Perhaps you were in beautiful Downtown Boulder City week before last and it was a hub of holiday shopping activity … by 5th Graders.
Indeed, it was the annual “King Kids” event and I was surprised to learn that it’s quite a bit more than just a ‘shopping day’ – but rather, the conclusion of a 3 months economics lesson for the 5th Graders at Martha P. King Elementary School.
It’s actually a really cool little program, I discovered … here’s how it works:
- In October, students complete an application for a job (yard work, babysitting, etc.) with parents or friends and are expected to go through an interview process to be hired.
- Once employed, they open a banking account at the school bank and begin making deposits with their earnings.
- Through lesson plans, teachers share information regarding the economic impact they have on society and their contributions to the “real world” of employment, responsibility of finances and the cycle of earning, spending and saving.
- The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce organizes member merchants and restaurants to participate in “King Kids Days” a week before Christmas – they hang signs in the windows, can participate in a coupon book offering layaway programs, percentage discounts, BOGO’s, bounce-back specials, etc.
- The coupon book is delivered to the school at the beginning of December, allowing the students time to plan out their trip and maximize their dollars … all as they support the “Shop Local” concept and get their holiday shopping knocked out.
- Afterwards, they reconcile their shopping transactions with their receipts and re-deposit their extra funds before being graded on accuracy.
I don’t know how many kids participated this year, but Chamber of Commerce CEO, Jill Rowland-Lagan, said that there were approximately 160 students last year, each typically having around $100 to spend. Hey, it’s a great lesson for the kids AND amounts to quite a nice little bump for Boulder City merchants during the holiday season … cool, huh?
