Is a 9 year old capable of organising a fundraiser?

To me this is a true example of what a Montessori education can do for a child... she has learned a can do attitude, she has learned to set small achievable goals for herself to ensure success, she has learned to break up large tasks into smaller tasks, she has learned to commit and see something through to the end.  A lot of these I have had to wait 40 years to learn!


About 3 weeks ago, when my nine and a half year old daughter, Amy, asked if she could organise a fundraiser to support CupCake Day for the RSPCA I said "Of course", because I want to support the causes she believes in.  I fully expected to do most of the work, after all she's only 9 years old!


That week Amy registered a fundraising page on the RSPCA's website and downloaded the editable PDF file that the RSPCA distributed and added her info to it and then we discussed how she could distribute it.  We talk about handing out invitations, emailing, posting fliers, doing letter box drops around the neighbourhood and various other options.  She decided she would just ask the principal at her school if she could put up some fliers on the noticeboards around school and then send emails to those we knew personally.  And so she did it.


A few days later I asked if she had done any further planning - she showed me a diagram of how she wanted the house set up, her list of the types of cupcakes she wanted and her decorating ideas, and some suggestions for a playlist of songs she wanted to play in the background on the day (all animal themed songs of course!).  So again, we sat down together and did some planning.  She made a shopping list and a job list and then SHE made a timetable for herself for the 2 weeks leading up to the day, assigning various jobs to each day.  At that point I realised that she should be organising all the parties at our house - I would be so much more relaxed on the day!


From last Thursday she has been totally focused on the event - making the banner, cooking and icing cupcakes, checking off jobs on her list and assigning them to other people where possible.  She wrote her speech and practised it a few times and then summarised it into point form.  She organised a raffle prize and made the necessary plans to ensure it was all right to go.


On Friday night she told me that she was having trouble sleeping because she couldn't stop thinking of all the things she had to do - anyone relate to that?!  We discussed some ideas for coping with stress and she slept well on Friday and Saturday night - thank goodness!


On Friday she and her friend Matthew made the first batch of cupcakes and she started her banner with Dad.  On Saturday at 10am she was still on the computer doing to-do lists and so I gently reminded her that the time for planning was over and it was time for doing now.  Well, that's all the reminding she needed.  She finished the banner, cleaned up her room, went shopping with Dad, and did a million other little jobs that had to be done.


When Breanna came for a sleepover on Saturday night she ensured that Breanna was happy to help and that she had jobs she wanted to do.  She did the same for her 5 year old sister Charlotte, who might have been even more excited than Amy about "Cupcake Day" because she was allowed to feel so much a part of the planning!


I was expecting that on Sunday morning that Amy would just want to sleep in and spend time with Breanna, but she was on the ball again - setting up tables, setting up the tea/coffee station and organising where the different types of cupcakes would go so that they would be in a pattern ;-)  Breanna, Amy and Charlotte had even made signs to identify the different types of cupcakes.  They were all watching the clock on Sunday - it was such a loooong morning!


2pm finally came and people started arriving and she was a very cordial host.  She sold raffle tickets and socialised and from 3:30pm started asking if she should do her speech, but some people hadn't arrived yet.


At 4pm, she decided it was time to make her speech of thanks, and so she did with confidence and grace.  She was ecstatic over how many people turned up to support the RSPCA.  She surpassed her fundraising goal of $50, raising over $230!  And of course then started the "Well, next year I think I should..." ;-)


Naturally, not everything she envisioned in her plan became reality, because as humans I think we tend to lose sight of how much we can fit in a day.  It was a good lesson to learn.  The best result was that at the end of the event on Sunday afternoon she said that it was even better than she imagined.


So over the last few weeks I have been in awe of my very capable 9 year old daughter and so very proud that she not only came up with the idea but showed commitment by seeing it through to the very end.  She even helped clean up - a little ;-)  


She complained of a tummy ache and loss of appetite last night but then started colouring in the doodle book she received as a gift that afternoon and she commented "Wow Mum, it's like all the stress I was feeling has been transferred down through my arm to the paper", and so she even discovered a way to de-stress, all by herself.


I am so very excited that the day was successful and can't wait to see what this amazing girl, who I am blessed to have as my daughter, will teach me next.    Amy, my darling daughter, you are truly awesome (far from perfect!  but totally awesome!)