What do crayon bits, beads, shaving cream, paper towel tubes and popsicle sticks all have in common?

They are all being transformed by the newest business owners in 2nd grade into sellable product for the annual 2nd Grade Store.  Students from 3rd, 7th, and 8th grades come to shop at the store.  Upon entering, they are given a bag of money to spend as they please and are able to keep the purchases they make.  The only rule is that they must spend all of their money.

So far students have brainstormed a product idea, come up with a business name and have begun bringing their ideas to life in the form of creative products to sell.  Some students have chosen to create a business partnership while others preferred to work alone.

After break students will use their persuasive writing skills to write and film commercials to entice their consumers (the 3rd, 7th and 8th graders) to purchase their product instead of their competitors.

Students will also be in charge of their own accounting, from running their actual store by making and giving change to keeping track of their expenses and revenue and calculating their own profits.   They will then receive feedback from the consumers on their shopping experience.

All of this is an authentic trial and error experience for the culmination of their current PBL project which is the creation and running of an actual booth at PNA’s annual Maker’s Market in December.  The 2nd graders will host a booth that will be selling handmade cards and hot chocolate to “real buyers with real money” as one student so enthusiastically put it.

What will they do with their real profits?  Stay tuned for “The Panther Project” in the spring!