Our toddler theme this week was Markets and I had a blast. I mean Mia -- Mia had a blast. Alright, we both did! My little sister and I used to spend hours playing store as kids. In fact, we would ask for cash registers every Christmas. You know, the ones with the laser barcode scanners and all the pleasing beeps. Mia is the one with her own cash register these days and she similarly loves to play store, so we blew this week up. Maybe I went overboard and didn't keep it simple, but hopefully you'll find some ideas you can implement, too.
You could use this week to focus on markets only (that's what we did last year when Mia was younger), but this year I also included an exploration into money, the fuel of commerce. Up until this point, Mia only knew that daddy went to work to make the "monies," Papa gave her some to put in her new purse, and you're not supposed to put it in your mouth. Living in Denver, we are lucky to have a wealth (ha, I'm funny!) of money learning opportunities -- The U.S. Mint and Federal Reserve both have branches here. Tours of the U.S. Mint are free but require an advance reservation. Mia is not quite up to that tour just yet, but we did the next best thing by checking out their virtual tour one afternoon (find it here). Then one morning, we went to see the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve. It's free and available on a walk-in basis. It's not very big, but it's effective. There is a display of the history of U.S. currency and also an exhibit that challenges you to spot the counterfeit bills. Mia's favorite was the Currency Design Studio where she designed her own dollar, er, $1 million dollar bill. Millie wanted to make one, too. We also got a free bag of shredded currency on our way out. "Mom! This smells like monies!"
Mia's always learning about sharing and borrowing but usually only as it pertains to toys and reckless little sisters. This week we put that notion to work on a global and monetary level by participating in microlending. Microlending is exactly what it sounds like, small loans. We're talking $25 loans. Kiva.org helps connect willing microlenders with borrowers across the world. I was first introduced to this concept back in business school and I gave it a try. My loans have consistently been paid back over the years and I turn around and reinvest the money with someone else. It's amazing to know that my tiny loan has helped purchase a milking cow in Cambodia, built a pub in Uganda, bought startup products for a salon in the Philippines, expanded product assortment for a clothing store in Lebanon, and many other things. My last loan was just repaid so I let Mia pick the recipient for the next one. I always fund women with children they are putting through school (it's my way of supporting the fight against terrorism) and Kiva allows you to filter borrowers based on gender, country, industry, etc. Once I applied the filters, I let Mia select one. She chose to fund Hanan in Palestine as she expands her farming business. There is so much learning that can take place around this one simple project, so I encourage you to check it out for yourself. And just this week, I received an email from Kiva and they are giving out free trial $25 loans for first-timers...use this link if you want to give it a try.
We spent the rest of the week learning about different types of commerce. There was the weekly trip to the grocery store and the subsequent adventure at the self checkout. Then a visit to the local farmer's market to support the food producers directly and get our kitchen knives sharpened. And lastly, a stop at some local stores to support small business. Some vendors only sell food and some sell clothing and some vendors don't sell anything at all but instead, services. A lot to consider when we set up our own stores to pretend play this week.
My favorite was the musical instrument store she created one afternoon. As added customer service, she demonstrated each instrument for me before I purchased. Who wouldn't want to buy a kazoo covered in toddler saliva? Mia has her own toy cash register (IKEA sells a cute one) but we also have a couple of fun store apps that I thought were worth sharing. The first is Toca Store by Toca Boca (in the App Store) and I like it because it's set up to be a 2 person experience which really illustrates the essence of commerce -- supply and demand. The game isn't very fun without both parts, just like markets rely on both supply and demand. The second app is called Little Zebra Shopper (in the App Store) and it turns your iPad into a little point of sale system that actually scans downloadable barcodes! They have lots of different printable products on their website that you can assemble yourself but I made a little adaption. I cut out all the box fronts and glued the corresponding barcodes to the back of each one. Then I had them all laminated at Staples and cut them apart. I store all of the now-flat products in a zippered pencil pouch and pull out as a special busy bag.
To round out our theme week, Mia ran her very first store as a little fundraiser for a friend. She decided that she wanted it to be a cafe and we asked permission to set up shop in our building's lobby one morning. Mia was involved in the sourcing & buying, marketing & advertising, merchandising, and sales. I supplied the baking skills and Daddy, of course, was her best customer doubling her final sales. We're happy to report that Mia's Cafe grossed $500 and sold out within 90 minutes. The demand was high! And our neighbors are very supportive and generous. Plus, the Mia's Cafe sales team is pretty cute.
A summary of all Markets week activities with links:
ACTIVITIES: Learned about how money is made at the U.S. Mint (see the virtual tour here), Spent hours on store pretend play, Invested some of our money on Kiva.org and learned about microlending
ART PROJECTS: Made marketing and signs for Mia's Cafe
OUTINGS: Visited the local farmer's market, Used the self checkout at the grocery store, Took a field trip to the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve
BOOKS: The High Street by Alice Melvin, To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
BIBLE STORY: Jesus cleansing the markets from the temple
If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).
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