"Could be you’re here because you’re good with words and know the right thing to say at the right time. I know the words to Candle in the Wind. It don't make me Elton John." Sir Alan Sugar

 This week at work I have lost my mind a little and decided to run a project about making profits with small children. We are baking Healthy Snacks to sell at a profit. This way I tick a load of the government's Every Child Matters targets and hopefully we learn lots in a fun way;

• be healthy
• stay safe
• enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• achieve economic well-being

We did 'market research' to find out what our would be customers wanted, used a vote to pick 4 top ones and this week we're making and selling. The class have had to write to the head for permission, advertise the week, think of a name for our project 'SNACK ATTACK' and then hopefully make some money.
We'll see if I have any budding Sir Alans in the making. I am not convinced yet whether this week will be a success. Today I have missed all break time whilst I have run around like a mad thing checking on cakes, supervised icing and placing into airtight containers. We have discussed how much I have spent on ingredients and that I need that money back or I am out of pocket. We have also discussed that we need to make a profit but that the children in our school need to pay a reasonable amount. I hope this week will be a steep but beneficial learning curve.

 What annoys me intensely about popular culture today is that you can be rich and famous for nothing at all. There is no sense of having worked hard to achieve. Role models are men and women who do very little or at worst have no talent or even redeeming features at all. There is no link made between working hard and having nice things. Not that I think life is about this- clearly I don't. But I do think children need to be aware they will not be handed a nice life on a plate or that it comes with no skills, effort or work. Our society paints a skewed picture. Footballers can behave as abhorrently as they like, without conscience or consequence. My argument here is not that they are not talented, just they are disproportionately paid for what they do- yes I know football earns a HUGE amount of money but it also ruins men. Men who go into it as boys and are given insane wealth and privilege and are actually kids who have no idea how to be responsible adults.
Women must be thin and pretty - and if they are, they can turn their hand to anything; fashion, singing, acting, TV presenting, writing etc. I will get off my soap box now.
Some of the children are already understanding the concept behind our project but others are lagging behind. When the 'icing team' had showed everyone the finished cakes today, one child said, "when are we going to eat them?"
We'll see how the week goes.