Reality Day- The New Career Day

Career day is by far one of my favorite days at my school. When I started at my school Career Day was the same for all students- a day full of speakers. I decided to mix it up based on a program I attended through the County's BEP program. I loved their "Reality Day" and decided I wanted to make our own event at our school. So now students in K-4th get to hear speakers and students in 5-6th get their own "Reality Day."



I could write lots and lots about this day (I am very proud that we started it from scratch), but my friend Mrs. Bunyi did a better job than I could ever do on her blog. Read more about my Reality Day at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair.

FAQS

1. Reality Day allows students to research careers they are interested in beforehand and live out their dreams on career day. We research careers and the education and experience necessary to attain these jobs, median salary, similar careers, etc. beforehand during classroom guidance lessons. Students in 5th grade get to pick their career or job and I assign 6th grade students their careers. Last year I assigned 6th grade their jobs out of sheer time necessity, but I discovered that I enjoyed doing this because it allowed me to assign them jobs they had never heard of or considered. For example, I assigned several students the job of actuary. When those students got their actuary jobs they pouted, but when they saw how much money they made they wanted to know as much as they could about how to become one.

2. Students get a yearly salary based on the median salary of their selected career. They then get to spend their money at the various stations I have set up: housing, car, child care, education, hair care, crystal ball, etc.

3. Students are assigned a different number of children. I assign the students the children, which can range from 0-3 and we assume all children are young enough that they require day care.

4. Reality Day lasts for half a day. You need at least an hour and a half minimum for the students to complete the event. This is an event you can do in elementary through high school age.

5. Parent and local volunteers really help make this day a success. I really love using Volunteer Spot to help me keep my volunteers organized. Volunteer Spot sends out reminders for you and allows parents to sign up for whatever they are interested in- from helping set up to bringing in snacks and water I can tell parents what I need help with and they choose how they want to help. This event is another great day to develop PR. We have about twenty local businesses attend this day and what a great way to include your community and spread the word about your program.

UPDATES

Here are a few updates that I have made since Mrs. Bunyi blogged about the event.

1. I added pet care. Students are always begging for pets so I let them choose a pet. Although a pet is not necessary, if students choose to get one they can't get rid of it.

2. I allowed some students to get roommates. The students that showed they could make good financial decisions and yet still went bankrupt were allowed to pair up as roommates and cut their bills in half.

3. Next year I will am considering adding in spouses. In the years past I have told students they need to imagine they are the head of the household, thus have to pay for everything. However, I have many many many students beg for an imaginary spouse so I am considering adding on a spouse. To do this I would simply add their spouse to the total income at the top of their log sheet. I would assign their spouses job and salary- my kids love to debate so I have to set firm limits with them.

4. We also added a household goods station- for the students who wanted to spend extra cash buying a big screen tv.

WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE SAYING

"I liked when i was talking to the people behind the booths there because they were very kind and helpful and i like how i got to see all the things i would be doing in reality... I also like how we got all the goodies :)"

"My favorite part was how I could see that my parents worked hard and I would realize I should thank them more."

"(I liked) Learning how to use money wisely."

"I liked learning what life would be like when I grew up, it was really fun and a good learning experience.

"I learned to never gamble because i was doing good and about finished with the activities (in my $3,000) until i reached the crystal ball."

"That the real world is really mean, and I probably shouldn't, own a farm and have 2 kids."

"I learned how to budget myself, how easy it is to go bankrupt, and in the future, to make my husband pay for himself and the kids."

"I learned that the cheapest things aren't always the worst."

"I learned that when I ask my mom for something everyday, she might run out of money. I know now to be more cautious with my money."

"That life is hard!!! Money can be scarce!"

"That being an adult IS NOT EASY AT ALL!!! Its a lot of money to be spending!"

"THAT BEING AN ADULT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS!"

What they loved, hated and learned: 

My favorite part about Reality Fair? 

-"Buying things"

-"choosing how to play out my life"

Least favorite part?

