Bayside Middle School in Saint John has taken a unique approach to thinking outside of the textbook.
Through the PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs program, students spent Wednesday afternoon showcasing their self-created business for their Stomp-mas market.
Each student learned the fruits of running a small business, including cost, supply and market demand. The program works under their math curriculum, where the sixth-grade students quickly deliver change to members of the public.
There was just about everything in the market, which featured mostly homemade items like ornaments, coasters, soaps and decorations. Some students admittedly had some financial help along the way, thanks to support from mom and dad, with a promise of returning the loan after the day. Some students sold nearly 100 items during the busy rush.
“They’re very hands-on. They’re active in their learning. Middle school is not a place where they want to sit and stare at a board all day,” said Lindsay Leger, a sixth-grade teacher at Bayside Middle School.
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“This project gets them up and gets them moving; they had to talk to other classes and students about what products might sell and what kids want. So it got them active and doing things, which is targeted at this age group.”
Some of the students said they spent days working on some of their items, in some cases making nearly 100 items to sell. One student, Carson Pothier, made homemade coasters out of wood, which he put in a solution so they won’t crack, with a clear coat of glue, so the bark around the sides doesn’t fall off.
He said that he had sold nearly 50 of the coasters to that point, each with special designs.
When his teacher talked about making a business plan, he did some thinking on just how the small business could work. While he had some help in getting the business running, he has plans to help those who helped him.
Pothier told Global News he hopes to one day open a business.
The project got the students thinking about buying and supporting local businesses while giving them a taste of what it’s like to run a small company.
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