VAN BUREN, Ark. — A Van Buren Elementary school class took an idea from an educational game and brought it to life for a good cause.
At Central Elementary, Mrs. Brown’s 5th-grade class started a store right outside their classroom for the whole school to enjoy. 5th-grade teacher Alexa Brown says her goal as an educator is for kids to have fun learning. One of her favorite classroom activities is Osmo for Schools, which is an interactive learning program.
Osmo uses fun concepts like running a pizza shop to help students learn how to count money. The student's love for the game inspired Mrs. Brown to bring the concept to life by starting their own school store. She presented the idea to donors chosen in a contest with her lesson plan about financial literacy and won $1,000 to start the store.
“I have 5th-graders come and help me, and we try to run two times a month, and on Friday mornings, kindergarten through 5th grade get to come and shop. We usually have stuff like school supplies, scented pens, fidget toys that’s the craze right now, water bottles, masks, and things they might need.”
Not only are the kids running the store learning how to count change, but they’re also learning the importance of giving back because all the money raised goes to the Angel Tree program right here in the community.
The students in the 5th-grade class are looking forward to passing down the store to next year's class.