Information About The Class

By: Wendy Magrath

Personal Development focused on skills that students need in order to transition successfully from high school into work, college, and life in the community. The students demonstrated knowledge and skills for daily living, social skills and recreation and leisure skills within the community and on field trips.

Highlights included managing personal finances including savings, checking and credit and visiting a bank. The girls explored career options as well as living expenses. We also discussed renting and utilities as well as home maintenance. We went to a drug store and heard from a pharmacist and talked about managing personal prescriptions and obtaining health care. Shelley, our nurse gave some simple First Aid instruction and we discussed when to call 911 and other emergencies. The girls learned how to iron, thread a needle and sew on a button, made emergency kits and bookmarks.

We prepared some simple recipes, measuring ingredients, and learned how to pipe icing on cupcakes. We also learned about food labels, planned meals and visited a grocery store. Chris, one of our staff, instructed us about car maintenance and the girls picked out a dream car, discovered expenses associated with it and how to get a driver’s license. We practiced tipping at a restaurant and rode a city bus. They also planned a dream trip and presented it to the class. We just discussed needs of children, safety and environmental birth defects. We finished with instruction on personal safety by our new educational director, Joe Kelly.

We covered material quickly, but we all had fun and learned some valuable lessons too. It was fun to watch them participate in new things. Many of the girls had prior experience in some of the skills and added valuable insight into the class. We urge them to continue practicing these skills with their families.