2021 Children’s Business Fair

(year 4, week 29)

Preparation

The studio was a buzz come Monday morning. It was their last week to prepare for the Children’s Business Fair. The Discovery heroes will be selling and promoting their products that they have spent five weeks working on. Throughout the session there have been tears, disagreements and many questions. But, there has also been pure joy, dedication and what one hero called, “proudness”.

He was indeed, right. The heroes have relayed that they have never felt more proud of themselves. Watching their ideas come to life and creating things from scratch has brought them a deep sense of accomplishment. This session, it has been very hands off from the guides. This challenge has been up to the heroes. Here is a conversation that reflected many throughout the session:

A hero asked, “Wait, don’t we need baggies to put our food in?”

“Yes, but we were challenged to make a list of all of our last minute needs order them on Monday and Wednesday, remember?”

“Oh no… I wasn’t listening. What do I do!?”

Panic set in…

“It’s okay, I have extra, I will bring more from home! If you can ask your mom or dad and then use the money you make at the fair to pay them back. I can give you 20 today!”

“Oh my gosh thank you! Can you also help me with my poster?”

The heroes have quickly realized how one small detail, falling through the cracks, can feel incredibly overwhelming. Yet, even thought they are doing the Children’s Business Fair alone, or with one other partner, there has been a deep sense of community throughout the entire session. Everyone has leaned in to bring things from home or offer extra supplies. One hero finished so early with her product that she started gluing the backs of earrings for one hero.

“Do you want any of my profit? You’ve helped this whole time!”

“No way! I don’t need any money. You’re just my friend.”

Graphic Novels

During this session the heroes finished their graphic novels. This was, without a doubt, one of the most engaged Writer’s Workshops of the year. The excitement around graphic novels was incomparable to units they have finished in the past. Heroes only got two days a week to work on their books and yet they would work writer’s workshop into every single extra moment they had.

There were so many ups and downs. Heroes had issues knowing how to end their stories, while other ones deeply struggled with the climax and action portion. There were tons of discussions about, “doing too much,” and “keeping it simple.” They listened to stories of some of the greatest writers and heard about their triumphs and downfalls. They read books and got a deeper understanding of what it takes to write cohesively. Most importantly, they developed these stories with nothing other than their previous knowledge and inner imagination.

The Discovery studio is purely dedicated to, “love of learning.” The heroes in the Discovery studio are not drilled on facts and repetition. They are not expected to know every single grammar rule. Their expectations are to read, find stories they love, develop their imagination and write, write, write!

Badges

Believing and trusting in the journey can ultimately be the hardest part. There are sessions where intentionality dips but friendships and gratitude rise. Then, you turn around and in the next session, there is deep intentionality but conflict resolutions every hour. Such is life. Through the years, everyone dips in certain areas. It would be wrong to assume that perfection can be achieved in every area at all times. Where would the fun be?

This session, the area that took an uphill swing was in relation to badges. Whether that was because heroes were waiting until last minute to submit, or maybe it was when certain areas finally clicked. Either way, the studio celebrated with whoops and hollers because 75 badges were earned in one session! 75! The heroes could not believe it when it came time to have their badge ceremony. They hugged one another and high- fived over their accomplishment. The badge ceremony was long and winded and by the end, heroes were beyond excited to put their prized certificates in their backpack. They ended the day outside having fun with one another and just relaxing after a long and hardworking session.

A few of the heroes are officially done with all of their badges besides Quest and Writer’s Workshop. They took some time to reflect with the guide and tell the guide what they believe would be beneficial in terms of badges for next year. They gave amazing and deep insight into what they thought was relevant, what they thought was too challenging and what they believed could be implemented for next year, even when they’re gone. Their feedback is so valuable and without their feedback, Heroes wouldn’t be the learned driven community that it is.

Children’s Business Fair

Saturday finally came! Children’s Business Fair is a chance for children around the community to sell off their products and promote their own small businesses. The heroes were so nervous leading up to Saturday and had truly overcome so many adversities. It was amazing to see them successfully conquer another exhibition and one at this level. They arrived at the village and got their booths set up. On one end heroes were getting their bake sale items together and on the other, showing off their homemade earrings and bath salts.

There was so much work and detail put into every booth. It was powerful to see all of their ideas come together. It was three hours of selling, marketing and showing off their entrepreneurial skills. The heroes were equipped with their speeches, prices and even a little flair. As they talked to customers and counted back change, it was evident that if there was one word to describe them as a group it would be prepared. The most exciting part came when the judges results were announced. It is our honor to let everyone know that all three of the winning booths came from Heroes Academy!

When next session starts, the heroes will be reflecting on what they believed they did well and what they would like to work on for next year. One of the best questions is going to be, “Did you save or spend your money over break, and what do you feel is better to do, save or spend right away?” That will be sure to make a few heroes giggle

The winners are as follows (in no particular order)

Most Original Business Idea

SeaWorld by Clara and Adri

Highest Business Potential

Wood Crafts by Tyson and Ollie

Best Presentation

The Cookie Crunchers by Andrew and Garrett

Congratulations to everyone who participated and please enjoy the photos from the event.

Wrap-Up

The studio was a buzz come Monday morning. It was their last week to prepare for the Children’s Business Fair. At the Village in Meridian, on Saturday, May 15, from 11am-2pm, the Discovery heroes will be selling and promoting their products that they have spent five weeks working on. During this session the heroes finished their graphic novels. This was, without a doubt, one of the most engaged Writer’s Workshops of the year. The excitement around graphic novels was incomparable to units they have finished in the past. This session, the area that took an uphill swing was in relation to badges. Whether that was because heroes were waiting until last minute to submit, or maybe it was when certain areas finally clicked. Either way, the studio celebrated with whoops and hollers because 75 badges were earned in one session! 75! They ended this session by competing in the Children’s Business Fair. They got to show off their entrepreneurial skills and the heroes at Heroes Academy took home all of the awards. It was a great session full of ups and downs and ultimately ended in one big celebration at the village!