She looks sweet.
But underneath that cute, crinkly blonde hair lurks the brain of a seasoned negotiator.
Seriously.
When this Grandlittle gets home from pre-school, I usually let her watch a little TV...ummm...educational of course...ummm... yeah... and on those educational TV channels they have a lot of advertisements for toys.
Every day we go through the standard four year old litany, "Gwamma, will you buy me that? For my birthday?"
And every day I repeat about 36 times, "Probably not, you already have a lot of toys."
This week I came up with a brilliant idea of making her work for a toy. You know, start building a healthy relationship with money, teach her young that hard work = benefits, and, oh yeah...hopefully quit the request for every new thing that flits onto the TV screen.
I made up a handy dandy little chart and explained the concept to her. She seemed suitable intriqued.
First we went outside and planted some mint. That went pretty well. She carried the bucket of compost, kinda/sorta dug the hole with her little purple hoe, and was even willing to get her hands dirty in the process.
Next we headed inside, where we washed our hands and I told her she was going to help me organize some cupboards.
The cabinets we were straightening were the tupperware and storage container ones, so I told her to separate all the glass and all the plastic and then we would group them.
That worked just perfectly.
It was when we went to start putting them back that things started falling apart.
She did NOT like my idea of stacking things and putting the lids by them. I told her we had to stack things or they would never fit back into the cabinet. She told me, and I quote, "That is not a very good way of organizing Gwamma. Let me show you how to do this."
Hmmm...
"Okay, smarty pants," I inquired, "If we do it your way, where am I going to put all the extra containers?" With hands on her little hips, she opened all the subsequent cabinets filled with baking pans and dishes and told me she would just empty them, too, and then there would be plenty of room.
Hmmm...
I asked her where we would put all the pans then.
She thought and thought.
"I'm just a worker person, Gwamma," she said, "If you want me to figure that out I'm going to need TWO toys."
...
...
Sigh...
54 comments:
You have a future entreprenuer!
Your chart reminds me of my sticker chart that I had for my kids. Chores were listed, and when done, a sticker from my "sticker drawer" was chosen by the kid and placed on the line of the particular chore.
It worked because they competed to see who had the most stickers.
Good story about cute little Grandlittle! :)
I hope she doesn't have a union card and bring you to the bargining table.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH to cute!!!! Wow...you have a really hard worker and she does have a point Boss Lady!!!!
Wishing you a great one!!!
She's a quick learner. :o)
HAPPY FRIDAY!
Ah what a smartie! Mark my words, she's gonna be a millionaire some day:)
OMG - She's got Hailey's comment this week beat by a mile or more! That is HILARIOUS!
She sounds like she's going to end up with 2 toys anyway. Quite the smart girl.
Your granddaughter and my grandson would make a great 'future' pair in the business world. In the second grade he sold his drawings, but had others scout potential buyers for part of the profit!
To funny! You have a diabolical genius on your hands there!
Hey Girlfriend,
She's a freakin' genius! I'm going to start requesting advice from her.
Love ya'
Meri
It's better to learn early. If you don't put a price on your work, no one else will!
I love this!!
I love it because I'm desperate to be a gramma and I love it because she is SO blessed to have your creative influence in her life.
Fabulous blog!!!
~d
Jenny Jenny, she has you my friend! What a bright and wonderful child. hugs from the newest Grandma, Linda
Oh she is a darling, and you're a wonderful grandma! All my kids did at grandma's house was watching TV and be quiet!
Well Gwamma, YOU started it....
Before you know it you will be having new cabinets built for your pots and pans....and for all of her new toys.
Oh my gosh...I just LOVE her!
I agree; two toys for using her brain!
She's a smart cookie, just like you!
xoxo
Brains and looks! She's got this all figured out!
Wow, what a negotiator! I've tried paying my kids for a few chores, but they lost interest pretty quickly.
You can't put one over on that little grand girl!
She is just too funny! You are so lucky to have her living close, Jenny.
=)
Oh my, the force is strong in that one....
This tickled me. She is quite the little negotiator gwammaw. :)
My mom had big deep cabinets in her kitchen and she let my daughter and my nephew play in her Tupperware all the time. They would empty out the cabinet and play in it too! Wooden spoons and plastic bowls have always been a favorite with my grands!
Ok I'll let you get back to crackin that lesson whip gwammaw.:)~Ames
I need her at my house! If she could figure out my cabinets... I'd buy her a truckload of toys. (to take to your house, of course)
.....and who the heck said child labor was cheap??? Heeehehe!!! She's the cutest little negotiator I've ever seen though.
God bless and have a fantastic weekend!!!
Let me tell you, grandchildren are smart. They certainly have a mind of their own.
Smart Grandlittle!!
i love it, what a great grand! just wait till she wants her first car ... oh ... the poor parents ... lol!
Oh that little Morgan is a smarty pants all right!
and super duper cute to boot!
LOL! Gotta luv the things kids come up with. You taught her well, she's a quick learner:-)
Stop in and give my blog a read at The Voices Within Unleashed
Hmmmmm. I'm going to have to try that one out on my boss! What a smart cookie she is!
That is too cute. She will surely run the world someday!
~M
Oh my stitches!!!!! She cracked me up!!! And so do you!!
Jenny thanks for stopping by!! I love that she is such a negotiator, and so darn cute too!! Sue
Genious!
Hahahahah! I love her!
It hurts when they get smarter than you, doesn't it?
Now that was profound and so dang funny! That was a great life lesson. Negotiate for more money...hahahaha.
She is so cute and smart!
Lol ! very logical !
a world-class negotiator. and the thing is, with the inherent cuteness factor, you don't even see her brain power sneaking up to clobber you!
Love it! My son is a negotiator, too. Last week when one of the other moms at his preschool asked if her son could go first at the water table because he had to go home early, my son thought about it and told her "okay, if I can come to your house for a play date." Seriously. He is brokering his own play dates like an agent. He's 4. Thank God the other mom has a healthy sense of humor!
Gotcha! That is just too adorable. Yet another reason to keep child labor laws intact - to protect US haha! What a darling little girl. Kat
Morning Jenny,
Now you have a brilliant girl on your hands!! That is too funny!
children are just such a riot, they do say the darndest things like Art
Linkletter used to say.
So how did you get yourself out of this one???
Been purchasing any toys lately???
Hope all is well with you and yours hon, Blessings, Nellie
Grandchildren ... ahhh ... busy little hands and minds. I can relate to her thought process as I have the same ones on occassions. Thank you for your comment on my recent tale.
LOL! She's a sassy one alright! I hope she finds a way to work herself up to two new toys :-)
That's so clever! She is one smart little girl!
Oh my gosh !! this is supercute !! absolutely lover her :D
Too adorable...but then again she comes by those adorable genes naturally ;)
Oh dear! She is so clever at wrangling out more toys. What a funny little girl.
Well, little kids these days are prepped for the real world much too soon... or are they born with the natural talent to get the most out of doting parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties...
4 year olds say the cutest things!
That is the cutest and smartest thing I have heard in awhile! She is going to be one savvy business woman!!!
Post a Comment