A group of third graders at Bolin School recently gave up their student status to try their hands as businessmen and businesswomen.
Kelli Higgins’ class received a $200 mini-grant from the East Peoria District 86 Foundation to help fund an economics unit. Higgins used the funds to take a hands-on approach in teaching her students the basics of starting and running a business.
“This economics unit provided a real-world simulation for my students,” Higgins said. “After learning the background knowledge needed in math and social studies, my kids worked in small groups to really apply what they had learned.”
Students were divided into five groups. Each group selected a craft to make for their business.
Two days were spent creating the product, which Higgins said were made up of visors, bookmarks, sun catchers, leather bracelets and sand art products. A third day was spent designing signs for the stores and setting prices for the products.
Each store had sales and marketing employees, a cashier and an accountant. Special sales were offered toward the end of the shopping day.
“They went through the whole process with their group — planning, production, advertising, sales and accounting,” Higgins said. “Students also spent math time reviewing their money skills.”
She added that on “business day,” the cashier counted back change to customers and an accountant kept a record of all sales. The sales and marketing team arranged the product and kept up the appearance of the stores.
The students opened their stores April 19. Students from another third-grade class came in with $10 in play money each to shop at the stores Higgins’ class had developed.
“When our shops closed, the accountant calculated sales, subtracted overhead costs and split the profits with all of the employees,” Higgins said. “Each student then got to go shopping in our class store.”
According to Higgins, remaining grant money from the project was used to purchase items such as note pads, water bottles, puzzles, candy and science experiments for the class store.
She said that shopping in the class store was the favorite portion of the project for the majority of her students.
“Instead of just reading about small businesses in their textbooks, my students had a chance to actually start a business,” she said. “Without grant opportunities like this one from the East Peoria District 86 Foundation,
my students would not be able to do the kind of hands-on activities that make learning fun.”
