Launching a new business venture requires a lot of planning and preparation, just ask our Grade 3 students. Over the past six weeks, they have been working in teams to develop and execute business plans for this week’s Business Bazaar. With a little creativity and a lot of hard work they produced a wide range of merchandise and experiences with Village School-aged customers in mind.
Over the course of the unit “How We Organize Ourselves,” students inquired into what trade is and how it works. They focused on a number of skills including goal setting, negotiating, prioritizing, and teamwork. In small groups, students collaborated to decide on a business, create products and market them to their classmates. This afternoon their projects came to life as the hallways were transformed into a bustling marketplace with handmade origami bouquets, hanging plants, a chance at the claw game, make your own slime, DIY volcano kits, and more.
“Our project was inspired by two ideas,” shared one third grader. “We noticed that a lot of plastic is wasted and we also wanted to help with deforestation. So we decided to put plants in pots made out of recycled water bottles and other plastic materials.” Their hanging planters proved to be even more popular than they anticipated so they decided to take orders from pre-paying customers.
In order to purchase materials for their initial projects, Grade 3 took out a loan from the Village School. After paying back the school, Grade 3 will donate all their profits from the Business Bazaar to charity. In addition to learning some valuable lessons about the world of commerce and teamwork, students were pleased to raise so much money for a good cause.