Hammers, sanders, nails, and paint make for a fun and educational project for teenagers in NWBRV’s College Ready Communities Program. Working alongside a Community Builder-in-Residence, our kids safely learn important construction skills and apply them through a creative project.
Earlier this spring, the K-5 kids at NWBRV’s aftershool programming in Woonsocket and North Smithfield came up with the idea of having Lemonade Stands. They wanted to play “store owners” and their teachers saw this as a chance to reinforce lessons in counting.
When this was shared with the older kids at the C3 Center they jumped into action. Equipped with their newly learned construction knowledge, they now had a project to apply their skills.
Under the guidance of the C3 Center’s teaching staff, they got to work making two very cool lemonade stands. The wood had been left over from previous projects. The teachers handled the bigger saws for the large cuts of wood, but the teens handled the rest. Using the proper safety equipment, they cut, drilled, sanded, painted and stained both stands.
Each stand is complete with curtains (so the stand can double as a puppet stage), signs made with chalkboard paint so the kids can create any store or show name they want, and wheels so they can easily be moved outdoors during good weather.
This was a great project that involved knowledge of tools, safety equipment, mathematics, engineering, and imagination. It was great to see the teens doing their part to help the younger kids at the different centers. The teachers at C3 could not be more proud and we are most definitely looking forward to supporting the kids in more projects like this one!
Since 2012, NWBRV’s youth program has been a recipient of the United Way of Rhode Island’s Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative. Through this initiative, the youth engage in service-learning and learn the value of using their skills to give back to their community. Through the Little Lemonade Stand project we can clearly see the lasting effects of the summer program as the kids continue to find ways to give back to the community.
Sounds like something your kids would like to do? Contact Zach Morin, Youth Programs Manager, to enroll your child for the summer session.
