Piggy Bank Principles

Encouragement, Informative, Parenting, Single Parents

 

By Gabriella Smith

“I have a lot of money!” My 5-year-old brother exclaimed, as he excitedly dumped out his piggy bank earlier today. Turns out he only had about $3.65. It makes me laugh, thinking of how people’s perceptions of money change as they get older.

Back in my early days, money had two purposes: you spent it or you saved it (or tried to save it and usually ended up spending it on something smaller). I remember the time I had the grand idea that my younger sister would get a watch that came in a cereal box while we “jointly” saved to buy me a new watch. I had forgotten about it by the next day, which, I think, was a good thing. Now that I’m not 7 any more, I see the unfairness of such an economic endeavor.

When I was 7 or 8, I would buy small things as soon as I got my hands on any money. Then, as I got older, my interests changed but not my spending philosophy, as you’ll soon see. I started to be a bit smarter with my money around the age of 12, learning about a whole new element of spending.

My parents have always taught me and modeled for me the importance of good money management—things such as being generous, choosing purchases wisely, and saving my money. However, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I seriously started to manage my money.      (more…)

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Paul Revere’s Ride in Context

History, Informative, Just For Fun, Military

By Adam Andrews

 

When our kids were little, Missy and I used to read them Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem about Paul Revere. It’s a great poem—a classic by any definition. We particularly like how the poem’s imagery takes us back in time, and we imagine ourselves in the Boston hinterland on the 18th of April, 1775, as Paul Revere rides out to warn his countrymen of the British threat. Even the rhythm of the piece recalls a galloping horse:

LISTen my CHILDren and YOU shall HEAR
Of the MIDnight RIDE of PAUL reVERE.

In all the years that I read it to my children, I had never thought to ask them what Longfellow’s poem was about. It went without saying, I suppose. It’s about the American Revolution, of course. It’s about the famed Minutemen of Massachusetts and their heroic battle with the British at Old North Bridge in Concord.

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year . . .
In the books you have read
How the British regulars fired and fled
How the farmers gave them ball for ball
From behind each fence and farmyard wall . . .

But in larger sense, the poem is also about the American spirit. It’s about how Americans won’t stand for slavery and how they fight against any and all threats to their liberties. Longfellow urges his readers to adopt the Minutemen’s attitude toward oppression and tyranny:      (more…)

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How an Ancient Italian Volcano Changed America

Classroom Help, History, Informative

By Amy Barr

 

Several years ago my husband and I visited all the usual places while giving our children a tour of Washington, D.C. We trekked miles to see the major memorials. As we walked, we chatted about American history, political thought, Classical ideals, art, and architecture. While waiting to see The National Archives, an impromptu group of listeners formed as we explained the neoclassical images adorning the building. One eavesdropper remarked, “I didn’t know this art had to do with Greece and Rome!”

Thomas Jefferson was more than architect of our Declaration of Independence; he also was fascinated by real architecture as he imagined the construction of our new nation.1 He gave considerable thought to crafting buildings to last for generations. Jefferson could have recommended the flowery architecture of European cathedrals or the onion-bulb towers of Russia or even the down-to-earth Colonial style. Instead, he dreamed up enough columns and capitals to make Cicero himself feel at home.

Our nation’s Founding Fathers drew inspiration from the Classical world, but what brought Roman ideals to the fore in the late 1700s? Two factors came into play. First was Jefferson’s brilliant Classical education. Second, I suggest, was the unearthing of thousands of mysterious things in northern Italy that had remained hidden since the tragic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The discovery of these objects came to light during our nation’s most formative years.       (more…)

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