Brooke, at 12, has had a job for the last year and a half. She feeds all the horses at this barn, twice daily, for a pretty nice monthly paycheck. Her pay is the same if she is feeding nine horses, or if they drop down to three. Currently, they have five horses. Our horses, she gets to feed (and muck stalls) for free! Actually, Brooke pays her horse's boarding fee with the money she makes. She has also, in the past, paid for a $300 horse camp with her own money.
She was called a few weeks ago by the lady she has taken lessons from and was asked if she "wanted a job." It seems Mrs. D. needed a "helper" for her spring horse camp. Brooke could attend for free ($300 is the regular price to attend the 3-day camp) and would even be paid for helping out! Of course, Brooke said yes! So she has been currying and brushing Honeybee so she'd look her best for the camp.
Since the weather has warmed up, all the horses are shedding like crazy. Brooke has been using all of our different brushes to get rid of Honeybee's loose hair and put a shine on her. And it's worked. Here are some pictures of Brooke and Honeybee, all shiny and glossy. The pictures really do not do Honeybee justice - Brooke has done a great job on her and she is beautiful.
Now, today when we went to feed our horses at our barn, the manager asked Brooke if she wanted a job. Another one? I'm tired just listening to her! But, of course, Brooke was pumped! A family he knows was looking for someone to care for his horses while he and his family go for a short vacation next week. So Brooke will be working at horse camp next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and will start her temporary job Thursday and that'll last through Sunday.
Ummm.....Brooke.....can I talk to you about a loan?
4 comments:
Wow! She is one hard working little girl. How old was she when she first started working on these different jobs? My 11 year old would love to do some sort of odd jobs. I'm not sure how to help her get started. She wanted to walk dogs but we don't have dogs so I didn't think she really had the experience necessary. She did make up some flyers and put them out in the neighborhood but nothing came of it.
Is Brooke able to get all of her school work done with the outside jobs taking her time? She must get to bed early in order to get up and do her morning chores. Ugh!
Um, I'll be calling if I need a loan as well. :)
Kathy, Brooke had just turned 11 when she started feeding at the "job barn," but she met the people at the barn where our horses were stabled. They asked the barn owner if they could pay him to exercise and brush the horse and he suggested Brooke. She was only 10 then. When the lady who was feeding their horses started getting sloppy (feeding only once a day, feeding at weird times, etc), they called Brooke.
She has wanted to get more jobs on a regular basis, but I don't think *I* could handle it. As it is now, just the driving to both barns and home is about two hours a day.
Brooke is generally pretty fast with her work, but that said, school and horses take up most of our day. She doesn't go to bed as early as she used to, but she generally gets in there around 9:30. Once her head hits the pillow, she's out.
Our kids have all had odd jobs at about that age as well... our ds actually started mowing lawns last summer when he turned 9... it's good for them, but it's also time consuming for mom... hopefully the jobs are close to your home! Anything my kids do are always 1/2 hour to 45 minutes away.
Good for Brooke, and she is blessed with a wonderful mom who will drive her to these places!
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