-"The part where I went bankrupt"

-"loosing money"

What did you learn?

-"Couponing is the best"

-"That life is expensive"

-"Budgets are hard to keep up with"

- "I learned parents do lots of hard work"

-'that you need to know the plan you have and make it good"

-" I don't want to be a grown up"

- "money goes a lot farther if you spend it wisely"

- "go for the cheap stuff "

 I am sure I will blog about this lots more as I hope to present this day at next years ASCA Counseling Conference. So keep checking for more information as I keep tweeking all of my forms, etc. For now read more at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair


So...what do you do for Career Day??

Are you ready for the real world?

What to do you to help your students with college and career readiness to #reachhigher?
One of my favorite ways is with a reality fair! Our event was even highlighted on this amazing Scholastic Blog: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair


Reality Day/Reality Fair is a ton of fun. Trust me, your students will be talking. I love tying it into my career research units and college prep talks. Here's the basics on how it works:

1) The students research future careers/college plans.

2) The day of the fair you give them a register for a career (ideally the career they choose during their career exploration) and the average salary after taxes (include lots of CCSS by having them figure it out themselves). Need help with the math? There are lots of paycheck calculators online such as this one.

3) On the day of the event booths are set up with real world bills/businesses. From real estate to child care I try to give them a sample of life as an adult. They visit the booths and start budgeting their future. Do they really need that mustang?

4) Sit back and try not to cry tears from laughing to hard. Seriously I've heard some great lines over the years such as these: "The real world is really mean, and I probably shouldn't, own a farm and have 2 kids." 

Ready to create your own fair? Well lucky you, I created an event packet that has everything you need to recreate your own reality fair. Get it at my TPT store and enjoy. Be sure to tell us how it went!

Read more details about Reality Day here.

Dear Readers, we are about to get personal.

Here's what you may know about me:
*I am in love with pitbulls.
* That love is thanks to my two babies, Brooklyn and Boss.
* I have an entire instragram (@brooklynandboss) dedicated to my obsession to them.
*I'm a school counselor.
* My love of pineapples hit 100 thanks to HIMYM and Psych (counting down the minutes to that return).

Brooklyn and Boss

* I love working with students more than anything in the world.
* I was born in England.
* I am a tv addict.

Here's what you may not know about me:
* I actually love cats equally to dogs. In fact, until I got Brooklyn I was a die hard cat lady.
* My first career was actually in health and fitness (so many jokes associated with my last name).
* I struggle with depression...

Brooklyn keeping up appearances

Mental health, oddly, seems to still be a bit taboo. I still struggle with pretending I have my life together - the "keeping up appearances " pressure is real. (Side note: that's an excellent tv show).
This summer I am studying for the ASCA anxiety and trauma certifications. Trust me, the irony is not lost on me. I study and read and investigate, and I still can't seem to understand why this topic is so taboo. The stats and studies all tell me I'm not alone, yet I feel so alone.

So tonight I write this post, because I know I'm not alone.

ASCA #14 Reflections

Wow! What an amazing conference. How many newbie ASCA conference attenders can say at their first conference they heard the First Lady speak!!

I am writing this post for 3 reasons:
1) To share with you my highlights and lessons/knowledge learned at the best conference ever.
2) To help ADHD brain remember all the things I want to share with the other counselors in our district.
3) To help me go back and access the information. A online "storage space" for reference if you will.

So let's get started:

Year At A Glance

Inspired by http://schoolcounselingconnections.blogspot.com/ I created by own year at a glance. I am excited for the year to come.

