math of a 1st grader

I have been quite surprised at some of the things Ian is learning in 1st grade. I don't think I had a science class in first grade, but if I did, I know I didn't have to do a poster on an arachnid. And I KNOW I didn't have a typing class or a foreign language! But it is not just book knowledge that is keeping me on my toes...

(can you see his school in the background? this is us walking home from the school bus through our compound - isn't the water and bridges quaint? Doesn't it make you want to come and visit?)

We are trying to teach the boys to be responsible with money and also to be good citizens, all the while helping them with practical math. So they now get an allowance and have to help with setting the table, etc. (hard to do when you have full time help, but we are trying). Anyway, if they have to be told to d0 something multiple times before they do it, they lose some of their allowance or if they break other house rules like talking meanly to people, etc. So on Saturdays they get their allowance and then they have to figure out how much they are going to give at church ("give back to God" as Eric says) and how much they are going to give to help other people (no lack of choices here! They are both so generous though. We are very proud of them in this regard. Eric often gives most of his money to a man that sits outside the church with only part of both legs and part of an arm and saves none for himself). Anyway, they had a particularly hard week a couple weeks ago and I was trying to show them the results of their bad choices and bad behavior. I didn't have any change so I showed them a 10 RMB bill (about $1.25) that they normally get. I explained that if they give 10% to church and 10% to help other people then they normally give 1 RMB. But when they don't get their full allowance then not only do They not get to keep as much money, but then there is less money to give to others, too.

Then I gave Ian the 10 RMB and took out a 5 RMB bill out of his bank.

He looked at me and said, "no it is all the same."

"How do you figure?" I asked.

"Well, I will give on my 5 RMB and you will give on yours and it will all be the same."

"No, I gave you 5 RMB, I didn't get any money."

"Yes! You just got 5 RMB out of my bank!"

"But I was making change. It is not new money that I got"

"You didn't have it before and now you do. So you should give some back to God and some to someone who needs something."

"But mommy gave you that money for your allowance. I just made change in your bank."

"and I just gave you the 5 RMB like you gave me 5 RMB, so we should both give some back to God and some to someone who needs it. Then it will be the same as me having 10 RMB."

by this point I just gave up and put my whole 5 RMB in the pot we keep money in to buy rice for orphans in Anhui (see flier below)

I know it is small. Maybe you can click on it and make it bigger...

Anyway, the moral of the story is:

"have proper change before giving out allowances"