Jacksonville Country Day School (JCDS) transforms into a summer camp during the months of June and July open to children entering Pre-K through 5th grade. During the summer, they host more than 55 different specialty and regular day camps, and last week, rising kindergarten through second-grade campers had the opportunity to partake in the specialty camp, “My First Lemonade Stand.” This camp was not only about learning how to make the perfect lemonade, but about the importance of leadership and entrepreneurship.
JCDS P.E. Specialist Emily Vasquez has been part of the JCDS staff for seven years now, and this summer, she had the pleasure of hosting this specialty camp for the first time at the school.
During the camp, the kids were tasked with creating the perfect lemonade recipe and building their stand. However, Vasquez emphasized that, in order to run a successful lemonade stand, they would need to take on more responsibility and begin to market and advertise themselves around the camp.
The young entrepreneurs walked around campus with colorful signs to advertise their lemonade stand and also handed out “Shark Bucks,” allowing campers, counselors, school faculty and staff to “purchase” a refreshing glass of lemonade. When the end of the week came about, it was finally time to debut their lemonade stand.
On Friday, the last day of camp, the lemonade stand was up and running. Two of the students served as the order-takers, while others helped run two custom-made ATMs, fill glasses of lemonade and be advertisers for people to visit the stand.
Maui R., a camper from the lemonade stand, was one of the ATM helpers.
“One thing I learned from this week is that making lemonade is more fun together,” said Maui. “Doing the lemonade stand with all my friends has been the best part of camp.”
As the lemonade stand came to a close, sales boomed and the campers took away some valuable lessons from the camp.
“I definitely think they have learned how to plan ahead, work as a team and also work on their chef skills because we tried three different recipes,” Vasquez noted. “They also designed the ATM which was kind of a last-minute idea, but they were able to brainstorm a lot and then implement using materials that they were given.”
For Vasquez, the most rewarding part of the experience wasn’t just seeing the lemonade stand come to life; it was watching the campers take true ownership.
“Seeing how excited they were to make today’s sales happen and how proud they were to share their lemonade because they knew how good it tasted — that was incredible,” said Vasquez. “It was really cool watching them work together to make someone’s experience at the lemonade stand something they’d smile about.”
This kind of hands-on, student-driven learning reflects the core of what JCDS strives to provide every day: an education that goes beyond the classroom. Through creativity, collaboration and real-world problem-solving, “My First Lemonade Stand” supported the school’s mission to develop leadership, character and confidence in every student (and camper).
