JA BizTown

 Madelyn went on a field trip to JA BizTown (JA= Junior Achievement) a few weeks ago & I was lucky enough to get to go as a chaperone!!  :)  She's been working all year in her JA class at school, and this was the big finale!!  They've learned about keeping & balancing a checkbook, and every aspect of running a business!!  It was quite an experience!!  When I got my little volunteer sheet, I was a little nervous!  I had to dress business-casual, show up an hour & 1/2 early for TRAINING, and I was in charge of helping a few students "run" their business!!!  (Scary for an Elementary Education major!!!;) ;)  Any who - - I went for the training, which was a lot to take in in a short amount of time, but soon realized that I'd be there just as a guide for the kids, and THEY were in charge of running the show!!!  I was in charge of the crew at Papa John's Pizza!!  :)  We had 2 staff meetings, bills to pay, payroll to enter, checks to print & sign, bank deposits, items to sell, AND - we had to serve lunch to everyone!!!  The kids had to take their paychecks to the bank & cash them, deposit some & then they got to spend some at the different stores there!  (And they got to keep the things they bought!!)  It got a little crazy at times, but it ended up being really fun!!  One of the girls on my "crew" was a total brat & I really wanted to say something to her. . . but I didn't!! ;)  Luckily, it didn't ruin the day & we all had a great time!  The kids really learned a lot about business & life in general!!  Wish I would have been able to do this as a kid!! ;)

Kids getting a welcome at "City Hall" when they arrived!  (Madelyn's sitting next to the girl with the pink flower in her hair!! ;)

 Madelyn working at the Diamond Backs store!!  The kids got to sit in a mini stadium & watch a D-Backs game!  They also sold some little trinkets!  (She didn't have a D-Backs shirt, so we went to our "favorite" store & found one for $2!!! ;)

 My place of business!!  :)

 There were different stores/shops up & down the "streets" of BizTown.  Some of which were: Wells Fargo Bank, Post Office, Cox Communications, a TV station, a radio station, an insurance agency, Best Buy, Global Bazaar, and a few others!!

City Hall ;)