SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – La Verne Heights Elementary School third-grade students spent a day learning the ABCs of finance and received valuable lessons in money management and entrepreneurship when the school hosted its Third Grade Business Day, held in December.

With business names like “Mya and Esmay’s BFF Shop” and “Ri-Ri’s Bracelet Company (RBC),” nascent La Verne Heights business owners enthusiastically hawked their merchandise, which included stress balls, dog treats, lava lamps, snow globes, mini-stuffed animals and mystery boxes. One student provided a spinning wheel and prizes based on where the wheel stopped.

Students created their own businesses – either by themselves or with a partner – and brought or made their own merchandise and set their own prices. Third-grader Zoey Bates, who sold bracelets and slime at her “Cloud Shop” boutique, welcomed the opportunity to open a shop and sell to her classmates.

“I like Business Day. It’s a lot of fun and you feel like you’re running a real business,” Bates said. “I like the feeling of making money.”

Third Grade Business Day is designed to let students apply finance knowledge they have learned since the beginning of the school year. During the first trimester, students are given a mock debit card and bank account. Students can earn play money in various ways throughout the school year: completing assignments on time, scoring 100% on a test, helping others, or wearing college gear on Thursdays. The students use this play money to make purchases on Business Day.

“What makes Business Day so fun for our students is that they are able to take what they have learned in math and use it in real-life scenarios,” La Verne Heights third-grade teacher Michelle Horne said. “It gives them chances to do mental math on the spot rather than just completing equations from a textbook. My students have so much fun and are very proud of what they have accomplished.”

One lesson La Verne Heights students applied during Business Day was the law of supply and demand. Although some students lowered their prices so they could sell more goods, others raised their prices when they discovered the demand for their merchandise soaring.

“I liked making money at my shop so I could spend it at another shop,” said Riley Duggan, who sold rubber band bracelets. “Then they can make money and spend it at another shop.”

Business Day is required for all third graders and is held twice a year – once at the end of the fall term and again at the end of the spring term. Though students are encouraged to create their own wares, or bring items from home, they are allowed to spend $20 of their own money to make merchandise or buy products to resell. Parents and community members are encouraged to come out and support Business Day.

“Third Grade Business Day is one of our most popular and fun events of the year,” La Verne Heights principal Nicole Grant said. “The students are so enthusiastic and so very creative, and the parents love coming out to support. It’s great to see our kids learning about financial responsibility and the value of a dollar. We couldn’t do it without our amazing teachers and support staff.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

BUSD_LVH_BUSINESSDAY1: La Verne Heights Elementary School third-graders display bracelets for sale during the school’s Third Grade Business Day, held in December. La Verne Heights students created their own companies and sold merchandize to their fellow classmates, receiving valuable lessons in money management and entrepreneurship.

BUSD_LVH_BUSINESSDAY2: La Verne Heights Elementary School third-grade students created their own businesses and applied financial knowledge they have learned throughout the school year during the school’s Third Grade Business Day, held in December. The money management event is held twice a year and allowed students to see how financial concepts, like supply and demand, work in the real world.