Wrapping up the kids in snowpants etc, in minus thirty weather....to sell chocolate!?!
You may think me mad... And you may be a little bit right, however hear my reasoning.. My son's school are tasking the kids with fundraising...this is nothing new...to schools and other organisations do it. Three dollar bars of heaven, with 50% profit for the school for classroom equipment.
All sounds like a tasty idea...however mom is separated, works from home and mainly with companies based oversees...just like her family...add to that..many of her mom friends are equally endowed with a chocoalte filled box!
I realised that parents fall into two groups: Group A now they work in large offices, have big local, generous families and they win the contest by a chocolatey mile! Group B the families that write a check for the initial box sent home and they slowly eat there way through it.
Now maybe there are other groups... I know I have made my own..and possibly judged badly for it... I have my two kids, both under five bundled up ready to pay house calls on the homes that we got no answer from last time we ventured out.
We may be viewed as begging or putting people on the spot, I do hope those we called on know we only did so because we felt we would be welcome and that we have been part of your life over the past five years...neighfamily...or something... But i wish my son to see how this should be... An exchange of effort..in order to reach our goals!
This is not my first attempt to help the kids feel the value of money...that mom writing a check (single self employed mom cannot easily just write the check) has no meaning, getting chilly and interacting with our neighbours, explaining flavours and changing money...is many lessons in one. Previously when going camping woth the kids, i had the money for the first nights pitch, but not enough for the second, to make the drive worth it and to fully benefit from local activities i wanted us to have a second night, so I was inspired to come up with campfire starters..made from egg cartons and dryer lint and some candle wax. Tis took me a few evenings and some effort whilst on site (obviously i was not quite prepared for their being an on site store selling their own (more expensive than ours), but the kids got the value of sharing our message and making a bit of money to pay for another night.
Auways.. I have no idea who will win the class contest to sell the most, but we worked hard for it and have some fun falling in snow and waking up a neighbour from a nap tales! ;)
