While local business was significantly affected by the covid-19 pandemic, it also made a huge impact on our kids and their education. With children forced to stay inside, play video games, and watch too much television, a group of parents, Home Grown Learners from the Plamondon area, decided to take matters into their own hands to get youth more engaged in their education, and ultimately their career choice. This was the inspiration for Adventure Shop.
Adventure Shop Opens Door To Possibilities
Adventure Shop is organized by parent volunteers and provides field trips for more than 100 kids from five to twelve years of age to various places of work in the Lac La Biche area. From logging operations to airplane hangars, youth are exposed to a wide range of workplace environments.
Ivan Sofin, a coordinator with the group, emphasized the importance of exposing children to various workplaces and career opportunities. “Real-life experiences for our kids are an important part of their education,” says Sofin. “Getting them away screen-time and into the real world opens their eyes to hundreds of possibilities right here at home.” Each field trip is followed by a homework project that includes writing about what they liked (or didn’t) about the site visit and related jobs.
Exposing Youth To Careers In The Region
While rural communities face growing competition from larger centres to keep young people from leaving, Adventure Shop is proving to be a great way to imprint our youth at a very early age with the multitude of career opportunities available to them right at home.
Sofin says that the parent group has been quite successful in booking field trips throughout the region. Still, the group is always open to new opportunities and experiences for their kids. If your business or organization is interested in hosting the Adventure Shop, call Ivan at 780-520-7070 or 780-799-3039. You can also email Ivan at uralcompany@yahoo.com
