El Koala

Thriftiness

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Koalas are actually marsupials, meaning they carry their young in a pouch. Because their diet provides little nutrition, koalas must move slowly to conserve their energy.

Picture This!

Thriftiness is allowing myself and others to spend only what is necessary. If you only had one gallon of water to use this week, you would probably use it very carefully. You mightdrink it or use it to cook a meal. But whatever you do, you better not waste it! You can show thriftiness by taking care of your school supplies, looking for sales when you shop, eating your food instead of wasting it, and turning

Name: ___________________________________________

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Character First! Elementary Student Guide Series 4, Booklet 4

Definition I Will. . .

Allowing myself andothers to spend only what is necessary.

• save more and spend less. • look for the best value.

• make good use of what I already have. • budget my money, time, and energy.

• not confuse what I need with what I want.

off lights and electronics when not in use. Make good use of your money, time, and energy so that you can avoid waste.

Activities
Bucks in a Bank
• Thriftiness isimportant, whether you have $2 or $2,000. Manage what you have now so that you are prepared to manage more in the future.

Supplies:

• 3 pint-size milk cartons • Colored paper • Markers • Stapler • Paper clips

Little by Little

Just as a bank account increases in small amounts, a person’s resources can decrease little by little through wasteful living. See how many wasteful actions you canfind in the picture below. There are at least seven.

2 Thriftiness

Wastefulness: lamp, fan, window, headlights, candles, faucet, freezer.

SA M PL

Open the top of each carton all the way and staple the sides together. Be sure the spouts face the same direction. Use paper clips to close the tops. Label the cartons with the words: Save, Spend, and Give. Decorate the cartons with paper,markers, and stickers. Use them to divide your money into the three categories!

• Think about the saying: “Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” What does this mean to you?

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Collect three empty pint-size milk cartons. (They might be from your school lunches or snacks at home.) Rinse the cartons with water and leave them open to dry.

Points to Ponder:

HistoryAfter graduation, Mary dreamed that the children wandering the streets could go to school, just as she had. However, Mary only had $1.50, and no one could start a school with such a small amount of money! Mary determined to try. She rented a rickety old house that she and the neighbors cleaned and painted to smell like new. Mary also baked pies to earn money.

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One day a friend who had saved upher money gave Mary a scholarship so that she could go to college. The scholarship didn’t quite pay for everything at Scotia Seminary where Mary went to school, so Mary cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, and worked at a nearby farm. Mary spent less on herself and saved every penny she could to pay her school bills.

Mary Bethune invested in future generations.

Children filled the little schoolhouse until there was no more room, so Mary dreamed bigger. She found some vacant land behind the school, but the land owner

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Mary accepted the job and became the first black woman to serve as an adviser to the United States President.

As a child, she longed to learn how to read. Mary’s dream came true when a school was started near her parents’ farm. Mary’s teacher called her “my mostfaithful pupil.” Three years later, she graduated with a diploma.

At first she did not want to accept, but she remembered that she was responsible not only for her money, but how she spent her time and energy. She had provided an education for many children, but now these young people needed her help finding jobs.

In 1929, the United States entered the Great Depression. When Franklin...