KIVA

This project began as a interdisciplinary collaboration in
Kindergarten through 4th Grade to reinforce economic principles through
art. Students created original artwork illustrating 12
economic principles for each month of the year and published it
as a calendar. Each class was given the choice of how to
use the funds to help others in need. In a 2nd Grade
classroom and several 4th Grade classrooms the decision
was made to fund entrepreneurs in developing countries
through the KIVA organization. At the second grade level,
students choose an entrepreneur as a whole group and
donated personal funds in addition to proceeds from the
calendar sales. At the 4th Grade level it evolved into a
practical lesson of service, entrepreneurship, and
micro-finance. In stage one, students worked in pairs to learn
about KIVA and micro-finance. In the stage two, students
choose candidate entrepreneurs whom they would propose
to the class for funding. Students were required to list
several criteria to consider when evaluating loan
applications. Each team made presentations to the class and
a final vote was taken to determine which entrepreneur
among 10 or 11 presented would be funded.