Just words? Or 15 important topics for kids’ career & life skills development?
Do you think career exploration is a topic solely for the classroom or guidance counselor’s office? Or that you couldn’t lead a valuable discussion about the employment world without help from a teacher?
I hope not!
Because you can help prepare and excite kids about joining the workforce, equipped with relevant and universal skills, using your own career wisdom and hands-on life experiences.
For example, you know how important the following values and attributes are. It’s never too early to start helping your kids understand them too. They are the building blocks for success in any professional or life pursuit.
Have fun discussing each word, concept and value. Give examples, tell stories, relate them to people you know or experiences you’ve had. Ask other people what these words mean to them.
Think about people in the news and characters in literature or film who represent the good, the bad or the interesting. Be creative!
Add to the list. What else is important for success and personal fulfillment in the work-a-day world? Share your additions with us. We’ll keep the list growing and give you the credit!
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integrity
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responsibility
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collaboration
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accountability
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creativity
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punctuality
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flexibility
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team spirit
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vision
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patience
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honesty
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pride
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humor
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humility
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perseverance
Our award-winning CareerWise Grow Up. Get a Job. Career Exploration workbook is filled with other stimulating kids-to-careers activities and exercises that can be used by families, for home schooling, in classrooms and in After School Programs. It comes with a Free Teaching Guide. It is also an ideal give-away for corporations participating in workforce development programs.
The Yellow Book Road Gets CareerWise
What an honor to have our book in San Diego’s #1 children’s bookstore!
The Yellow Book Road has been voted the #1 bookstore in San Diego for the past three years. It is one-of-a-kind in San Diego County, the largest bookstore specializing in children’s books.
It is owned and operated by Ann and David Diener, who founded it in 1986. It serves a large school community in addition to the general public. The staff is well trained to help teachers in selecting books as well as teacher resource materials. As their motto says, this is:
“A bookstore created by parents & teachers for parents & teachers.”
a charming store & great staff
Formerly located in La Mesa, Yellow Book Road is now located in the picturesque and centrally located NTC Promenade @ Liberty Station in Point Loma, minutes from downtown and the airport.
It is easy to find and has plenty of free parking (with San Diego Bay views!)
This was my first visit to Liberty Station and I was surprised and impressed with all it has to offer on a beautifully maintained, sprawling campus. There was so much going on–from dog shows to bocce ball tournaments to a show at The San Diego Watercolor Society to activities at the San Diego Dance Theatre and Sail Ho Golf Course. There are also unique gift boutiques, a grocery store, hardware store, family-friendly restaurants and lots of biking and walking paths. It’s really worth a visit if you live in San Diego or come for a vacation. It has something for everyone in the family.
The highpoint of my day was walking into the charming Yellow Book Road Children’s Bookstore to see our CareerWise Grow Up. Get a Job. Career Exploration Workbook displayed with other teaching and parenting resources. What an honor and thrill for a small local business like ours!
The staff was friendly, welcoming and encouraging – and busy helping customers pick out just the right books.
Thank you, Ann and David. You are #1 in our book too!
The America’s Promise Alliance seeks youth members for its Board of Directors & Trustees
“Together we can – and we will – prepare children and youth for college, work and life.”
- General Colin Powell
The America’s Promise Alliance was founded in 1997 by General Colin Powell and his wife Alma.
It comprises a cross-sector partnership of 400+ corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and advocacy groups that are passionate about improving kids’ lives and futures.
The Alliances’ Grad Nation initiative is committed to ensuring that all young people graduate from high school ready for college, work and life.
This week the Alliance announced that it is seeking youth members to join its Board of Directors and Trustees as full voting members of the leadership body who will play a valuable role in the strategic direction of the organization.
Complete information and an application are available on the America’s Promise website.
This is a wonderful opportunity, not only for the selected students, but other students who investigate America’s Promise to discover the ways in which they can help those less fortunate succeed in life.
CareerWise by Tailwag Studio is proud to be a member of the America’s Promise Alliance.
Ten ways to help kids develop strong work & life skills at home
1. Hold them accountable. If they promise they are going to feed the cat at five, make sure they feed the cat at five. Don’t do it for them.
2. Make them responsible. If they are old enough to do homework, they are old enough to have that homework packed up and ready to take to school in the morning.
3. Don’t wait on them. You know very well there is a difference between taking care of your kids and catering to their every whim. You’re not doing them any favors with the latter.
4. Help them develop a strong work ethic. Have fun while demonstrating the satisfaction of a job well done. “Look how clean the car is. We made it shine!”
5. Show them how you get over a disappointment. Hopefully it’s with honesty, maturity and grace. Let them know that just because something doesn’t go your way, you won’t give in to defeat, retribution or negativity.
6. It’s a cliché and a bumper sticker for good reason: Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Let your kids see that treating others with dignity, respect and generosity makes them a better person and the world a better place.
7. Point out the skills it takes for them to do things well: “You made your bed, hung up your clothes and took out the trash already? You are very organized and efficient this morning!”
8. Encourage team spirit and collaboration. Dispelling the ‘all about me’ attitude is going to help them in their personal and professional relationships.
9. Encourage their passions and curiosity. “You seemed fascinated by what the vet did today for Tinkerbelle. I read that the zoo offers behind-the-scenes tours of their veterinary facility, would you like to go on Saturday?”
10. Help connect-the-dots between their schoolwork and skills they use in every day life: “Thank you for counting my change for me. You must be doing really well in arithmetic. What else are you learning?”
11. (Ok, there are more than ten tips on this list. But for a reason.) #11 is: Encourage your kids to do more than the minimum of anything. Show them how fulfilling it is to try harder, give more, and go above and beyond. You won’t be pushing them to over-achieve, but rather to realize just how capable they are.
For creative, fun, easy-to-use career exploration materials, like our fascinating poster with 1001 Job Titles from A to Z, visit www.GetCareerWise.com.
How Pet Appreciation Week Can Help Kids Get Career Wise
June 7-13 is Pet Appreciation Week.
This is a chance to celebrate the animals in our lives and what they mean to us. It is also a chance for parents, teachers and youth mentors to help kids who love animals think about possible career choices.
Make this mentoring fun. Bring Spot, Garfield, Timmy the turtle, Peppy the parrot, Goldie (in her bowl please), Slinky or any other beloved pet into the room – or the yard if you happen to have a pet horse, goat or something of that size –to be the center of attention and get a fun and lively discussion going!
First, what are some of the wonderful things our pets do for us? Make your own list. You can include things such as: Pets provide…
- Love
- Companionship
- Security
- Exercise motivation
- Therapy
- Search & rescue help
You get the idea.
Then think about the things we need to provide our pets, such as:
- Shelter
- Food
- Training
- Health care
- Exercise
- Toys & Recreation
Hmmm….If you think about what pets do for us and then what we do for our pets, you start to think about cool jobs associated with all the animals we love.
Time to start another list! This will help get you started, but there are many, many more jobs to add:
- Veterinarian
- Animal Behaviorist
- Zoologist
- Pet Groomer
- Wild Life Manager
- Vet Tech
- Marine Biologist
- Herpetologist
- Equine Transportation Coordinator
- Mammalogist
- Pet Supplies Retailer
- Animal Nutritionist
- Horse Trainer
- Pet Journal Publisher or Writer
See who can come up with the longest lists. Then give the winner a special treat and a pat on the head. You’ve just learned how to use Pet Appreciation Week to get career wise!
Please visit www.GetCareerWise.com for creative, easy-to-use career exploration materials that help get kids excited about growing up and getting a job someday.
