March 2018

This month’s topic is Daily Living Skills as presented in this month's unit titled, “Keeping My Home Safe.” The unit provides lessons and activities that address the importance of maintaining a clean, safe living space. As we assist our young adults in the transition from school to work, it is necessary that they receive training related to the social skills and problem-solving skills that can help them make safe choices at home and beyond. Making safe choices begins with understanding the responsibilities that are associated with living in a safe home. This unit will provide our young adults with the information needed to maintain a safe living space, including the knowledge needed to form safety plans, stay organized and deal with basic home upkeep and repair needs.

The unit stories help young adults learn the importance of having a set plan in place to manage safety needs, including fire safety and pest control. In the first story, a set of roommates realize they are not prepared to safely handle a house fire. They work hard to create a fire safety plan, buy the right fire safety tools and educate themselves on how to deal with house fires. They learn that it feels good to have safety plans in place at home. In the second story, an unexpected visit from a landlord leads to the discovery of pest-control problems in Sadie and Lindsey’s home. The girls take the pest-free promise and learn that there are things they can do to keep harmful pests out of their home. Three articles offer more information about home safety, including electrical safety, preventing accidents indoors and preventing accidents outdoors.

Regular monthly lessons offer our young adults the opportunity to practice making safe choices related to maintaining a safe home. Planning to purchase cleaning supplies, safety tools and pest-control products are addressed in the banking and budgeting lessons. Daily living skills that are needed to stay safe in the kitchen are addressed in cooking activities, which include five different recipes. Social and problem-solving skills are the focus of lessons presenting daily social trivia scenarios offering more opportunity for our young adults to make good choices about their home safety needs.

The importance of building positive employment skills continues to be a focus of several lessons each month. Vocationally-focused lessons include opportunities to practice reading job ads, completing job applications and practicing interview skills. Simple, realistic scenarios address job skills that are beneficial for our young adults to practice. The final lesson highlights volunteering to practice job skills and gain practical work experience.