Update on Summer Reading Programs at the Library

Earlier this summer I wrote about joining a summer reading program. Both my son and daughter joined the reading program this summer, but only my son had the endurance to finish the entire program My son had to read 20 minutes a day; my daughter had to read 10 minutes a day, but as she is not yet two, she didn't have the patience to do that every day.

In addition to the benefit of reading over two hours a week (we read to him and sometimes he read to us), my son lucked out and earned many prizes. In addition to weekly certificates including a free visit pass to a nature museum and a children's museum, he also won gift certificates for a free ice cream at McDonald's and a free meal at Buona Beef. Those are basic prizes that any child receives if they do all of their reading for the week.

Each week they also have a weekly winner. My son was the winner on week 3 and won 3 Dr. Seuss read aloud CDs. The one is a compilation of over 15 Dr. Seuss stories. He listened to them almost all the way to grandma's house (and that is a three hour drive!)

After the reading program ended, my son found out he was one of the top 50 readers in the library, earning him a spot in a pizza party at a local bowling alley. His bowling, shoes and pizza were all paid for by the library. What a treat he had this summer!

Back to School Supply Challenge

My little boy is starting 1st grade! I can hardly believe it. His preschool went through kindergarten, so this year he is starting at a new school. With this new school comes many expenses such as tuiton, uniforms (I’ll post about ways I saved money on those in the next few weeks) and his school supplies.

His school is very specific about the brand of some items on his school supply list. Here is the exact list:

Quantity/Description
1 Large Backpack
1 Crayola brand crayons – 24 count (No larger amounts please!)
6 7 oz glue sticks (Large glue sticks or twice as many small ones)
8 #2 pencils
1 Pink eraser
1 Box markers – Mr. Sketch or Crayola Classic brand (Broad Tip)
1 Box Addition and Subtraction flash cards for use at home
1 Fiskars brand scissors
2 Rolls of paper towels
1 Jumbo box of tissue
1 Container of wetHAND WIPES-Not Lysol or Bleach… used for cleaning hands
1 Gallon size box of Zip Lock bags
1 Plastic pencil box
1 Wallet size photo of student
1 Ream of copy paper – white
1 Package of either 7 oz cups, 5 oz cups or paper napkins

I have made it my challenge to not spend more than $15 (not including tax) on all of these supplies. I have several weeks’ worth of ads coming up before he needs all of the supplies, so I am confident I can do it.

We started shopping today and ended up with the following:
CVS—large box of tissue—$0.06
Walgreens—Fiskars scissors--$0.99
Office Depot—Mr. Sketch Markers--$0.00 (cost 7.99 but will mail in for a 7.99 rebate)
Target—6 glue sticks--$1.20 (I will still need to buy more because I am 18 oz. short of what is required

Our total cost thus far--$2.25
He does already have the plastic pencil box and erasers, so I won’t have to buy those.

I’ll report back next week and let you know how we are doing.

My Son's Generosity

My husband and I like to watch Good Morning America before going to work in the morning, and the devastation in Haiti is a frequent topic of the news. We have been frequently talking about the situation there and how much to donate and to what organization. We have also been talking about Money Saving Mom and other bloggers’ generous offer to match donations. Last week our church took up a collection, so we decided to donate there.

Yesterday, while we were watching the news and learning more about the dire situation, my 5.5 year old son suddenly spoke up and asked if he could send all of the money in the donate section of his piggy bank to Haiti. (He has a piggy bank that has four compartments—one to save, one to donate, one to spend and one to invest.) Both my husband and I were surprised at his spontaneous generosity. While he has been earning a small allowance and distributing money evenly to each of the four compartments, we have never actually had him donate the money or talked much about it.

We counted the money tonight, and he has $9.00 to donate. The donation section is now empty. I am proud of his gesture and reminded once again that kids are sponges who learn from our example.

Deciding to Stay Home, Part II

In part I of this post, I outlined the long path through my husband's educational career and my full-time career. You can read that post here.

We have two choices—I can keep working and he can keep taking care of the kids. He probably won’t be able to graduate for another two years. Neither of us is satisfied with this option. Or, we can take a huge leap of faith, and I can quit my job to take care of the kids while he finishes his degree and graduates no later than December, 2010.

We have thought long and hard about this. We have prayed about it.

I am not good with leaps of faith. When I was 17, I worked at a dry cleaners. I went to school with the boss’ granddaughter. The hours were perfect for school—3 to 7 p.m., and the pay was decent. However, the granddaughter and another girl who worked there regularly stole anything—money, sometimes drugs—anything customers left in the pockets. They made fun of me endlessly for not doing the same. I was miserable, but I was also loathe to give up my job security. The final straw came when a woman left her diamond ring in her skirt pocket and the granddaughter and her boyfriend took it to be appraised. I couldn’t stand to be in that environment anymore, so I finally quit. After I had done it, I regretted not quitting earlier.

I have held my job for nearly 10 years. I have enjoyed it, but as our family grows and I watch our children growing, I wish I was able to stay at home as I would like. Kids grow so fast! I am thankful for the security my job has brought us and for the fact that we have not had to incur any student loan debt during my husband’s education. However, both my husband and I feel if I continue to work full-time while we have three children, his education will continue to take a back seat to the rest of our lives. It is time for the leap of faith.

We are trying to save 5 months’ living expenses before the baby is born in April. We may need to take out student loans. At this point, we both feel okay about doing so because we have avoided it so far and it may be a necessary evil to final propel my husband to graduation. My husband can get an assistantship in the fall, and I could always work part-time. I also want to grow my eBay business more before the baby comes. I would also like to pursue freelance writing from home.

If we get VERY desperate, I have a nice retirement we could tap into, but I would NEVER do that unless we were literally about to become homeless. Still, it is a nice comfort.

You may notice my money saving kicking into high gear. We only have a few months left with a steady income. Next week I will outline my business goals for the year with the idea of quitting my job in mind.