Quinn's class took a field trip this week to BizTown, put on by Junior Achievement. They had been studying economics and business for the past couple of months and this field trip put their skills to test.
Essentially BizTown is a tiny town, run by the students. BizTown had a city hall, two banks, and multiple stores (Lilly Labs, Fed Ex, Radio Disney, Steak N Shake and more).
Prior to the field trip, they had to apply for the three jobs that they wanted and explain why they would be good for that role. They were selected for their role based upon their application. Quinn was chosen to work in City Hall, as the Town Treasurer, which she was thrilled about.
Here is the Town Treasurer, before she left for school.
Throughout their lesson they also learned how to balance a checkbook, write checks, make deposits, apply for a loan and so much more! An amazing amount of valuable life skills.
I was lucky enough to be able to go on the field trip - lucky in the sense that I marked "no" to the opportunity to go on the permission slip. Then I got the "congratulations, you've been selected to go on this field trip" email. So I embraced the opportunity to go, and took the day off work. I am SO thankful I did. Hands down, one of the best field trips I've been on!
Parents were not allowed to be in the same business as their student, which turned out to be just fine. I was the mentor helper for Radio Disney. These were the lovely ladies I got to work with all day.
They learned how to play music, collect ads from businesses, write stories to air, collect money and sell various door prizes. It was pretty cool!
My dear daughter even managed to stop by to say 'hi'!
Even though I was in Radio Disney all day, I managed to sneak away to peek in on the Town Treasurer and steal a couple of pictures!
Here is the "vice mayor" -as Quinn called herself. She was next in line behind the mayor, and took over for the mayor while she went to lunch and was on break.
The mayor happened to be one of her good friends, Maddie. So she was thrilled to work with her all day. Here is the mayor's inner circle...
Throughout the day, they were in charge of getting paid, going to the bank on their break, keeping track of their bank balance and not go over their limit when spending. This was difficult for some!
One of the shops produced a town paper. They sold them on the streets to the citizens of BizTown.
Our dear Quinn's Letter to the Editor made the paper.
The response to her letter cracked me up.
It's hard to read in the picture, but the gist of Quinn's letter stated that it is unfair that 5th graders don't get to play basketball for the school - only 6th graders. She thought 5th graders should get to play too.
The editor's response was..."I totally understand when you don't get to do what you want, you can sometimes get frustrated. Just take a deep breather and maybe take a stop by Riley's Children's Hospital and get a stress ball!
I am so pleased with how much Quinn learned about business, finance, and overall responsibility. I can't say enough about this experience!
