Horsetails

Just some fun weed-pulling memories that I don't want to forget.

I've been meaning to get outside and pull the early shoots of horsetails around here to try and keep the lush crop of weeds down around the property this year before they get huge and out of control but there always seems to be projects and messes that keep me from getting out there. Every day I see more and more horsetails (the most prevalent of the many weeds) popping up among my flowers in the side garden and I know my window of opportunity is closing. Anyway, the other afternoon I had told the kids that after they finished their chores I had a "money-making opportunity for them." Their little ears perked up (because I don't usually pay them for jobs) but I was so desperate for help that I was willing to pay them for their work. I told them I would pay them 1 penny for every horesetail they picked. They ran outside like racehorses grabbed boxes and plastic bins to fill with the picked weeds.

Each of them had their own box or bin and when they were done I gave them paper and pencil and had them count their weeds and add up their numbers on the back porch. Joseph recently learned about tally marks in Kindergarten so it was good timing for him to have this counting project. He put a tally mark on his sheet for every 10 horsetails and ended up earning $2.75 that night.

Jacob put a tally mark for every 20 and earned over $7 the first day. Ben didn't really need tally marks since he only picked 27 weeds earning him a quarter and 2 pennies and Lauren just wandered around the whole time picking dandelions.

The final numbers after the first day.

Jacob and Joseph went back the next day to pick some more and in the end earned a combined total of $20!!! That's right, together they pulled over 2000 horsetails out of my side yard. And you know the funny thing is that there is STILL a TON of weeds out there!!! At this rate I think I would have to spend hundreds of dollars to get all these stinking weeds pulled. Any little bit helps though and all those weeds that they pulled out of the garden are that many less that I'll have to pull later on when they're bigger and more bothersome.

Day 2 of the weed pulling adventure-Joseph throwing away money.

Jacob hauling a bin of weeds down to the back porch to be counted and recorded.

Something else I wanted to add was that part of the reason I think Joseph was so excited to pull weeds was that he could earn some of his own money to pay tithing on. Since Jacob will be getting baptized this year we started paying him a monthly allowance last September when he turned 7 so that he could start getting in the habit of paying tithing on the money he receives. Joseph has wanted to pay his tithing too but he doesn't get an allowance yet. He is such a sweet little boy though that wants to live the gospel so bad. Recently, I found a tithing slip and envelope that JoJo had filled out on his own with a dime inside. He must have put it in there to pay tithing from the $1 he got for his tooth from the tooth ferry. Needless to say he is now very excited at the thought of being able to pay tithing on his weed-pulling earnings. Such a sweet, spiritual little boy.