Teaching vocational and social skills to students with disabilities is hard. I love using a classroom-based business to build both skills in my students. Here are a couple of classroom business ideas that support job training skills for kids!
Classroom Business Idea #1: A Coffee Cart!
I had a student with pretty significant behaviors who was nonverbal and classically AU. I know those words paint a broad picture, but her needs were complex and many of her teachers before me dismissed her as “unteachable”. The years of low expectations had an effect… and I added her to my classroom-based coffee cart business.
Guess what? She blossomed! She was able to learn new skills, develop some social communication, and even improve job readiness skills. That classroom coffee cart transformed her and so many other students of mine. I love how great my students do, how they change their own image with the general ed students, and how they are so warmly welcomed by the campus staff. Talk about a win-win-win!
I have an entire blog post all about a Classroom Based Coffee Cart Business and you can also find a printable to support your enterprise launching. If you are a coffee lover, then this one’s for you!
Classroom Business Idea #2: Cookie Jars!
Not all students in a classroom are created equal. When I operated my coffee cart business over several years, the students I supported ran the gamut of higher-skilled to lower-skilled. I loved that with the coffee cart because I could make some multi-skilled groups that made it easier, not harder.
After several years of success, my demographic changed. I had more students in my classroom that were less able to work independently, follow multi-step directions, or interact with others in socially appropriate ways. I still wanted them to work through. My new classroom business idea was Cookie jar Kits. Most of what students do to support the business is done in the classroom and is more repetitive than the coffee cart. This can be good for building underlying skills in an environment that is more structured.
Best part was students still had a chance to experience the class-based business while working on soft skills, like staying in an assigned workspace, completing simple tasks, and following a schedule. Those skills are as vital and are easier to target with this type of enterprise.
You can see more about the Cookie Jar business with the supporting printable found here.
Classroom Business Idea #3: Personalized Gifts
Some of you out there crank out magic in your classroom that makes Etsy look like kindergarten projects. You got MAD skills! Me… not so much. I cannot craft and create as well as y’all. But, making personalized gifts is not that tough a nut to crack. Really, all you need is merch, a cricket machine, and a good eye.
It can seem like a stretch to invest in a Cricket, which is a machine that cuts intricate shapes. With some vinyl clings, you can create things like personalized cups, school-branded bags, monogrammed school supplies, and more. Check out this cup! Made with love by a classroom full of special needs students. And they sell!!! ‘Cause who doesn’t love personalized swag AND supporting students with disabilities? Nobody. Seriously, nobody!
If you are interested in getting a Cricket machine, you will make your investment back pretty quickly. If you want to snag one before you launch your classroom business, sell teacher clings for back-to-school decorations. Teachers LOVE personalized decor and you will make a killing!
Check out this bundle set from Cricket that includes vinyl stickers, tools and more! OR check out other Machine Bundles here.
Get started on your classroom business ideas right away by checking out the vocational resources in the Noodle Nook store!
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