The Smoothie Shop!

The boys have been on a smoothie kick lately, especially Little Bro.

They love buying pre-made smoothies, but they also LOVE coming up with their own concoctions.

This is not really a surprise though, as I like to do the same thing!

Ever since the boys were little, we have made a smoothie for them that we call "Sunrise Surprise"...
What is that, you ask?!?
Well, basically, it is orange juice with whatever other sort of other reddish juice or berries we have on hand, from strawberry to pomegranate...
We usually make the smoothies by just pouring a variety of juices and some crushed ice into cups and stirring or shaking.

Every once in a while, we toss in a little yogurt.
If we have fresh fruit on hand, we will puree that and add a little to the smoothie...but that is it.

Well, Little Bro decided that all this week, we should have a smoothie shop in our home.
He made up the menu, named his smoothies, created the work calendar, and set the prices.
Little Bro said that the shop will always be closed on Wednesdays because we usually do play dates on Wednesdays. Neither boy wanted to miss a play date to run the smoothie shop.

Little Bro suggested that he could be "the maker of the smoothies and the shop owner."
He then suggested that Big Bro could be "the helper of making the smoothies and the customer."
Little Bro said that Big Bro is also going to be "the guy who handles the business side of things."
Big Bro has been learning about how taxes work in his social studies lessons, so even though this is a pretend business, he will still work on figuring taxes and marketing, etc. 
Little Bro said that Daddy and I get to be customers, and we have to pay him with real money!!!

We have been doing some product testing the last few days.

Both boys' smoothies sound so good that I can't wait to try all of them! 

Berry-Grape and Berry-Berry-Banana are very yummy!
So that is the plan.

We will have this whole week as a practice week and then, next week will be the real opening.

The boys have been helping to clean up the lanai, as they plan to use it as their shop area, along with our real kitchen.

Should be a fun time!

Well, here are some photos of prepping things for The Smoothie Shop!
Real life learning at its "finest & funnest"!!!

Big Bro is making mini slush-typesmoothies.

Little Bro is filling the mini slush cups with the smoothie concoction.

Big Bro is organizing the mini slush cups before pouringing them into the freezer.

Little Bro is working on the signs and the menu for the Smoothie Shop.

What sounds good to you? Berry-Berry Banana, Berry-Grape, Sunshine Pineapple, Berry-Apple, Apple-Pineapple, or Berry-Berry-Pineapple? And do you full sized or mini slush-smoothies?

Cover of Little Bro's menu for The Smoothie Shop...

Gotta taste test before putting the products on the menu!!!

Big Bro and Little Bro having a business meeting. Big Bro is giving his input into the business here (while being wrapped up in a blankie!)

One of the staple ingredients for the smoothies...the boys chose Welch's because it is made in Erie County, where Mommy grew up, and also because Alton Brown is their spokesperson and they love watching Alton Brown on the Food Network!

Our other smoothie staples...we just love Naked Juices!

This one was a hit with Little Bro...he had a tiny bit left and offered me a sip of his test product.

Do your children like to create little businesses?

Do you let them use real products and real money or do you have them use play products and play money?

Well, if you have an idea of a business that you have done with your children as a practical life / role playing sort of thing, please feel free to leave a link in the comments section of this post.

Would love to see what you have done in your homeschool or your classroom!

And speaking of real-life learning, we entered to win a chance to have our backyard made over from a snake pit to a learning and relaxing sanctuary...we are hoping to win an outdoor classroom and play area. Would you please take a minute to click on our DIY Crash Me Please entry?
If you would like to leave a comment on our entry at DIY, that would be great too!