Popsicles sweeten lesson at McNeal Elementary

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Brandishing popsicles on McNeal Elementary’s front lawn, fifth-graders in Natasha Sinclair’s class put their newly acquired business skills to practice last week.

Students on June 8 launched the business they spent two weeks creating as a way to raise funds for McNeal’s Parent-Teacher Organization.

“It was my first time actually selling something,” 11-year-old Ally Boudreau said. “I thought it was awesome. You get to advertise and work with all your friends and have fun.”

Sinclair’s class decided to sell popsicles after Mark Gordon, a business writer for the East County Observer’s sister paper, the Gulf Coast Business Review, spoke to Sinclair’s class about marketing and other business-related topics as part of the Junior Achievement program.

Enthralled with hopes of getting their picture in the newspaper, children decided to start a business of their own.

“They went through the whole business idea,” Sinclair said. “What would I sell? Where would I sell it? Who would I sell it to? I want them to understand, as a business, you have to cover your costs. We got to put that into action.”

Children started out by conducting customer research. They looked at their target audience — fellow fifth-grade students — and determined what types of products those customers would like, the best time to sell customers those products and how much customers would pay per item, among other considerations.

After talking about selling chocolate, McNeal clothing and other items, Sinclair’s 21 students settled on selling popsicles because the treat would be inexpensive in terms of up-front costs and would give a high rate of return for their investment. They also decided to sell their product during T-shirt signing day because students would be outside in the heat and easily accessible.

So last week, after advertising the event through posters and flyers, students set to work, raising a total of $76 for the PTO.

“It’s harder than I thought it would be,” 10-year-old Ariana Ortega said of starting a business. “I learned a lot of things. It’s important to keep trying your best when you open a business.”

Ally Boudreau agreed.

“I thought opening a business was just buying the stuff and selling it, but you actually have to think about what you are selling. Is it going to sell or not?”

Although Sinclair’s students sold only 184 of the 400 popsicles they purchased, Sinclair said the day still proved to be a valuable learning tool.

“It was a great experience for the students,” she said.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].