From chewing up board books and toys, to scratching coffee tables and staining clothing, our "Little Scientists" can wreck havoc on our belongings and our wallets. So an interesting question becomes, "When do we begin to introduce our children to the value of material wealth"?

Shortly after our daughter turned 2 years of age (and was fully potty trained) she was taking a bath accompanied by her usual assortment of tub toys. Whether it was bad timing or my less than lightening fast reflexes, let's just say an accident occurred. When I answered her call for help, she had already pooped in the tub. And sitting there, wading in the mess was Dree and all her bathtub buddies.

The cleaning frenzy that followed was less than glamorous. In the end, she was sterilized and her toys were retired to the garbage. Surprisingly, of the numerous items that were thrown out, the only one she asked about was her dolly. Looking to make a positive out of an unpleasant experience, my husband and I decided to let her "earn" the money to replace her Dolly. Peter and I decided that Dree was old enough to understand that everything has value and this was our opportunity to introduce an honest work ethnic right from the start. She was excited to finally be going to "work" just like mommy and daddy.

Content with our decision, Peter and I set out to decide what "work" our 2-year-old would be expected to do. In thinking this through I developed these 4 points for teaching prosperity in pre-school.

Gain an understand of what money is, how barter works, passive and active income...

Get access to start wealth building with active income

Give to others starting with your own church family and inner circle of need

Grow your passive income stream with the help of a financial mastermind

Then we also wanted to teach our pre-schooler the benefit of doing what makes a difference because along with it will come much more enjoyment.

Using these criteria, my husband and I were ready to approach Dree with our goals for her lesson clearly in view.

While we wanted her very first job in life to be pleasurable, we also wanted it to draw a direct correlation to the bathtub incident in her mind. It needed to be outside the scope of her ordinary responsibilities so she would know the difference between this learning curve and routine chores. If we make a mess playing with our toys, putting them away is also a part of it. If we take out the community trash, that is a valuable contribution to the family. Doing chores can actually provide its own intrinsic reward.

As a novice Equestrian, our daughter had only seen the yuppie side of animal husbandry. You know, grooming, gawking, and giggling with her mammalian friends and the like! But Dree officially entered the real world of pooper scooper. She already has her own set of equipment for the small animal farm where she volunteers, so why not add a paid assignment to the mix? The job choice was a stroke of genius! I'm happy to report that her new dolly has enjoyed water sporting events alot longer than the previous one did. We did match her penny for penny in the money she earned for her very first purchase. After all she was only 2 years old at the time!