In March 2021, I commissioned my six-year-old nephew, Carter Collins, to ideate a project using a hundred dollars. He decided to buy one hundred dollars of candy from Kandy Kitchen to provide to his first grade teacher to do a math project with. He bought enough candy so everyone in his school was able to have a piece at the end.

Carter Collin’s Candy Project was commissioned by Harrell Fletcher.

Conversation between Emma Duehr Mitchell and Carter Collins

Emma Duehr Mitchell: What are some things that you think cost one hundred dollars?

Carter Collins: This [a toy wand]? I am just kidding, because this realistically only cost like 20 dollars.

Emma: Realistically, what do you think is worth one hundred dollars?

Carter: That house?

Emma: That house costs thousands of dollars.

Carter: That car?

Emma: That, too, cost thousands of dollars.

Carter: That bed?

Emma: Maybe the mattress, sure. 

Carter: What about me?

Emma: You are priceless. 

Carter: What does priceless mean?

Emma: Like there is no amount of money that is worth as much as you do. 

Carter: [giggles]

Emma: What would you do with one hundred dollars?

Carter Collins: I would really like to go to the candy store and take all the candy.

Emma: What if I said that I would actually give you one hundred dollars to do an art project?

Carter: From where?

Emma: From another artist. The hundred dollars would fund an art project that involved other people, not just yourself. What would you do then?

Carter: I would give my teacher the hundred dollars. 

Emma: What do you think your teacher would do with a hundred dollars?

Carter: Umm. she would buy us all a bunch of snacks - we wouldn’t have to share it - and we could return to the classroom after lunch. 

Emma: So you’d want the hundred dollars to buy snacks for everyone?

Carter: Yes, for all 20 of us. 

Emma: That's a lot of snacks for 20 people. 

Carter: Maybe we could share with the whole school. 

Emma: What kind of snacks?

Carter: Like sour patch kids or fruities - if you don't know what fruities are they are like this little candy, like a rectangular but carved more like a sphere. It’s not like a normal circle. It looks like this [draws in chalk]. This is what a fruity looks like. Now I just have to draw the same thing on the other side. Like a cylinder. That's what it looks like.

Emma: What do you think your teacher could do with that much candy? 

Carter: Well we could do a math project with it. The only thing we are doing in first grade right now is adding and subtracting. We would probably do something like that. 

[ A few weeks later]

Emma: So, I talked to your teacher. 

Carter: Oh, really? How did you do that?

Emma: I sent her an email. She and your principle are okay with you bringing in a hundred dollars of candy for the entire school for the project. 

Carter: Really?! Wow. 

Emma: What do you think?

Carter: What is the opposite of horrible?

Emma: Incredible?

Carter: Yup!

Emma: Somebody needs to go pick out the candy!

Carter: You?

Emma: No, you. 

Carter: Mom, when is the next Halloween? She said October… I’ll get trick-or-treating - or I need you to buy as much candy as you can find. 

Emma: Remember that I am giving you a hundred dollars for the project, so I am sending you somewhere to pick out the candy!

Carter: Which is where?

Emma: The Candy store [Kandy Kitchen] in Galena [Illinois]! 

Carter: Mom!! Are you going to buy all of this?!

Emma: No Carter, I am giving you the money.

Carter: Oh!

Emma: You have one hundred dollars to pick out candy to bring to your school. 

Carter: Are you actually going to give ME the hundred dollars; and when!?

Emma: Grandma Heidi has it. 

Carter: I was just there last night and she didn’t give it to me!

Emma: Well that is because I just gave it to her today.

Carter: Well where did she put it? Because I don’t have it!

Emma: She will give it to you tomorrow when you go to the candy store. 

Carter: Where is that at?

Emma: In Galena.

Carter: Oh! Yeah! I love that place!

Emma: You’ll pick out all the flavors.

Carter: Okay! So let me get this right - me and my mom are going to go to Galena to pick out the candy?

Emma: Yup!

Carter: When do I bring it to school?

Emma: Maybe like next Friday.

Carter: Today is Friday!

Emma: Next Friday. 

Carter: Okay, did Mrs. Oberhaufer say what she was going to do with it?

Emma: The project is going to include math, like your idea. 

Carter: Okay! I can do a backflip with the phone in my hands. 

[A few more weeks later]

Carter: I got the taffy

Emma: Oh yeah? How did it go?

Carter: It was so much candy

Emma: How much do you think there is?

Carter: I would guess like ten thousand. 

Emma: Is that your final guess?

Carter: Well two hole bags full! Probably about ten hundred. I haven’t counted yet. 

Emma: Well that is the project! You and your teacher are going to put the candy in the display case at school and everyone will guess how much candy there is. Then, you will help count all the candy at the end and give a piece to everyone in the whole school.

Mrs. Oberhoffer: The taffy was a hit! The total number of pieces was 646. The three closest estimates are pictured with Carter :)

Student 1: 572

Student 2: 543

Student 3: 537