Brookside Elementary Second Graders Raise $450 for Ronald McDonald House

For the second consecutive year, the second graders at Brookside Elementary School kicked off their lemonade sale in February as part of their economics unit in social studies. This student-led initiative aligns with the district's "Baldwin 2035" program.

Under the guidance of their teachers, Mrs. Kristin Maldonado, Ms. Victoria Antoine, and Mrs. Lauren Maywald, the second grade students learned financial literacy through their student-produced project, where they established their own business, LemonGrade, to benefit the charitable organization, the Ronald McDonald House. Following the Baldwin 2035 model, students chose to participate in one of three committees: Advertising, Marketing, or Graphic Design. By working together, they discovered the significance of interdependence as they designed the business, set pricing, and planned their charitable contributions.

The project taught the aspiring entrepreneurs not only about budgeting, business strategy, and teamwork but also the importance of giving back to their community. They even produced a commercial and ran the lemonade stand on February 7 during their lunch period for peers and staff to purchase the tasty refreshment. At the end of just one day, the total amount raised was an impressive $450.

The second graders truly enjoyed the memorable learning experience. One student from Ms. Antoine’s class, Joshua Jackson, expressed how much he loved being on the graphic design team. "I learned so much about financial literacy," he said. "I was so proud of our business, Lemongrade. We are entrepreneurs!"

In addition to providing students with an enriched learning experience directly linked to their financial literacy unit, the skills fostered encompassed the six "C's" of education: communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, character, and civics.