Kids learn business in fun ways
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 03/12/2009 1:35 PM | City
Relax Mom: A 1st grader massages a parent as part of a business fair at the High/Scope school, South Jakarta on Friday. The 15-minute massage cost Rp 15,000 (US$1.2). (Courtesy of High/Scope)
What can we expect when children from kindergarten to middle school have a business fair? Students from High/Scope school in South Jakarta recently and it was full of sweet treats, face paint, loud karaoke and an iguana!
Children from Kindergarten to Grade 5 turned their classrooms into shops in a two-day business fair last week.
In one, the children transformed their classroom into a beauty parlor, a vision in pink, just like a little girl's room, with small booths for manicures, makeup and hairstyling.
The "shop" was titled (in pink): Beautiful Fairies. The d*cor was cute, girly, and pink. Looks like the boys gave in to the girls here.
Inside the classroom, mothers took turns to have a manicure or have a custom-made bracelet or necklace crafted by the children and ready within a few minutes.
In a corner, a parent sat on a reclining chair with little boys and girls massaging his arms and feet. The man looked amused, while the children were dutifully performing their tasks. "It is Rp 15,000 for a 15-minute massage," said Desy, the class teacher.
"Unlike their bigger brothers and sisters who did market research surveys for their businesses, the younger children came up with their business plans through brainstorming," she said.
She said her students had set a goal of going to Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta, using the profit from their one-day business. There had been a lot of different suggestions, though. Earlier they had planned to go to a movie together.
In another classroom-turned-shop, the 2nd and 3rd Grade students magically turned the place into a night zoo. It was titled Night Safari. In one corner, children took turns to get photographed with a large iguana or a small alligator. The iguana's owner, Prana - a 3rd Grade student - said it was the whole class' idea to have a zoo in the classroom.
"To get a picture with the alligator or the iguana, you have to pay Rp 25,000," said Sabrina, the cashier of the safari shop.
"A visit to the mini zoo will cost you Rp 20,000 and for games, Rp 10,000," the little cashier said.
Sabrina, along with other girls, Lilu, Mika and Gaby, performed in themed plays, one called "Camping in the Jungle" and the other entitled "A Trip to the Amazonian Rainforest." The plays lasted for about 15 minutes and visitors had to pay Rp 25,000.
The girls merrily said they now knew how to do business. They said they wanted to use the profit to go to Kidzania, a children's recreational center.
"Or we can use it to have a party in the classroom!" said Sabrina.
Other classes had themes such as the Night Carnival or Pasar Malam Tjilandak where culinary delights were sold and the Pet Shop where people could buy rabbits clothed in colorful costumes.
On the previous day, six classes - the 6th and 7th Grade students - had taken their turn opening a one-day business - mostly selling food - with real customers, actually their parents, friends and teachers.
The school's basketball court was divided into six large areas, filled with small tables and booths for games, face painting and karaoke. Children ran around with scary, big-haired, full-head masks and black capes, holding cups of ice-cream or Korean japchae noodles.
"Would you like to try these?" A 6th Grade boy offered sticks of marshmallow dripping in chocolate. His face was painted to look like a smiling cat, drawn by his friends from the face painting booth that was decorated with Halloween pumpkins cut from paperboard.
Ivan was his name. "Our capital from the investors was Rp 3 million," he said proudly. The investors were their parents. "We have to return the loan of course, but we haven't counted the revenue yet. It seems that we have covered all our costs."
The face painting booth had many customers. The booth was located in the same space as the stall selling chocolate and marshmallows. It was titled Go Scream. The color theme of the business was black. All the officers on duty wore black.
Etika Hia, the school's assistant principal, said each class received a Rp 700,000 loan from the school as starting capital, and they had had to present their business plans in front of potential investors few days earlier.
It was not only a day for them to try to make a profit, but also a time to have hands-on experience of good teamwork and to see whether their business selection had been the right choice.
"I am one of the production team, we have 24 students each class, and everybody has their own duties," Ivan said. "The choice of what to sell in our business came from the answers we received through our market research survey."
They created a written survey that they then distributed to teachers, parents, older and younger students and all school staff including the security officers.
On another stall, a 6th Grade student, Citta, was carefully counting the cash, dividing it into neat piles. She was the cashier of a shop called Redlines, where girls were busy frying cirengs - a pita-bread-like dough - filled with chicken, cheese, spaghetti sauce or smoked beef, and selling them for Rp 5,000 (40 US cent) per piece.
Iin Pramono, Citta's mother said, "My daughter was always been selected as the cashier by her friends." She said Citta's attitude toward money was prudent.
"She would compare the price of books she wanted to buy in different bookstores first. Perhaps that comes from her duties at school events," she laughed.
Interestingly, the open-air stall also offered instant noodles which received a warm welcome, with children queuing up to get their orders. They happily waited for the MSG-laden noodles to be prepared.
Iin said, "It might be because they are not allowed these instant noodles at home, that they have them for sale here."
In front of Redlines was an all-blue stall, named Schwasz Creamery. It offered banana splits, poffertjes, waffles and other cold treats. The rest of the stalls also offered many kinds of sweet treats and games.
Another stall was titled Carcique. This was where all the loud noise came from. A cafe with karaoke, the booth was full of 7th Grade students taking turns to sing their favorite songs.
Young children were having a wonderful time on the first day of the business fair. Little girls and boys walked hand in hand led by their teacher to visit the "shops".
They looked at the colorful stands in awe, watching their big brothers and sisters cooking fries or squeezing whipped cream on top of bowls of ice-cream. (iwp)
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
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