Organize a Student-Run Holiday Gift Shop

News Article about a Student-run Holiday Gift Shop

Read a news article about
the student-run gift shop.

The Holiday Gift Shop is a great opportunity for young children to learn about budgeting their money and planning for future expenses. But the learning experience doesn't have to stop there. Teach your older students about economics and business management by having them run their own Holiday Gift Shop! Using our program the shop can be run by classes as young as fifth or sixth grade, or it can be run by high-school students. The Holiday Gift Shop program is a great opportunity for a middle-school economics unit, a CPP (Career and Personal Planning) unit, or even as a volunteer program for high-school students needing to fulfill their community service requirements.

Several years ago a school teacher by the name of Mark Banker put together a classroom program for us, based on a program he had developed for his own students. The program teaches students the basics of economics, eventually leading up to the Holiday Gift Shop being run by the students themselves. Many different activities and lesson plans are provided to help you prepare the students for their various jobs in the gift shop, and to teach them about different economic concepts.

Author's Introduction

This economics program for use with Holiday Gift Shop is designed to allow you to choose a level of involvement that makes you most comfortable. Each level builds upon the previous level and thus becomes more difficult to manage effectively; however, the more you choose to do with your students, the more rewarding it will be for them and you if successfully completed. With this program you may choose simply to run Holiday Gift Shop alone, or you might go so far as to turn your classroom into a living economics unit and have your students manage and run the shop under your supervision as I do. The choice is yours to make.

Throughout the economics unit I sometimes hear students complain, "So-and-so makes more money than I do so I can't have as much as she does. "It's not fair!" I usually reply that it is totally fair. Here's how I explain it: "Natalie makes more money because she is an accountant. She is really good at math, isn't she? She's also a very trustworthy person, wouldn't you agree? She is being paid for her valuable skills in our store. She has the responsibility of training the cashiers to count change and use the cash register. She counts all the money at the end of the day and fills out the deposit slip for the bank. She also writes out your paycheck. Being good at math and being trustworthy are important skills that have earned her this job. Because she is using these skills well, she is paid very well."

It is important to consistently remind your students that in life they make choices that create these differences. The choices they make affect their educational level, the respect they receive from others and the development of their marketable skills. Each of them has the power to guide the course that their life takes through their own diligence and hard work.

At times you may think that I have gone overboard with what I am asking my students to do, but I assure you that they can do all of these things, and do them well. I have run this program with students in grades 5 and 6 with great success. I have a lot of "departmental training meetings" with them where we go over what has to be done and how to accomplish it. For example, record keeping for the bankers and accountants can be a little intimidating at times but they can handle it if they first receive the proper coaching and guidance from me. Knowing what is expected of them and the means to fulfill it enables them to rise to the task so that the job gets done.

As I write this it is the middle of August and I am so fired up heading into the next season with Holiday Gift Shop. Running it is unquestionably my favorite part of the school year, and that of my students too. I hope that you find as much enjoyment and success running Holiday Gift Shop in your classroom as I have found in mine.

–Mark Banker

Example Pages

Example Page: Teacher's Notes

Example Page: Inventory

Example Page: Cashier Training

Example Page: Zoning

Example Page: Comparison Shopping

Call us for more information about our Student-Run Holiday Gift Shop!
1-800-665-5656

4 Levels of Involvement

The program is designed with 4 different levels, allowing you to choose a level of involvement that makes you most comfortable. Each of the four levels builds upon the previous level and thus becomes more difficult to manage effectively; however, the more you choose to do with your students, the more rewarding it will be for them and you if successfully completed.

In the first level, the store is managed by the teacher, and the students fill all the worker positions such as cashiers, clerks, stockers, and custodians.
In the second level, under the oversight of the teacher, some of the students will take up managerial positions such as store managers, accountants, and advertising managers. The rest of the students will take up worker positions, and all together they will run the Holiday Gift Shop.
In the third level, the store will again be managed by the teacher, but the classroom unit will also include a simulated economy where the students will occupy a "job", pay taxes and rent, budget for groceries and other expenses, and learn about many other aspects of living on their own.
In the fourth and most involved level, all of these concepts are combined to have the students run and manage their own store, and to learn about living in a real world economy. This level is the most difficult to manage, but it is also the most rewarding. Level four not only allows your students to experience the responsibility of working in and managing their own store, but it also enables them to learn what it is like to be active members of a working economy.

In the Press

The following was a featured newspaper article about local school students running a Holiday Gift Shop, using our student-run program:

The Park Record

Students Run a Holiday Gift Shop

Photo By Deborah Dekoff

Jeremy Ranch Elementary School fifth-grader and part-time sales clerk Emily Everson (center) helps younger students tally their purchases at the school’s holiday gift shop.

The fifth-graders work as sales clerks, managers, more

by Karl Golts

Of The Record Staff

Fifth-grade students at Jeremy Ranch Elementary School are raising money for their school while learning about real-world jobs at a student-run Holiday Gift Shop.

Selling Christmas gifts ranging from screwdrivers to stuffed animals, the fifth-graders are working in the classroom store as clerks, accountants, cashiers, managers, and more.

"It's a great opportunity for them to learn about running a business," explained JRES fifth-grade teacher Deborah Dekoff. "The kids even had to apply for their jobs - complete with references."

The student-run holiday store was started last year by teacher Marjean Johnston.

According to Johnston, the store made about $1,500 in profit last year.

The fifth-graders decided to have a custom flag made for the school and took a field trip with the profits.

This year, the students are planning on using their profits to paint a map of North America on the playground at JRES.

As younger students file into the fifth-grade student store, the sales clerks get busy selling items while accountants mark down the item number and it's cost.

Cashiers are busy making change and inventory specialists run to get items that are sold out.

"I have to count the kids' change," explained cashier Patrick O'Malley. "It's tough when the little kids bring in a bunch of change and pennies."

"We get their name, write down the item, give it to the accountant to add up the bill, and then give them a receipt," said fifth-grader Emily Everson, who was working as a sales clerk. "It's a lot of fun. I like helping the younger kids out."

In addition to applying for their respective jobs with an application and resume, the students also spent part of the past week involved in on-the-job training.

"We try to make it as realistic as possible, and the kids really respond," said Dekoff.

Call us for more information about our Student-Run Holiday Gift Shop!
1-800-665-5656