By Emma Stone
$2 ice cream scoops with a smile were served to 520 participants in the annual Scoops N’ Smile event hosted by Glen View Elementary second graders.
The students operated their own ice cream shop at the school from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on April 19 raising around $1,200 and serving 460 bowls of donated Blue Bell ice cream.
The event is an enrichment project teaching students the “behind the scenes” of running a business.
Hanna Doss, Glen View Elementary second grade enrichment teacher and project director, spoke about the importance of teaching students about money management at a young age.
“Now, more than ever, families are feeling the burden of rising economic cost, making budgeting a very important skill to incorporate into our business lesson,” said Doss.
Two weeks prior to the event, second graders practiced counting money while learning the difference between selling goods and offering a service.
“Budgeting helps kids grasp that money is limited,” said Doss. “They will have to make choices about when to save and what to spend.”
One week was spent solely on advertising the business including making pamphlets, posters, creating slogans and filming commercials.
“Even though these students are only 7 or 8 years, they can aspire and dream of starting or running a business one day,” said Doss. “Running and owning a business sounds fun and exciting, and it definitely can be, but behind all that fun and money making will be lots of hard work.”
Next up, students will head to Walmart to see which team can purchase the most nonperishable goods for Christian Community Action.
Brandi Whitlock, a parent of one of the students, commented on the necessity of teaching kids to reinvest the money.
“Not only are they getting to learn about what it takes to run a business and budget money, but they are also giving back to the community by using the funds they earn to buy items for Christian Community Action,” said Whitlock.
Special thanks were requested to be given to Meredith Whitaker, Glen View Elementary assistant principal, and Lauren Hull, Glen View Elementary ELA coach, who were both former enrichment teachers who helped guide Doss through her first Scoops N’ Smile enrichment project.
