Margot and Ruby have a job this summer and they are jumping in with two feet and funny awesome determination. They are selling eggs.
The subject of money has started coming up with more regularity around here. The girls will want something at a store and I will often respond I don’t have money for that today. It works well enough and lately Margot has been asking more about it. How do I get money for that? Where does money come from?
I told Margot she should set her heart on purchasing that new doll with the pink hair and that we will figure out how to make it happen. I told her she was going to help us get there and man, she was excited about that, her very first purchase with cash she earned. And, because big sister wants a new doll, so does little sister.
I remember my first purchase. I saved up my allowance for about 17 years (I think it was three months) for a Cabbage Patch premie I was to name Kelsie Leigh. On the day of my last quarter earned, I squealed to take off right that minute to fetch her. My mom asked for my money, smiled and reached up high in the hall closet where she cradled that baby powder-smelling bald doll and handed her over to me. Oh man, it was a happy moment. One that I want my kids to experience.
So, they are selling eggs. $4/dozen; $2 goes into their college fund, $2 goes into the doll stash. And, a secret benefactor is matching egg sales (mom, you owe Margot and Ruby $12).
A nutty aside: one of our pullets is laying eggs. She started at nine weeks old which no amount of googling supports. It’s true. She’s an early bloomer laying little thin-shelled, yolkless eggs.
I’ve loved every step of this process with my daughters. Talking about saving, choosing where you purchase and who you support with the money you spend. Drawing the egg carton labels and filling those cartons with the eggs our hens lay. Delivering the eggs to the hands of friends and neighbors. Tallying our progress, our journey toward new dolls.
35 Comments
Oh those very first own money purchases! Mine was a Christmas ornament with a little mouse. Hangs on my tree to this day. I felt so proud handing over that money! Every purchase I make should be so mindful and meaningful… Thanks for the food for thought!
So awesome. My son just got excited looking at the pictures. 🙂
I am so glad that you spelled your cabbage patch doll’s name the correct way 😉 Those yolk-less eggs are really crazy!! Way to be an early bloomer little chick!
How fun for the girls! I love their signs. As far as the tiny eggs, try googling ‘fart eggs’. I know weird, but it might help you answer some questions.
I love this idea, it’s great for the girls!!
Oh I absolutely love the self made labels:)
i love the labels they are making for the egg cartons! so fun and such a valuable lesson they’re learning.
CHECKS IN THE MAIL!
so remember Kelsi Leigh…..Love you!
xo
That is just so so sweet. Can’t wait to see the photo of the girls and their well-earned dolls. Also, grandparents are just the best, aren’t they?
I love that you are teaching your girls the importance of saving for college and the importance of working for what they want. Skills that will stay with them for a lifetime!!
I love this. We got pocket money, but my poor parents always owed us! (there were 5 of us) I would dream of things I’d like to purchase. My first real job helped me save up for my first car, I was so proud of it and myself.
The other thing was my parents expected us to buy Christmas presents for all our family and put thought into these gifts. I still love buying gifts for family & friends.
I remember when I was 5, my parents owned a produce shop, and my brother and I would do jobs each week. On a Friday afternoon, we would go to Toy World, and put that weeks money on the toy we had chosen. I had chosen a Cabbage Patch doll, like you – but I can’t remember her name though! And my brother had chosen a huge Lego spaceship. I remember the last Friday afternoon we went down and were able to bring our toys home, so much excitement and achievement. I can’t wait to see the post where your girls have their much wanted dolls in their arms.
So wish we could buy their eggs! We get ours from a neighbor, fresh eggs are awesome, but they don’t make such fabulous labels. 🙂
And @Jenn – totally had to google that! Fart egg was just too funny not to investigate. Love the random things to be learned on these here internets.
Kate
Oh, I can;’t wait to see the pride in their faces when they get those dolls. Love it.
