Anderson kids to use lemonade stands to learn about entrepreneurship
A group of fifth-graders at Eastside Elementary School in Anderson are going to take on running a business. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, a national program shows them how a lemonade stand can help teach them to be entrepreneurs.
Through the National Lemonade Day program, students will work together to build and operate a lemonade stand – including developing a recipe, finding a location to set-up, and pricing their product.
Andrea Meadows is one of the teachers helping run the program.
“We’re not relying on textbooks for this. This is real-world experience,” she says. “It’s not worksheet-based. It’s not skill-and-drill-based. It’s very authentic.”
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The Anderson Madison County Black Chamber of Commerce contributed heavily to the Lemonade Day program, supplying the physical workbooks. The kids will even have the chance to earn an actual cash investment in a ‘Shark Tank’ style pitching event, with the chamber as the majority investor. Meadows says these investments will range from $100-$150.
There is no out-of-pocket costs for the about 70 participating students, working in groups of three or four to open stands. The physical lemonade stands will be made from donated cabinets and bookshelves that will be broken down and altered as needed.
Meadows says the program also teaches kids to hold themselves accountable for their choices. As the ones who are in charge of things like pricing, location and stock, it is up to them to make sure they can reach the goals they set for themselves.
“I really want them to take ownership of this,” Meadows says.
The students are preparing their stands to open in May, operating for a single day. The kids who work the stands will be free to use whatever profits they make however they like.
Meadows says if this first Lemonade Day goes well, it will be expanded for next year’s run.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu
