Back to School Tip for Teachers: Teach Business and Have Fun with...Buttons!

As you are probably aware, it is now September. This means a number of things: in most areas of the country it means that leaves will start changing colors; it also means that both college and professional football are set to begin new seasons while baseball winds another long one down; it also means that shorts and tank tops are replaced by jeans and wind breakers. And, most importantly, it means that kids are back to school. (Hence the "B2S" in the title...our attempt to start the next "LOL" or "BTW". So pass it on...) Another year of school starting means that teachers across the country are looking for new classroom activities that can not only hold students' attention but also teach them valuable lessons. For any teachers out there looking for an innovate way to teach math, teamwork, business concepts, and even simple economics, we have the perfect idea. Yep, you guessed it: buttons! (What were you expecting? Textbooks? Ha!) First of all, consider how useful buttons are in school. They can be used during class elections, as in-class rewards for positive contributions and/or behavior, as identifying symbols for class teams, and even just as a simple device for teachers to learn kids names. Next, consider how easy and safe buttons are to make. So we know buttons are useful and relevant for school activities, and making them at school is a safe activity. But here is the best part: the educational opportunities are endless. One idea would be to split a class up to intro groups of three or four and give each group a finite amount of button supplies, a finite amount of time with the button machine, and then some sort of production or sales directive. Maybe the team that can produce the most buttons in a set amount of time wins. Maybe you give kids in a different class play money and the team that can generate the most "revenue" wins. Like I said, the opportunities are endless. All the while, kids will be learning valuable lessons about teamwork, about factors of production, about supply and demand, about the math involved in processing transactions, and they will probably be having fun the entire time. The next question is where would you get the supplies and what would they cost? And you knew we'd be ready to provide that answer, now didn't ya!

Consider our beginner button making system for the 2.25" button (our most popular and versatile size). This system comes with all of the following:

• 2.25" Professional Button Maker
• 250 2.25" Complete Pinback Button Sets
• Adjustable Circle Cutter
• Cutting Wheel
• Cutting Plate
• Two Centering Templates
• Button Essentials Design CD
• Artistic Creations Series-One Design CD
• Artistic Creations Series-Two Design CD
• Free UPS Ground Shipping
• Also includes complete instructions on how to make buttons and our lifetime warranty against defects.

Thus, with just one system, a class of 25 could be split into groups of 5 and given enough supplies to make 50 buttons. They'd also have three CDs worth of free graphics and designs to choose from! The system includes the machine, the cutters, and all of the centering tools your students would need to operate an actual button making operation! And, of course, teachers could always give extra credit for any team that makes an "I Love My Teacher" button as a gift. ;-) (Hey, it's never too early to teach them how the world really works, right??? JK!)

Brighid Brown - Director of Blogging and All Things Cool at ABMSave