Thursday, August 05, 2010
Coming soon to a Sushi near you.
Just a little sneak peek of something I've been working very hard on that I hope will be done and ready to share tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Making Allowances
El Niño and Cheeseball have been earning a regular weekly allowance for a while now. We follow the pretty common $1 per year of life formula, and it's worked out well for us. As a general rule, we'll buy whatever books and craft supplies they might want, but we don't buy toys outside of birthdays and Christmas, so they really look forward to their allowances.
Having moved to Europe, the allowance situation has gotten a little more complicated. In America, we'd just give them their dollars in cash every week. But, in Germany, they need dollars to spend on post - where the game cartridges work in their players, the instructions come in English and their favorite things (namely Legos and Barbies) can be found in abundance. But, they need euros to spend off post - where they are the majority of their time. Since they have to buy their own toys, trading off weeks in dollars and euros would make it take twice as long to save up for anything specific they want. And, Mom has a hard enough time keeping dollar and euro cash separate and organized, they don't need to have to maintain two wallets!
So, we've moved to an overly complicated Excel spreadsheet factoring current exchange rates, allowance payments and money spent to come up with a constant balance in both dollars and euros. Which is very handy! Except when you're at a store and the kids want to know how much money they have and you forgot to pull up the spreadsheet before you left.
So! I created two balance books for them. We'll copy the balances in as they are updated, and the kiddos will be responsible for keeping track of the books.
I'm not posting a printable, as it's unlikely many people will need separate dollar and euro columns in balance books for their own kids! But, a simple table with dates and balances are all you need if you want to create a similar system for you and yours. Design a cardstock or heavy paper cover, fold it all in half and staple at the center!
Having moved to Europe, the allowance situation has gotten a little more complicated. In America, we'd just give them their dollars in cash every week. But, in Germany, they need dollars to spend on post - where the game cartridges work in their players, the instructions come in English and their favorite things (namely Legos and Barbies) can be found in abundance. But, they need euros to spend off post - where they are the majority of their time. Since they have to buy their own toys, trading off weeks in dollars and euros would make it take twice as long to save up for anything specific they want. And, Mom has a hard enough time keeping dollar and euro cash separate and organized, they don't need to have to maintain two wallets!
So, we've moved to an overly complicated Excel spreadsheet factoring current exchange rates, allowance payments and money spent to come up with a constant balance in both dollars and euros. Which is very handy! Except when you're at a store and the kids want to know how much money they have and you forgot to pull up the spreadsheet before you left.
So! I created two balance books for them. We'll copy the balances in as they are updated, and the kiddos will be responsible for keeping track of the books.
I'm not posting a printable, as it's unlikely many people will need separate dollar and euro columns in balance books for their own kids! But, a simple table with dates and balances are all you need if you want to create a similar system for you and yours. Design a cardstock or heavy paper cover, fold it all in half and staple at the center!
Monday, August 02, 2010
Mini Memory Games
When I saw this adorable tutorial by dandee, I knew I had to make some mini memory games up for the kiddos.
Since I don't have access to the normal craft stores here in Germany and couldn't get my hands on the little tins she used, I sewed up some very simple drawstring bags to hold the games.
I started with vintage animal clipart from the Graphics Fairy, which I made into colorful silhouettes in Photoshop.
And used a retro graphic paper for the backs.
Then, I remembered some adorable doodles done by Joel over at Made By Joel for a matching game. (Are you reading Made By Joel? You should be, the toys he makes for his kids are wonderful!)
And used a black and white polka dot for the backs.
The kids are having a blast with their new games! And, they're the perfect size to toss in your purse and have at the ready when waiting for service at a restaurant or whenever some waiting time pops up!
If you'd like to make your own, you can hop over to dandee for the tutorial, and download the pictures I used here.
Since I don't have access to the normal craft stores here in Germany and couldn't get my hands on the little tins she used, I sewed up some very simple drawstring bags to hold the games.
I started with vintage animal clipart from the Graphics Fairy, which I made into colorful silhouettes in Photoshop.
And used a retro graphic paper for the backs.
Then, I remembered some adorable doodles done by Joel over at Made By Joel for a matching game. (Are you reading Made By Joel? You should be, the toys he makes for his kids are wonderful!)
And used a black and white polka dot for the backs.
The kids are having a blast with their new games! And, they're the perfect size to toss in your purse and have at the ready when waiting for service at a restaurant or whenever some waiting time pops up!
If you'd like to make your own, you can hop over to dandee for the tutorial, and download the pictures I used here.
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