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.:What is Cultivating Commerce?:.

Cultivating Commerce is our way of helping kids learn all about money BEFORE they go out into the real world - budgeting, financial responsibilities, value of resources, cost/profit, etc. By creating our very own mini society complete with CCC Cash, Kids’ Jobs opportunities, and even hosting a Kid’s Marketplace at the end of the year, kids get a lot of real life learning in our environment.

Each day, kids will have lot’s of opportunities to earn their own CCC Cash to purchase their supplies. Starting in 2026/27 we will have money and finance classes for our older kids to learn about money in even bigger ways too - taxes, rent/mortgages, planning paychecks, etc. :)

To keep track of their money, each child is given a wallet on their first day. If they lose it though, it does not get replaced. They will also receive a cinch sack style backpack to keep their supplies in - also not replaced if lost. These items can be picked up in the Level Up! space and cost $20 CCC Cash to replace. Responsibility is a big part of Cultivating Commerce!

.:How Can Kids Make Money?:.

One way for kid’s to earn money is to pick up a job from our Kids’ Jobs Sheet. Jobs can include teacher assistants, washing dishes in the kitchen, hanging out with the babies and waddlers - reading stories and playing games with them just to name a few job opportunities we have. They can even teach their own classes if they want to earn some big CCC Cash!

When a child completes their Kids’ Job duties, they can go to the Supply Store to collect their pay for the hour. If kids do not pick up their pay by the end of the day, they are unable to get it at a later time. It is their responsibility to collect their earnings on time as we do not keep records after each day.

Another way to earn money is by completing our daily STEM/building challenges in Architects & Carvers ($10) or Cardboard Engineering ($5). We have new challenges each week. Once the challenges are complete, kids can take their creations to the store to pick up their reward! Lastly, they can also complete any of our Academic challenges in our Level Up! space to earn some extra cash.

.:Where Does It All Go?:.

In each of our classrooms, kids are provided all the essential tools and resources to work on their projects - hot glue guns, tools, paint supplies, cardboard table saws, 3D pens, etc. But when it comes to getting supplies for those tools though, we have our very own Supply Store that allows them to spend their own CCC Cash to get what they need for class or pick up some cool prizes.

At the end of the year, we also hold our annual Family Fun Day to help raise money for next year’s projects by putting on our very own Carnival. We show off our projects for the year, open registration for the next school year, and even have a Kid’s Marketplace where your kids can sell their own creations for real cash! Kids will use their CCC Cash to purchase a booth for the event and develop their own things to sell. Throughout the year we will discuss business plans and ideas to help them grow their own business.

.:Our Hope:.

This program is only limited by our own imagination. If our kids can head out into the world as adults with a bit of financial understanding already, the ability to manage their money and maybe even develop their own business, then we know this will help give them a huge kickstart to their future!