The Lemon Lab

Dr. Lemon (aka Clayton) presents the remarkable Lemon Lab!

The Obsession:

This project started a few weeks ago after Clayton had been obsessing(for what seemed like months) over wanting to set up a lemonade stand.  I heard on the news that a local entrepreneur, Scott A. Jones, was spearheading Lemonade Day to encourage children to learn about what it takes to run a small buisness.  I told Clayton about the project and he couldn't get to the computer to sign up fast enough!  Unfortunately at the point I heard about it we only had two weeks until Lemonade Day.  However, if you know Clayton and his determination you'll probably understand why 2 weeks was long enough for him to put together his fabulous Lemon Lab...any longer and the rest of us might have gone crazy:'D 

Keeping THE FOCUS!:
The day we signed up was a busy one for us with lots of time in the car as a family driving to this event and that.  The topic of consveration, of course, came from Clayton, "Let's brainstorm ideas for my stand!"  We all played along throwing out ideas here and there. I would occasionally get side tracked and start to talk about something else.  Clayton would frustratingly say, "Mom!  KEEP THE FOCUS!  We're talking about lemonade stands!"  :'D  So that became our new family mantra over the next two weeks....KEEP THE FOCUS!

Weather, Weather, Weather:

Ok, I admit it!  It's the teacher's curse.  I'm constantly trying to utilize every opportunity as a learning experience.  I realize that planning and running a buisness brings on all kinds of valuable lessons all on it's own!  But when I was subbing in the library at the elementary school and came across the book, "The Lemonade War"  I saw a perfect opportunity to incorporate literature into this experience.  Clayton and I were reading another series at the time but he agreed to put it on hold and begin this new book.  It's about a brother and sister who get in a fight and make a bet over who can raise the most money selling lemonade.  As the story progresses several buisness terms and strategies are highlighted.  We had gotten as far as the chapter called "Location, Location, Location."  I'm sure you can figure out the point there.  On our Lemonade Day the forcast was looking pretty grim.  We had told Clayton that he could set up his stand at 2:00, after church.  We looked up the hour by hour forcast and 2:00 was the only time where it showed a sunshine peeking through the clouds.  Perfect! We thought!  That's just the time we'll be setting up.  As it turned out 2:00 was the exact time that the sky opened up and there was a downpour!  Clayton looked at me and said, "Mom, I wonder if the next chapter in the book is called "Weather, Weather, Weather!" 

All You Need is Love:

Kids aren't the only ones who learn lessons from these types of projects, right?  Despite the rain, Clayton had a very successful day.  I truly believe he learned a lot about what all it takes to put together a small buisness.  He has a better understanding of investing a little money in hopes of making more...and all of the work and planning that goes into it.  What Mom learned (well I already knew it but it was a great reminder) was that your most valuable resource in any undertaking is the love and support of your friends and family.  Clayton's first custumers were Grandma and Grandpa who surprised all of us and drove 2 hours to buy a glass of lemonade!   A friend from church also drove from the south side of town(30 minutes) to show his support.  Clayton's teacher took time out of her weekend and brought her kids along (IN THE RAIN) to encourage Clayton in this endeavor!  They were all extremely generous with their time and money!  Their kindness was very touching!

The Lemon Lab Theme:

After A LOT of brainstorming, Clayton finally decide on a theme for his lemonade stand.  He started out wanting to do a lemonade factory and ended up changing it to a laboratory.  His idea was to make it a hands on process where each customer got to participate in the making of their own beverage.  He was also very resourceful in using a lot of things we already had around the house.  Yes, I realize that they are unusual things to just have around your house...but those who know us well won't think twice about it.  Here are the things I think really added to his stand and accentuated the theme of a hands on laboratory:

-A fog machine(doesn't everyone have one of those?)  This gave it the lab feeling and was great for getting attention.

-An old fashioned industrial strength lemon squeezer(see above).  We purchased this at a garage sale many (12+) years ago and use it all the time!  The kids think it's so fun, and it squeezes out every drop of juice!

-Plastic beakers used for the juice and sugar water.

-Lemonade Artesian Well Model made from 2 liter bottles used for the timer on the e-LEMON-ator.

-Giant glass beaker for tips and other scientific decorations.

-Costume and e-LEMON-ator

The Process:

1- Choose your fruit, Lemon or Orange

2- Put it on the lemon squeezer and pull down the handle squeezing the juice into a beaker.
3- Fill another beaker with sugar water from the cooler.
4.-Pour the contents of both beakers into the canister.
5. Hook the canister to the e-LEMON-ator (an old-time electric exercise bike)
6. Hop on the bike and go for a lemon shake up ride!
7. Pour over a cup of ice and enjoy!

The eLEMONator!:

In the materials and story we read in preparation for the stand Clayton learned that it's important to "add value" to your stand by integrating fun.  The eLEMONator certainly did the trick!  Clayton took an old electric cycle we had in the garage(yes, another garage sale purchase) and turn it into his lemon shake up machine.  This thing looks pretty tame in the pictures but it really gives you a work out! 

Clayton's teacher was such a good sport!  She rode it side saddle...and even cranked it up to high speed!  It really gave us all quite a laugh!

Grandpa and Grandma rode the eLEMONator too!

Clayton's supportive sister, Courtney deserves a lot of credit for her behind the scenes assistance on Lemonade Day.  In addition to all the help she gave moving the stand around in the rain, she even bought a lemonade with her own money! 

The Costume:

Clayton decided to dress like a mad scientest...though he kept insisting that he wasn't "mad" :'D  He kind of had the Albert Einstein look going.  He made his own name tag that's hard to see in the picture but it says, "Dr. Lemon."  He borrowed Daddy's lab coat and goggles that he uses in a science magic show he does at schools.  The best part was the wig.  He took a George Washington wig that we had in our costume bucket and frizzed it out and cut off the pony tail.  He used the remnants to make a mustache.  One night Courtney was helping him brush it and put it on him to see how it would look.  He started fussing about how it felt and Courtney said, "How do you think Grandma must feel?  She has to wear white curly hair everyday!" 

When I started this blog post I had no idea that it was going to be this long.  But there were so many different aspects and memories I wanted to capture.  It truly was a valuable learning experience.  Clayton was pleased with his earnings and is already scheming a plan for next year! 

To learn more about the Lemonade Day program visit http://www.lemonadeday.org/