Whitemarsh Elementary School second-graders sell and shop on Business Day
Whitemarsh Elementary School second-graders sell and shop on Business Day
Whitemarsh Elementary School second-graders recently became entrepreneurs at the school’s Business Day, trying to sell everything from bookmarks and journals to hand-made sports jerseys and maracas to their classmates.
Business Day is a culminating activity for students studying elements of consumerism and economics through the English/Language Arts curriculum. To learn what it takes to sell a product, the students collaborate with partners to form their own businesses and sell products in a “shop” on Business Day.
Each student group creates a business plan, including a prototype of a product they will reproduce 30 times to sell their classmates. Students must also make posters to market and advertise their products. On Business Day, they run their “shops” by selling their items to other students who use Whitemarsh Dollars to pay. At the conclusion of Business Day, students wind up with a shopping bag full of fun items, as well as a better understanding of some of the successes and challenges that come along with running a business.
Gemma Beck, who was selling hand-painted jars with collectible items inside, said one of the challenges she and her partner faced was finding time to make the products themselves. But she was pleased to see their efforts pay off on Business Day.
“We’ve been getting a lot of money,” she said.
Other students’ items were so popular they sold out. The “Jersey Bros” had to put up a “closed” sign at their table after running out of their hand-made sports jerseys, which featured the numbers and names of popular Pirates and Phillies players.
Some students created items designed to generate good will or awareness around a cause. Quinn Shanahan sold bookmarks made from colorful paper and featured elephant stickers with messages about protecting endangered wildlife.
“We came up with this because we like saving the animals,” she said.
In a true team effort, she used her talent with a rainbow loom to make the bookmarks’ tassels, while her partner used her stash of elephant stickers and artistic abilities to draw on the bookmarks.
Liam Vesci and his partner also banked on their artistic abilities to sell “optical illusions” that they had drawn. However, they learned that it is not always easy to guess what customers will or won’t purchase.
“You won’t get as much people buying as you think you will,” he said.
