How Annika is going to (finally) get an Ipod Nano!

Annika has been wanting a green Ipod Nano forever (or at least according to her!).  She's asked for one for her last birthday....she asked for one from Santa....

and this is what we decided: if she could demonstrate that she was responsible we would let her earn money from doing jobs to save up for an Ipod.  

So, what does being responsible mean for Annika?  It means taking charge of caring for Mocha (our family dog).  It means doing well in school, doing her homework and doing it well and achieving her AR (Accelerated Reading) goal in a timely fashion (i.e. not waiting until the last week!).  It meant doing her chores when asked.  Chores are defined in our family as tasks that everyone must help out with (no rewards are given out for doing them).  

She was able to demonstrate over a period of a few months that she could do all of that so on to the next step- earning money!  We decided that we would pay her $1.00 for each job completed.  Annika's jobs are to clear out the dishwasher in the morning and in the evening washing up the dishes and putting any dishes into the dishwasher.  So far she's earned $12 (about $10 in a week).  We've decided to set a cap on the amount she can earn in one week (we don't want her to ignore her homework or playing with her sister or Mocha or doing her normal chores).  In order to save up enough she needs to work about seven more weeks.  I know it'll be very challenging for her to complete this goal. We hope that she'll enjoy and appreciate her Ipod because of all the hard work she's put into earning it!

I had Annika decorate a box to resemble the Ipod she wants....for her "piggy bank"

For Annika's Ipod

 we're going to get her the old style nano...the kind that plays movies.  Why on Earth do the new nanos not support videos?

Wish her luck!

In the end we want her to understand what it means to earn money; that money doesn't grow on trees! We want to teach her how to be patient and save up for something she really wants.  We want to teach her how to be responsible with her money and help her make good choices.  Hopefully these teachings will carry her through into adulthood.  We can only hope!