BY DEBBIE NAZARIAN, LEMONADE DAY NATIONAL DIRECTOR

This Friday is National App Day, so this week is the perfect time for us to announce our new Lemonade Day app, My Lemonade Day. We’ve worked hard on this project for the past year and a half with the goal of delivering a world class educational experience that is both fun and engaging. My Lemonade Day is available to youth of all ages, but specifically targeted to youth in grades 3-5.

According to our 2020 Youth Impact Study , Lemonade Day youth run their own business now at a level that is more than three times that of average U.S. students. My Lemonade Day will make entrepreneurship even easier and more fun. Lemmy, our animated entrepreneurial lemon character will guide kids through lessons on becoming an entrepreneur by setting goals, making a plan, working their plan, and ultimately running a real-life business from their lemonade stand. Youth are able to experience the satisfaction of seeing their hard work pay off when they make their own money and have the ability to spend some of their profit on something they need or want, save some for something in the future, and share some with a charity of their choice in their community!

My Lemonade Day is organized into 4 modules and can be completed in 4-one hour sessions.

My Lemonade Day includes:

• 4 Modules
  • My Goals
  • My Plan
  • My Stand
  • My Results
• 21 Lessons
  • Animated Lemmy Explains video series (15 episodes)
  • Interactive in-app tasks to complete
  • Slideshows
  • Real-world field trips
  • Budgeting tool
  • Business Plan
  • Completion awards and badges

Each registered user will create an avatar and then delve into each lesson. As they progress through the My Lemonade Day activities and participate in Lemonade Day, they can input different data points including how they priced their stand items, how supply and demand at their stand triggered new price points, their profit or loss, how much money they need to pay back investors, how they will save, and how much they will “share” with a charity of their choice.

What do Kids Learn

My Lemonade Day will heighten entrepreneurial learning through this digital approach and provide an experience for youth to develop important life and character-building skills.

• BUSINESS SKILLS
• FINANCIAL LITERACY
• TEAMWORK
• SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL SKILLS
• GOAL SETTING
• RESPONSIBILITY

A Little History About Apps

According to the National Day Calendar website, the word “App” was listed as the word of the year in 2010 by the American Dialect Society. Short for Software Application, apps quickly appeared when our mobile devices, laptops, and tablets incorporated smart technologies. As the power of our phones increased with processing chips, internet connectivity, and touchscreens, so did the apps that became available. Since that time, apps continue changing how we work, live, and play. Not only do apps keep us connected and organized, but through customization, apps fit our busy and changing lifestyles. #NationalAppDay #AppDay

MORE TO COME!

We’ll be providing more information about My Lemonade Day in the weeks and months to come as we begin the 2021 Lemonade Day season. We are incredibly excited to take our budding business owners into the digital age and cannot wait to see what they accomplish in the years to come. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more exciting announcements.

I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions.  For more information about Lemonade Day, please visit www.lemonadeday.org.