	Aug./Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
K	Back To School “The Kissing Hand” “David Goes To School”	Listening Skills “Howard B Wigglebottom Learns To Listen”	Tattle vs. Tell “Armadillo Tattletale”	Fire Safety “Firehouse”
1	Back To School/ “David Goes To School” “Dog Gone School” Listening Skills “Howard B Wigglebottom Learns To Listen” “Interrupting Chicken” “Z Is For Moose”	Problem Solving/ Conflict Resolution/ Point of view “Duck!Rabbit!” “Howard B Wigglebottom”	Citizenship “Michael Recycle” Responsibility “What If Everybody Did  That?”	Friendship “Little Pink Pup” Tolerance/ Jealousy/ Conflict Resolution “Say Hello To Zorro” “Mineosaur”
2	What Is A School Counselor School Rules “Why Do I Have To Eat Off The Floor?” Appreciating Differences Potato Heads “A Friend Like You”	Tattle vs. Tell “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal”	Personal Safety “Scoop”	Dog/Personal Safety Safety “Please Don’t Tease Tootsie”

3	School Rules/ Consequences “What If Everybody Did That” Conflict Resolution/ Respect “The Sandwich Swap”	Tattle vs. Tell “A Bad Case of the Tattle Tongue” “I Didn’t Do It”	Citizenship/ Decision Making “Win Or Lose By How You Choose!”	Friendship/ Inclusion “The Invisible Boy”
4	School Rules/ Consequences “How To Be A Good Dog” Learning Styles	Fairness Self Confidence “It’s Not Fair” “Exclamation Mark”	Needs vs. Wants Fairness “Those Shoes”	Friendship/ Inclusion “The Invisible Boy”
5	School Rules “How To Be A Good Dog” Perseverance Goal Setting “It’s Tough To Loose Your Balloon”	Decision Making/ Peer Pressure “Peer Pressure Gauge”	Bullying/ Conflict Resolution “Weird “ “Confessions of a Former Bully”	Bullying “Dare”

	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May
K`	Feelings/ Anger “Howard B Wigglebottom” “Dog Food”“How Are You Peeling?” Belly Breathing	Responsibility “I Am Responsible” Honesty “Howard B Wigglebottom”	Friends “Howard B Wigglebottom” “Chester’s Way”	Fairness “It’s Not Fair” Sportsmanship “Howard B Wigglebottom”	Problem Solving “I’m Bored”
1	Rules Review Skills for Success “ I Just Want To Do It My Way” “Library Lion”	Courage Self Esteem  “A Bad Case of Strips”	Managing Emotions “How Do Monsters Say I’m Mad” Belly Breathing	Fairness “It’s Not Fair” “Rainbow Fish” Sportsmanship “’Michael’s Golden Rules” “Howard B Wigglebottom”	Fire Safety “Firehouse” Personal Safety “Scoop”
2	Rules Review/ Bucketfiling “Halle and Tiger” “Have You Filled A Bucket Today” “Clark The Shark”	Caring Respect “Do Unto Otters” Self Esteem “Molly Lou Melon”	Conflict Resolution “Pirate, Viking, Scientist” “When Pigasso Met Mootsee”	Decision Making “If You Give A Dog A Donut”	Conflict Resolution “Ping and Pong Are Best Friends Mostly” “Enemy Pie”
3	Bullying Bully Scoot “Nobody Knew What To Do”	Bullying/ Power of Bystanders “Marlene Marlene Queen of Mean” “The Recess Queen”	Perseverance “Three Ninja Pigs” “Woe Is Moe”	Test Preparation “The Big Test”	Stress and managing emotions “Silly Billy”
4	Accepting Differences “The Brand New Kid” “Carla’s Sandwich”	Bullying/ Kindness “Each Kindness” “Just Kidding”	Perseverance “It’s Tough To Lose Your Balloon” Test Preparation	Stress Managing Emotions “Wilma Jean Worry Machine”	Career “I Can Be Anything” I Can Be- jobs “Someday”
5	Bullying Peer Pressure “Tough”	Stress/ Managing Emotions “How To Do Homework Without Throwing Up” Brain Pop Relaxation Centers	Test Prep Courage/ Perseverance “Thank You Mr. Falker”	College and Career “When I Grow Up” Reality Day	Middle School Transition “The Numberlys”