Home Math Activity #1: Lemonade Stand
The only lemonade stand I ever ran was located within a 5 1/4” floppy disc shoved in a huge external disc drive attached to a big gray Apple II. I remember it as a fun game, but it helped me develop an understanding of money-related calculations and a basic business sense. While I’m sure you can find plenty of emulators online, here is a similar activity that can be done without electronics.
My mathematician’s lemonade stand.
This activity can be as long or as short, as simple or as involved as you need. It’s more a set of ideas and prompts than a set of specific instructions.
Home Math Activity #1: Lemonade Stand
Preschool and Elementary
Materials:
Cups
Cardboard box or folding table
Writing materials
Art materials
Activity Ideas:
Set out cups and count them
Make stacks of cups and count them
Make a list of supplies you might need
Build your lemonade stand
Pretend to serve customers
Act out a commercial for your lemonade stand
Write or draw a business plan
Discussion Questions:
How many cups are there?
How many cups are in each stack?
How many cups are in 3 stacks of 4? How about 4 stacks of 3? Does that work for any other pairs of numbers?
How many of each supply will you need?
How much will you charge for a cup of lemonade?
How much will it cost you to make a pitcher of lemonade?
How many customers do you think you’ll get? How can you get more customers?
Middle School and High School
Materials:
Cups
Writing materials
Art materials
Activity Ideas:
Make a list of supplies you might need
Estimate the total cost of supplies
Act out a commercial for your lemonade stand
Write or draw a business plan
Write or draw and advertising plan
Write or draw a contingency plan for predicted obstacles
Discussion Questions:
What is the total cost of supplies?
How much will it cost to make a pitcher of lemonade? How many cups can you pour from a pitcher? How much will each cup of lemonade cost to produce?
How much will you charge for a cup of lemonade?
How many customers do you think you’ll get? How can you get more customers?
What are some ways you can reduce costs and increase profit?
What are some predicted challenges and how can you overcome them?