There's no better time than right now to teach your kids the value of saving their pennies for a rainy day. Saving up for something -- a toy, a trip or a donation to a charitable cause -- and then ceremoniously "breaking the bank" to access the money is one of the best lessons we can teach our budding capitalists. Here are a few of our favorite piggy banks, available locally.
Rachel the pig
Start with a visit to Seattle's most famous piggy bank, Rachel the Pig at Pike Place Market [0]. Installed in August of 1986 and modeled after a real live prizewinning Whidbey Island pig, Rachel weighs in at 550 pounds and garners the Market between $6,000 and $9,000 annually. While she's not the Market's official mascot, both tourists and locals line up to rub her back, drop in a coin and take a photo.
Classic piggy banks
If it's a classic piggy bank you're looking for, The Red Balloon Company [1] on 15th in Capitol Hill carries adorable ceramic polka dotted banks from Elegant Baby. "My First Piggy Bank" comes in a variety of sizes and colors, and was recently featured in People magazine. No two are alike and they retail between $27.95 and $47. Other places to find traditional banks include Tiffany [1], whose posh ceramic piggy banks retail for $80; and Tottini [1], which offers banks with modern motifs from NotNeutral and design-your-own banks from Color Me. The banks cost between $16 and $20.
Tzedakah boxes
In times of economic stress, charitable organizations tend to suffer, as people have less to give. The Jewish obligation of "tzedakah" means charity, and ranks as high as the other Jewish principles of prayer and repentance. Young Jewish children drop their coins in tzedakah boxes that are passed around at synagogue, and as soon as a person has their bar/bat mitzvah, they are expected to shoulder the tradition on their own. Once the box is full, the contents are donated to a charity. Tree of Life [1] in Ravenna carries a wide array of tzedakah boxes appropriate for any age. Prices start at $19. My favorite features the sentiment: "May we not be judged by how much we acquire, but let us be blessed according to how much we give."
Moonjar banks
Great American industrialist John D. Rockefeller had his children divvy up their allowance into three jars labeled "save," "share" and "spend" in order to teach them the principal of philanthropy that came to define his life. Inspired by this bit of wisdom, Seattle native Eulalie M. Scandiuzzi created the innovative Moonjar savings bank [1] in 2001.
The Moonjar is used in classrooms and homes to teach kids the concept of saving, spending and sharing. It is comprised of three diamond-shaped tin boxes -- one blue, one green and one red -- that come together to form a neat hexagon. Every Moonjar comes with a passbook to notate the amounts allocated to each category of save, spend and share.
Scandiuzzi has created a whole mythology around the Moonjar, featuring Noom, Raj, Hamilton, Thompson and Giovanni, plush woolen dolls created by Made In Mongolia. The characters come alive in books and CDs that make the Moonjar concept easy for fledging philanthropists to understand. Moonjars are $25.95, and are available at Precocious Toys [1] in Madrona, Third Place Books [1] and online at moonjar.com [1].
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
