I have been running a school store for a few years now and we sell Smencils....
for those of you that don't know what a Smencil is.....
Smencils are a pencils made from recycleable paper with different scents. They come in different scents such as cotton candy, root beer, berry cherry, just to name a few......We sell them for .75 cents each with is .25 cent profit. At one point we did $1.00 each but realized they sell much better for .75 cents so lowered the price again.
Some teachers say they smell to strong.....but we have been selling them for over 3 years....
wipe out Walmart when their crayons and school supplies go on sale for 10 cents a box. They are always needed by mid year. We also sold our spiritwear. Believe it or not a lot of kids bought their own tshirts. We also ordered spirit things like magnets and pennents and water bottles. Just some ideas...d
What about trying oriental trading? I am in the process of starting school store for next year at my school. I wna to shy away from food because let's face it... it will all be junk food! Anyways, oriental trading has basketballs, etc. that are cheao and they love them! Or you could do things like "homework passes" in your store that they can redeem with their teacher.
My son's 4th grade class just had a country store to raise money for their leader dog program in 3 months they raised enough to help 3 dogs train for 1 year (500 dollars per dog). Students had to apply for positions in the store- security bankers, advertising, and so forth it was a great experience for all. They sold scarfs and hats that were made by the teachers father in law who owns a knitting machine-barbie clothes that were made by a parent(donated),candy donated by a teacher who works at a candy store in the summer. Bead animals that were made by the kids (they were huge). The kids would make these during free time and each had their own cool whip containers with beads and lids. They also sold
books some which were donated by other students who had cleaned out their bookshelves. It was a great experience for all.
If you're allowed to add books to your store, I have an idea: (Well, I still have the idea even if you can't....)
Have the older students make activity and coloring books for the younger ones. The only cost would be copying.
My kindergartener can't get enough word seaches, dot to dots and mazes. These are things older kids might enjoy putting together. It could be a great learning experience for them as well. Plus they get "published."
