Allowance and Accountability
Tracy Fortun, Lower Elementary Teacher
 • October 13, 2025

Ask Your Montessori Teacher: Tracy Fortun, Lower Elementary


Q: Should we give an allowance? How much do you think it should be? Should it be tied to certain tasks or a weekly set amount? 


When I was growing up in a small town in the 1970’s, I always knew, to the penny, how much money I had in my possession. We had a magical establishment known as the “Little Store” (which probably sold all kinds of things, but all I was interested in was their extensive assortment of Tangy Taffy). We could walk into the Little Store with fifty cents and come out with enough loot to keep our friends on a sugar high all afternoon. We thought our purchases through carefully to get the best value for our dimes and nickels. We lent each other money and paid it back (mostly). Health risks aside, this was real experience with handling and counting money with some major decision-making thrown in. 


Today, the concept of money has become completely abstract. Children never see us handling cash. We handle all our transactions with plastic cards or by waving our phones at people. My husband and I even pay our son electronically for mowing the lawn!  These days, parents must manufacture experiences for children to handle money.  So, how can an allowance provide some critical experience in saving, spending, and understanding money? 


Here’s what worked for our family: 


Give some age-appropriate chores that are NOT tied to an allowance but are expected as contributing members of a household.  Every member of the household should have responsibilities. In my house, the kids’ basic responsibilities included picking up their rooms, emptying the dishwasher, feeding the dogs, and taking out the trash. Eventually, they also did their own laundry (around age 10).

A child of 2 or 3 can sort silverware into the drawer and help put away laundry. If you begin incorporating household tasks into their daily routine early on and stay consistent, you get far less pushback than you would imagine as they get older. But far more importantly, when a child is counted on for help with the work of the home, it provides a sense of belonging and builds confidence.  


Give a small “base” allowance that is not tied to jobs. Just as Mom and Dad have a certain amount of money for personal spending, this money was allotted to them to contribute to members of our household.  


The big question is, how much? The amount will naturally depend primarily on the family’s circumstances and discretionary funds – the experience handling money is far more important than the amount. The base allowance should be a meaningful amount – enough to blow on something small immediately, or to be able to save up for something desired within a reasonable amount of time.  I see many parenting experts suggest that the base allowance start around the age of 6 at $6 a week, with a dollar increase with each birthday. 


Provide the option of earning more money by doing extra chores.  Starting when they were Elementary aged, we posted a list on the fridge of standing jobs that always needed doing (picking weeds, sweeping/vacuuming, wiping out the microwave or toaster oven, picking up after the dogs, etc.) The kids could choose any of those jobs to do for a little extra cash. In addition, when my husband and I had a bigger job we needed help with we would let them know upfront if this was a paid gig or not. Cleaning the garage (where we all left messes) was a “family task” and therefore unpaid. Mowing the lawn is something that we are willing to pay others to do for us, so in our house, we paid our kids to do it (starting around age 11-12).  


Few Tips and Pitfalls to Avoid


  • Some kids will jump at the chance to earn extra cash, while others will not be as motivated.  The beauty of this dual system is that even if a child doesn’t care much about earning extra money, the base allowance still provides some important experience.  Don’t fret if they seem disinterested at first; while one of my children took every extra job available starting in first grade, the other saw no purpose to earning extra spending money until high school. They get there when they get there!
  • The chores offered should be real work that helps the family. The whole point is to provide the child with a sense of how it feels to work for something you want. This purpose is completely missed when the chores are meaningless. My list of extra chores consisted of things that had to be done but that really ate up my weekends. When my kids stepped in, we often worked alongside one another, which got the tasks done faster, provided me opportunities to teach them new skills, and allowed us to spend some quality time together.
  • Keep each individual child’s skill set in mind and be ready to work alongside them. Be sure the task is something that they can reasonably accomplish, with help. Remember that the purpose is to teach them responsibility. At first, you may be working alongside them, but after some time, you may be able to let them work independently.
  • Clearly state expectations up front.  I learned that it worked best when I wrote out a checklist, walked through the job with them beforehand, and specified that the job was complete when all the tools are put away. Don’t be afraid to say, “Before we discuss your payment, there are a few more items to take care of.”  
  • Be wary of “I’ll pay you back” or “I’ll work it off” in the beginning. Until this system of working for extra cash has become well established, avoid getting into the situation of your child wanting to buy something and pay you back later. The delight in having the “thing” wears off quickly – and so does the good intention to repay you. The couple of times I acquiesced to such an arrangement, I ended up nagging them to fulfill their responsibility, and it was frustrating for all concerned. Believe me, it is MUCH easier to say “No” upfront!  Some children may eventually be able to manage repaying you in work, but most are probably best off sticking to a “spend money when you have money” system.

