How do you address an envelope, read a college class schedule, balance your checking account or find your way around campus with a map?
Herkimer High School students recently used these skills in an “Adulting” team-building activity put together by high school guidance counselor Bridgett Manley.
“They had fun,” Mrs. Manley said of the activities, which she did with all 11th-grade students as well as all English 12 students.
The activity used Breakout EDU, a puzzle game kit that can be customized for specific solutions. Students work in teams to solve puzzles and “break out” by opening a locked box.
For this activity, Mrs. Manley gave the students clues that they had to solve by reading maps, finding a specific figure in a checking account statement, and other tasks.
Mrs. Manley said the tasks were inspired by a survey she conducted with students at the beginning of the year.
“These are life skills that they identified — things they wanted to learn or practice,” Mrs. Manley said.