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06/08/2006Students build their own economy
Seven-year-old Eddie Davidson counts money earned his business venture “Cars on the Move,” Monday afternoon during Market Day at Kalkaska’s Birch Street Elementary. Cynthia Raymer’s first-grade class formed a “community” called “The Lucky Learning Land.” Youngsters created their own currency, goods and services to sell to shoppers. KALKASKA — Skyler Sinke and Sarah Wilson knew they had a winning sales pitch on a hot summer day. Skyler, 7, and Sarah, 6, set up shop this week in Cynthia Raymer's first-grade class at Birch Street Elementary, and waited for customers to flock to their makeshift storefront for offerings of cold lemonade and fresh fruit kebobs. "Mostly everybody is thirsty," Skyler said about their product idea. The girls' "Fruit Connection" stand was part of the year-end finale to a "mini-society" project in Raymer's class. Students developed a country and created currency, applied for jobs, earned a salary and posted earnings in their checkbooks. This week, the young entrepreneurs sold products they designed based on market research. Before they opened for business, they also had to pay rent and apply for a business license. "You've seen some prices go up since they paid rent," Raymer said. "It's hands-on economics. I just kind of geared it down to first grade." Students crafted handmade placards bearing names like "Sunshine Flower Factory," "The Designer Folder Collection," and "Hunter's Summer Journal." Mackenzie Luck, 6, hawked glitter-adorned pencils for $3 apiece. Her mom, Kim Stephens, visited to watch her peddle the creations. "I think it's been great," Stephens said. " They've had to work at home to start their business." Parents could help the students with the project, but the kids had to barter for that assistance, doing a job for their parents in return. Raymer's students designed a flyer to advertise their project and handed out $5 coupons to visitors from other classes at the school. Peers bought their products with multicolored mock bills — yellow for $1 and blue for $5. "The children learn that everything costs money and the key is to work hard and save as much money as you can," Raymer said.
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