all the precious money that she had saved up from finding change throughout the house, in the car, on the streets, birthday money, etc.

I had been contemplating for a few months what our next step would be once the piggy bank got full. I definitely wanted her to learn about money and it's importance... but I had to do it on a 3 year old level.

I decided to break down the steps and not go too overboard. All along we would talk about the different coins and what each coin was called when we found one: penny, quarter, dime, etc. At least that way she could start to identify them even if she didn't understand the value of each.

First, she helped me separate everything into different piles.

Then I put each pile into stacks (to make it easier to count). At this point her attention span was waning and she wanted to knock over each stack. Luckily, I asked her to wait until I got one pile done. We then counted each stack. Her reward was knocking the stacks down.... with her feet. Hey, whatever makes her happy!

Next, we decorated empty oatmeal and jelly jars. One for Savings. One for Donating and one for Spending.

I decided to divide it up by 20% for Saving, 20% for Donating and 60% Spending. I wanted the Spending jar to be clear so she could see how much was in there. (I think in about a year I'm going to tell her that for every dollar she saves we'll match that. But for now, I think this was enough for one lesson.)

She ended up with $37 to spend. I told her we could go to Toys' R Us after dinner and she could buy something from her money.

We roamed the aisles of TRU and she picked out several things that were more than $37. I pointed to the price tag and told her, "That's says $39. You have $37 so you don't have enough. You can wait and save more money to buy it later or you can choose something else." 

After a few minutes she saw a blue dress at the end of the aisle and RAN for that. She grabbed it off the hanger and said, "I want this!!!" Luckily it was only $21... whew!! She decided to save the rest. Oh, she did spend .50$ on a dinosaur ride outside the store.

and here she is proudly wearing it after her bath and before bed. (Her dresses have turned into her pjs at night.)

All I have to say it, "Look out Toddlers and Tiaras.!!"