What’s So Great About the Great Lessons Part II: The Story of the Coming of Life

By Tracy Fortun • October 7, 2025
Where it All Began: The Story of the Universe In the first Great Lesson, the Story of the Universe, students were introduced to the concept that as the universe formed, every particle was given a set of laws to follow. As each speck of matter set about following its laws, they gathered together into groups and settled down into one of three states: the solid, the liquid, and the gaseous. The Earth gradually cooled into a somewhat spherical form with a surface marked by lots of ridges and hollows. The ridges are the mountains, and the rains filled in the hollows to make the seas. The Coming of Life: A New Beginning The Story of the Coming of Life picks up here, with the sun looking down at the Earth and noticing some trouble going on. As the rains fell, they mixed with gases from the air, which introduced a lot of salt into the seawater. Additionally, the rocks were being battered by the sea and breaking off, adding more minerals and salts to the water. Dr. Montessori anthropomorphizes the sun, the air, the water, and the mountains very entertainingly as they each blame one another for all the trouble. The Timeline of Life: Evolution Unfolds Then, an answer appears in the form of a little “blob of jelly” which arrives in the sea. This bit of jelly is given a special set of directives that none of the others have: the ability to eat, grow, and make more of itself. Gradually, the blob of jelly divides into multitudes of creatures who set about eating the minerals from the sea and developing into increasingly complex organisms. Some of these animals ate one another, while others used the minerals in the sea and the light from the sun to make their own food. Our Timeline of Life accompanies the story. Dr. Montessori purposely does not try to show every type of animal that has ever existed on this timeline. She selects just a few examples to show the progression of life from the single-celled organisms and trilobites to the first animal with an internal skeleton (the fish) to the first animal to try out life on the land (amphibians – also the first voice!) to the reptiles, who worked out a way to live independently of the water by cultivating scaly dry skins and eggs with shells. The children hear about how the reptiles grew in size and in number to become the masters of the earth, while some enterprising small creatures learned to survive on the fringes, raiding the reptiles’ nests and developing warm body coverings to survive in the colder temperatures that the reptiles couldn’t tolerate. These birds and mammals also learned to care for their eggs and babies. These adaptations helped them to thrive while those giant reptiles…well, we don’t have them around anymore, do we? Wonder, Curiosity, and Ongoing Discovery  The childr en are fascinated by this story, which sets up for them the basic laws that govern all living things, providing a framework for the biology work they will undertake in the elementary classrooms at Wheaton Montessori School. It also serves as an epic tale of how the earth was prepared for the coming of one very special animal that was unlike any other…us! From here, the students will pick up on any number of details to investigate further. Already, I’ve had first graders studying the fossils of trilobites and crinoids (sea lilies) and others embarking on dinosaur research. The key concepts that were introduced in this story will be refined throughout their time in the Elementary community by lessons on the parts of the plants and their functions, the classification of plants and animals, and the systems of an animal’s body. And these ideas are further integrated as they apply them in their research projects about plants, animals, fossils, rocks, minerals, and limestone, oceans, rivers, and mountain.
The First Great Lesson: Big Bang Meets Elementary Learners

The First Great Lesson: Big Bang Meets Elementary Learners

By Rebecca Lingo • October 6, 2025
The First Great Lesson: Big Bang Meets Elementary Learners At Wheaton Montessori School, we begin elementary education with a bang. Literally. Known as The First Great Lesson, this powerful introduction to the Montessori elementary curriculum is more than just a lesson. It’s an experience. Often called The Coming of the Universe , it’s a sweeping, story-driven journey through the cosmos. But here’s what makes it unique: it’s not just a science lecture packed with facts and figures. It’s told as a dramatic, awe-inspiring story, beginning with a moment of complete stillness, followed by: “Once upon a time... there was nothing. Then—BOOM—everything.” A Story That Sparks Curiosity The First Great Lesson captures the big picture of how the universe began, moving through the formation of stars, planets, and the laws of nature. But the goal isn't to deliver every scientific detail. It’s our goal to ignite wonder and plant seeds of curiosity that lead students to ask why and how. Why do stars shine? How did volcanoes form? What forces shaped our planet? That spark of curiosity is what drives meaningful learning. Why Tell It as a Story? Dr. Montessori’s use of storytelling is intentional. First through sixth graders are in a stage when their imagination, sense of morality, and desire to understand everything are expanding. The First Great Lesson taps into these characteristics by offering a narrative framework that makes room for wonder. It gives children a reason to care, to question, and to dig deeper. The Gateway to Everything From this one lesson, an entire world of study unfolds. At Wheaton Montessori School, you’ll see students: Exploring states of matter through experiments Creating models of volcanoes and Earth's layers Studying star formation and black holes Building timelines of Earth's history Diving into physics, chemistry, geology, geography, and beyond And it all starts with that initial story. From Inspiration to Investigation of Your Place in the Universe The First Great Lesson doesn’t try to teach everything. It gives an impression, an experience that opens the door to deeper, more focused learning. After listening to this story, learners research, experiment, and explore subjects in greater scientific depth. The First Great Lesson inspires children by conveying: “You are part of a huge, beautiful, ordered universe, and your work is to explore it.” Wheaton Montessori School, your teachers, and your community are here to support you every step of the way! We can’t wait to watch your research, presentations, and experiments develop! Because at Wheaton Montessori School, education isn’t just about information, it’s about inspiration.