Book Club: “The Lemonade War” Boys vs. Girls

This month we broke all the book club rules and declared war:  The Lemonade War (The Lemonade War Series)“>The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, in which a brother and sister make a bet about who can earn the most money by holding lemonade stands during a five-day period.  We took up the challenge.

The girls went first.  They met in the morning to plan the details of their stand, including choosing a charity to which they could donate their profits.  The girls chose St. Jude’s Research Hospital.  They made posters, detailed plans for added value, good customer service, and how to make change.  After that they ate a picnic lunch and packed up their gear.

We set up their stand at the local Tractor Supply store, where the generous manager had given permission for us to work outside.  The girls stored their money in a toy cash register and traded jobs to experience all aspects of lemonade stand business.

The boys met this week.  They followed the same routine as the girls, choosing Samaritan’s Purse/Nepal Earthquake Victims as their charity.  The boys determined to raise more money than the girls – and just like in the book, the girls refused to divulge how much money they had.

The biggest difference between the two stands was the way that they handled themselves onsite.  The girls were fairly reserved, while the boys were outgoing. 

They even made posterboards and danced down the sidewalk with them. 

In the end, the groups made more than $160 total for their charities – and I think they’ve learned a little bit about business and marketing, too.

Has your child ever run a lemonade stand?

For more business ideas, check out these great resources: