Zippel fourth-graders
go ‘blue collar’ to help Haiti
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – No child labor laws were broken recently when fourth-graders at Zippel Elementary School took part in a factory project that helped raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti.
The students helped create and sell products from five factories – Tater Jewels, Tater Toppers, Crazy Apple Crafts, Tasty Tips and Cool Cards. Children who worked for Tater Toppers, for example, crafted pencil toppers made from painted, dehydrated potatoes that were glued to pieces of a pencil grip that goes on the end of a pencil. All student-made items were then sold to the student body for 50 cents each.
“The factory unit – From Raw to Manufactured – is one that we all love to do, but sometimes time gets away from us,” said teacher Mary Graham. “March would roll around and we would have Maine Educational Assessment testing and the next thing you knew it was May. This year we did our testing in the fall, so that freed up some time in March so we decided to present the factory unit again.”
The unit began in February with a variety of lessons including factory materials, creating products with available materials, how to fill out a job application and timecards, child labor and creating a business plan.
“The kids had those lessons to get them started,” said Graham, “and then we began talking about natural resources and how your best products come from what you have available, which for Aroostook County would be potatoes, papers and even apples.”
The students had to fill out a job application and the chief executive officers (the teachers) hired the workers.
“The kids had six actual working days in the factories,” said Graham, “and then they sold the items for three days.”
The factory project has been held periodically for the last 15 years.
“We had a unit in social studies that talked about Henry Ford and how he created the first assembly line for building cars and the kids looked at us blankly. Mrs. [Loriann] Bates and I sat down and said, ‘It’s too bad that we can’t do something to help them understand what an assembly line is,’ and Mrs. Bates came up with the idea of creating some assembly line factories that kids could do.
“That first year we kept it very basic. She did potato jewelry and I did potato magnets. We did not have a dehydrator; we let them dry naturally and it was a very long process, but a good learning experience,” she said. “Since the first year, we’ve created a whole fourth-grade factory unit and all the classes take part. It was last done about six years ago. This unit helps them understand how resources go into making a product and that the product must be sold to make a profit or wages don’t get paid. The project is so hands-on and the kids get to see it; I think that’s why it’s sustained all these years.”
The students enjoyed their factory experience.
“I worked with Tater Toppers,” said Kaytlin Norris. “We were peeling, cutting, dehydrating and painting potatoes for pencil toppers. My job was to slice potatoes using a Vegematic. I had a really fun time doing that. I learned that you can all work together as a group to finish something.”
Breanna Byrd worked with the Cool Card factory.
“We had to fold some cards, stamp them and let them dry, and then inspect and package them,” she said. “I stamped one day, but mostly did cutting and folding. Stamping was more fun. I learned that a hardworking employee needs to be responsible, know what to do and be at work on time.”
McKenzie Turner was employed by the Crazy Apple Crafts factory.
“We made apple heart ornaments that you can hang,” she said. “I had to slice the apples and put them on a tray to dry, then helped hot glue the apples onto the paper heart. I learned that when you work together, you can get things done quicker.”
“I worked for Tasty Tips,” said Chandler Paradis. “We made recipe cards. We cut and folded the cards and drew lines on them with a ruler. It was fun. I liked putting designs on the cards. We also made posters and put them up so people would know to buy our product.”
One of the Tater Jewels employees was Derek Michaud, who also helped sell the merchandise.
“It was crazy. People were pushing and getting right in my face,” he said. “About 100 kids were buying stuff each day. The potato necklaces were pretty popular, but we eventually sold out of everything.”
Graham said she hoped the fourth-graders learned many lessons from the factory unit.
“Our hope is that the kids learn what goes into making a product; that an area uses its natural resources to create the products that are going to be sold in their area of manufacturing,” she said. “We hope they also learned about supply and demand.
“There’s a math component to the project, as well,” said Graham. “My factory sold $67.50 in products. I explained to the workers that if we had taken out the cost of materials – which were donated – that would have brought us down to $26. From there, I would have had to take out the wages which was 132 hours at $8 an hour; we would have been in the hole over $1,000. We talked about how we could have sold our products for more and hoped that people would still buy it so that we’d make enough money, or our factory could go bankrupt and that would be the end of the factory.”
The factory workers all got “paid” for their efforts. In Graham’s class, for instance, the students could use their “classroom cash” to purchase auction items. Others could use their earnings to buy classroom privileges.
Every year the factory unit has been offered, the money raised has been donated to charity.
“A student in Mrs. Pangburn’s class thought it would be nice to send the money to kids in Haiti,” said Graham. “We thought it was a great idea, so we donated the money to the American Red Cross and designated it for Haiti relief.”
A $240 check was presented to the American Red Cross March 11.
Graham said the factory unit will be held again next year.
FOR THREE DAYS, fourth-graders at Zippel Elementary School sold the products they made from their five factories – Tater Jewels, Tater Toppers, Crazy Apple Crafts, Tasty Tips and Cool Cards. They sold $240 worth of items to the student body, and the money was then donated to the American Red Cross for the earthquake victims in Haiti.
CUTTING OUT RECIPE CARDS for the Tasty Tips factory are workers, Emily Wheaton, left, and Kayla Hanson. The girls are fourth-graders at Zippel Elementary School.
CHECK PRESENTATION – Fourth-graders at Zippel Elementary School sold $240 worth of items they made from five factories recently to the student body and the money was donated to the American Red Cross for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Presenting the check are, from left: Chandler Paradis, Kaytlin Norris, McKenzie Turner, Joyce Price, American Red Cross advisory council member; Breanna Byrd and Derek Michaud.
WORKING FOR THE COOL CARDS FACTORY are, from left: Natalie Bates, Dora Wang and Kyle Trojillo. The students are fourth-graders at Zippel Elementary School who recently created and sold products from five factories as part of a unit called, “From Raw to Manufactured.”
MIA PIRO, a fourth-grader at Zippel Elementary School, paints apple slices for the Crazy Apple Crafts factory. Students recently helped create and sell products from five factories as part of a unit entitled, “From Raw to Manufactured.” The student-made items were sold to the student body for 50 cents each, and the money raised was donated to the earthquake victims in Haiti.