Last year I traveled to the USA {from Australia} with my 3 year old. The months leading up to the trip, I spoke to her a lot about money & how costly things can be, and how we get money. She started doing jobs {feeding the cats, tidying up etc} for some small pocket money. A few days before we left for the USA, she carried her silver pig money box to the bank & cashed in her coins for some US dollars. She spent that money on a Minnie Mouse in Disneyland….sweet SWEET moment!!
x
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This is so awesome…and very sweet! My husband came in the other day from checking eggs and commented on how he knows it isn’t possible, but one of our “babies” must be laying eggs. I told him about yours, so now he’s convinced that it is in fact possible!:)
What a fantastic thing to do for your girls!! I once heard someone say that we shouldn’t say, “I can’t afford that.” Instead we should say, “How can I afford that?” It puts a totally different spin on it and gets you thinking rather than shutting down. You are so giving that to your girls and they will benefit for a lifetime!!! 🙂
This is all great, but my favorite part are those “lists” next to Ruby and Margot’s egg sales chart. We have books and books of lists like that. They make me smile.
This is a great idea because it probably helps out on the egg breakage that happens getting the eggs back to the house! (My kids love to help me gather, but aren’t always so careful). Love your blog.
This is just great! My sister and I had every money making thing in the books.
oh man do I wish I lived closer to you. I would keep those girls in business! We love farm fresh eggs! It’s my dream to have chickens on a farm someday 🙂
Jaim! Those letters are my FAVORITE! Margot writes all kinds of stories and notes and then reads them to us. Oh man, I just love every single piece of it.
Jessica, How old are your chicks? I have yet to find a story or hens this young laying pullet eggs. My other chickens didn’t lay until about 5 months old!
I love this idea. It’s so rewarding to make your own money when your so little.
On a side note: The first pic in this post, behind Ruby are wooden spoons. I love them. I remember last year you mentioning a friend that makes them. Can you repost about these. They are so gorgeous.
Backyard Chickens (dot) com Forums has discussions about 6 and 7 week old chicks laying fart eggs or whatever they are called. Some say it’s not possible, others are saying that it happened. Hope this helps.
Would so support their egg sales if we lived there….not because we eat a lot of eggs, but because I’m a sucker for littles who sell stuff.
We’ve had plenty of our share of lemonade/chocolate chip cookie stands. And the younger they are, the more dough they rake in 🙂
LOVE this, and can’t wait to find out what they name their babies!
Damn, I would be supporting their slush and college fund if I lived a heck of a lot closer than the East Coast. What an awesome way to generate money mom and to teach them the value of saving. Can’t wait to see that pink-haired doll pop up on your blog.
I remember dying to get my hands on the LP for Boston and some other K-Tel record. I was 5 or 6, but my bigger brother set my sites on music. Which now looking back, music is still a critical part of our lives!
Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
fun!
my friend’s daughter has three jars for money earned. savings, spending, and charity. all money gets sperated equally three ways! super fun!
Love this! You know – they’re so cute, you should have them out there peddling all your wares – certainly no one could say no to their adorable little faces.
This is so awesome and warms my heart 🙂
Love it. And I have a random question: how do you clean your eggs, and when? My mom has laying hens and we sometimes get as many as 2 dozen eggs a week from them (good thing my 3 year old boy loves eggs!). I’ve read a lot of information about cleaning them, but wondered what you do.
Thanks!
Katie
You are so brave to be doing this. My brain goes into permanent freeze when I think of money, so we have done nothing about it so far with our six-year old, let alone the two-year old. We sort of pretend it’s not there, or we say we don’t have money to buy this or that, and our oldest doesn’t ask any further questions, so we pretend it’s alright not to say anymore about it. But I wonder if some day we’ll regret it…
Don’t you love how a simple activity turns into major schooling?! Math, writing, economics all rolled into selling Some eggs!
@muffin cake: For our personal use, we don’t clean them until we are about to eat them. I’ve read that they stay fresher longer if you wait but, honestly, I’ve never looked into whether that’s true or not! We collect and place on counter and do a quick rinse or wipe with a clean cloth before we eat them. We keep our nesting boxes pretty clean so there isn’t much to clean off!
For the eggs we are selling we clean right away and place in a carton in the fridge. What does your mom do?
We also don’t clean until we eat them, per mom’s instructions. She’s been doing this for years, so I trust her. I used to soak them in water, but heard several times that you shouldn’t do that, so I now also use a cloth to clean them. Nothing beats super fresh eggs! My son is in a habit of eating 2 a night.
not sure how I missed this post, but how do I buy a dozen?!?! EB is also saving up for her first purchase by crushing cans w/ Daddy in the barn on the home-made can crusher. Love love love.
I am also mystified ad Margots writing… so young, so smart, so thorough.
Well done DigMama! Well done.