As a little girl, my childhood savings bank was a pink ceramic dog. The removable stopper on the bottom enabled me to take the money out, which I often did—far too often.
Recently, while visiting my parents, I noticed a small wooden box with a hole in the top.
“What’s that, Dad?”
He smiled that sweet, sly smile that I love. The grin that says, “I’ve invented something cool.” He’s been inventing things all his life. Clever things, useful things, fun things.
“Let me show you.” He rolled up a dollar bill and shoved it through the tiny hole in the top of the box with a dowel rod. “It’s a bank!”
“But how do you get the money?”
“You don’t, that’s how you save.”
I was intrigued. “What happens when it gets full?”
“Then I bust it,” his eyes twinkled. “I hit it with a hammer and break it all to pieces. That’s the really fun part!”
“But then what?”
“Then I build another one!” He was enjoying this lesson, loving that he could still teach his adult daughter a thing or two.
He continued. “It took about six months to fill it the first time. It’s a ‘One-Way Bank.’ The money only has one way to go.”
I smiled. Proverbs 13:11b came to mind. “. . . whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.”
For a fun summer project with your kids—one that comes with a lesson—make a One-Way Bank of your own!
Below are Dad’s instructions for making his “One-Way Bank.”
Materials
¼” plywood (We used scraps from previous projects.)
Wood glue
Saw
Drill
Directions
Cut plywood into two pieces 3½” square for the top and bottom
Cut plywood into four pieces 3½” x 10” for the sides
Drill a 3/8” hole in one end and glue all sides together with wood glue. Let dry and finish with your choice of either paint or varnish.
All cuts are straight; there are no angles to worry about. You can sand the corners for smooth edges, if you want.
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About Kelly Stigliano
Kelly J. Stigliano has been writing and speaking for over 3 decades. She and Jerry have celebrated more than 30 wedding anniversaries together—all proof of God’s redemptive power! Kelly made bad choices for years and shares the lessons she’s learned along the way, hoping to keep others from making the same mistakes. Because no one benefits when we wear masks, she tries to stay transparent. “Everyone has skeletons in their closets, but my closets don’t have doors on them!”
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