Kiva Kids 2014-2015
The past few weeks the 6th graders have been empathizing with borrowers from around the world. I want to take this moment to introduce you to my 2014-2015 Kiva Kids and share with you what they plan to accomplish over the next few months.
Check out their business plans and gather more information here.
However, filling out borrower applications, creating business plans and waiting for the funds to pour in is not the only "kiva" stuff we have been doing.
First off, we had the wonderful opportunity to host Jessica from Bar Cacao, a real live Kiva Zip borrower. The boys enjoyed learning about the craft of chocolate, some of the finances of purchasing chocolate and the percentage of chocolate in the different kinds of candy they eat. In addition the boys were able to ask questions about small business ownership and the global aspects of the chocolate world. Most importantly on this day in December they were able to taste chocolate!
Secondly, the boys have been learning how to set up spreadsheets to organize their businesses. Using google spreadsheets the boys have successfully opened up their bank accounts. The boys were amazed after some self discovery time at how wonderfully spreadsheets do the math for them. They also had an opportunity to play with conditional formatting which allows them to easily see at quick glance how things are going.
Lastly, the boys were each given a $25 kiva code from a kiva.org thanks to a generous donor. The boys each had the ability to choose someone to loan to under our Town School for Boys Friends and Family page (Want to join?). We also experimented with reflecting on our choices using Tackk.com. Check out our lending Tackk (we are still working on how to use this as a group).
What's coming in the new year? Stay tuned for watching the boys light up with excitement from receiving their goods, make advertisements that convey their product and overall mission, compute percentages using kiva.org borrowers, put things in perspectives as we look at ratios, rates and proportions through the lense Kiva.org.
The fun has only begun!