At CHCA, entrepreneurship isn’t reserved for the big leagues.

 

In early May, fifth grade students experienced the business world firsthand during a special Language Arts entrepreneurship unit, leading to the grade's first Entrepreneur Day.

 

“In fifth grade, we broaden students’ exposure to and experience with nonfiction reading materials,” explains April Sanderson, Grade 5 Language Arts Teacher. “Thus, we added into our fifth-grade classroom the nonfiction book collection From An Idea To…LEGO, Disney, Nike, and Google by Lowey Bundy Sichol.”

 

Of Sichol’s four-book series, students choose which narrative they wish to explore, whether Walt Disney’s ascension to international imagination magnate, Nike’s innovative and world-changing marketing strategy, Google’s domination of the internet, or LEGO’s infamous and highly desired product. From this reading, they become familiar with investments, business basics, marketing, and entrepreneurialism while learning key terms and phrases that define the business world.

 

Last year, students experienced the first Upper Elementary Business Day, where real entrepreneurs and businesspeople visited fifth grade classes to share their products and experiences. This year, Sanderson and the fifth-grade team saw an opportunity—in true entrepreneurial fashion—and conceived an idea for students to put their newfound knowledge to practice.

 

“After last year’s initial Business Day was a success, we realized that we had one more component that would cement the entrepreneurial experience for our students: UE Fifth Grade Entrepreneur Day,” says Sanderson.

 

An immersive, hands-on entrepreneurial experience, Entrepreneur Day saw groups of students forming mini business ventures and experiencing the entire product lifecycle, from idea generation to final sale. Each group borrowed from “The Bank of Mom and Dad” to fund their business, then began work on developing and designing a sellable product. From stress balls to stickers, washable coloring sheets, and “Spray Away That Bad Day” spray, each idea demonstrated a keen understanding of the product’s targeted demographic with complementing marketing strategies that appealed to both fellow classmates and adults alike.

During Entrepreneur Day, visiting parents and students walked around a marketplace-style setup and purchased the original products, which ranged in price from $0.50–3.00. Affordability and innovation proved a recipe for success, as many products sold out before closing, and most groups earned a profit that they shared with Samaritan’s Purse.

 

“In fact, with the $218.00 generously donated by our product teams, fifth graders of the Upper Elementary school were able to purchase goats and chickens that will help feed families in impoverished countries,” says Sanderson.

 

Entrepreneur Day’s raging success was felt by not only the teachers and customers but, more importantly, by the students, whose infectious enthusiasm for their products secured the swift sale of custom items and earned money toward a good cause.

 

The grade’s entrepreneurship unit finished once again with Business Day, where four entrepreneurs and businesspeople shared about their ventures in finance, marketing, fashion, and business.

 

“Fifth grade students loved both our Business Day and our Entrepreneur Day!” Sanderson says. “Our students learned the lingo of the business world and scratched the surface of the myriad of obstacles and benefits that are part of the business and entrepreneurial experience. We had pricing concerns, labor shortages, supply deficits, marketing snafus, and loss versus profit. Our students also experienced supply and demand, advertising advantages, helpful classmates (fellow business partners), healthy profits, and generous donations to a worthy cause. We will be hosting our Business and Entrepreneur Series again next year. We can’t wait!”