G.S. Cookies – Cookie Calculator – Youth Activity Archive

Activity Description: Youths decorate a paper calculator, then practice selling cookies and making change using calculators for help.

Items Needed:

Play money (enough for each small group)
- (Optional) Print and cut out enough $1 and $5 fake money from the Pretend Shopping (at DS Brownie Girl Scouts) file for each small group
Paper or Calculator Decoration Template for each youth
Coloring tools
Calculators (one for each small group)
(Optional) Cookie packages or pictures of cookie packages

Instructions (Estimated Total Time: 20–30 min):

Draw a cookie calculator. (4–5 min)
- Youth use a blank paper to draw buttons they see on a basic calculator, including numbers 0–9 and other useful buttons, or they use the Paper or Calculator Decoration Template and decorate the calculator to be fun to use during the cookie sale.
(Optional) Discuss calculator use. (3–4 min)
- Youth talk about when they would use addition during a cookie sale and when they would use subtraction to make change.
Form small groups. (2–3 min)
- Provide each group with at least one real calculator and play money.
- Make sure each youth know the cost of each package of cookies for practice.
Practice one package sale. (10–15 min)
- On chosen youth pretends to sell one package of cookies. Another youth pretends to be the customer and pays with a really big amount. The seller uses the calculator to give change.
- Youth rotate roles and repeat the activity with two and three packages of cookies. Sellers use calculators to check totals and make change.
Rotate roles. (3–4 min)
- Youth continue to take turns being both sellers and customers, with different cookie package amounts and different large payments.
- (Optional) Customers ask questions about cookie costs or troop goals, and sellers answer.