Nature Club/Corporation/Business Opportunity

Months ago an idea was conceived in the mind of my now 9 year old. He started a "Nature Club". I was fine with it. It was a lot of talk and not much action. It gave him an outlet for his incessant need to plan and organize (no laughing- he gets it from his dad too!). Somehow his humble little nature club has made the leap from a band of boys running around the playground finding bugs to a business venture. I'm not sure when I was voted off the board but don't be alarmed if you start getting mailers soliciting donations in exchange for address return labels. I'm guessing that's next on his plan to take over the world one bug at a time.

Here's how this thing has evolved- aka How to Know You're Raising a little Churchill/Mussolini (we're really hoping it's the former rather than the latter although he does occasionally show signs of slight to moderate fascism)...

Phase:

1 Announce to your recess-mates that you've started a nature club.
2 Establish your position as absolute ruler.
3 Assign lower positions to establish order and hierarchy.
4 Schedule club meetings.

Everything up 'til this point was done at school. I know that there are an infinite number of clubs when you're a 3rd grader but let this be a warning, I'm just saying a school administrative take over might be in the works- all in the name of nature, of course.

5 Hold a meeting with a handful of kids in the backyard
6 3+ times a week
7 Pull up the flagstone patio to create a garden hose induced river roller coaster for backyard critters.
8 Use aforementioned flagstones to create a large well in which to store supplies.
9 Dig. All over. Just dig.

Fine. It's not like my backyard is a lovely manicured landscaped vision. Really, we have a trampoline and a golf flag. It's now a little(lot) muddier then it used to be and a little(lot) more un-baby-brother friendly, but fine. I have a house full of boys. It was bound to happen.

10 Establish a need for funds.
11 Present fund raising ideas to the now out of power governing board.
12 Fire the governing board (even though it is by her good grace that the club is allowed to exist)
13 Recruit little brother (there's strength in numbers).
14 Ask to go play outside.
15 Raid the garage for chairs, table, wagon, jugs of bottled water.
16 Swipe a stack of plastic cups during a pantry snack raid.
17 Stand at the end of the driveway offering cups of luke-warm water in exchange for a negotiable monetary donation. In the name of nature.

I first catch wind of this when Trey (recruited little brother) comes running in and says "Mom! The UPS guys just gave us a dollar!" I, being a very tolerant mother, sometimes, just smile and bite my tongue. When Ty comes in and says he's hired some neighbor kids to go do door to door advertising and that all he has to pay them is free water I do consider discussing the principles of business ethics with him but decide against it. The whole thing was really quite intriguing by this point.

18 Raise $11. It may not sound like a whole lot, but again, it's water. Luke-warm water. In plastic Dixie cups.
19 Stick it all in a bug jar. Where else do you store club funds?
20 Do it all over again the next day. All in the name of nature.

The most recent set up included lemonade and grape Crystal Light. Give 'em an inch...

Ty's nature blog. Disclaimer: Tyler frequently updates this on his own without prior parental consultation. Again, fired. I make no guarantee of the authenticity of claims and announcements that may be presented on his site.