K-5 Growing Career Awareness
December 2025
3rd Grade Mini Medical School-Last Chance to Register!
Don't miss out on this great activity that over 800 students in the county participated in last year!
Help your students learn more about careers in healthcare!
- Introduce students to professions in healthcare, and get them excited about health and wellness.
- Connect to Health Education, ELA, Technology Standards & SEL Indicators.
- Sign up for an in-person or Zoom healthcare professional classroom speaker.
- Students get a completion certificate and a fun "swag" bag for participating
- 👉 Activity Details
- ✍🏻 Register HERE!
- Registration Ends December 17th!
*Careers in healthcare represent our largest employers in Muskegon and West Michigan and are the highest in demand across the state.
MCDM: Elementary Targets
Each month I will share information highlighting a specific target and connecting activities to the targets.
🎯 Target 2: Academic Connection
Connect academic content to the Michigan six career zones and embed it across the curriculum.
Key components of career awareness activities:
- Integration Across All Subjects: The connection to career zones must not be limited to one subject (like reading or social studies) but must be embedded across the entire curriculum (math, science, art, music, physical education, etc.).
- Age-Appropriate Connection: The goal is career awareness, not exploration or preparation yet. Lessons should introduce the concept of careers within the zones and how academic skills are used in those jobs.
- Emphasis on "Learning as a Part of Work": Strategies often revolve around showing students how the skills they are learning in class are the same foundational skills that people use in different jobs every day.
Utilizing the Six Career Zones: The six broad zones serve as the framework for these connections. The six Michigan Career Zones are:
Arts and Communications - The Creative Path
Business, Management, Marketing, & Technology - The Business Path
Engineering/Manufacturing & Industrial Technology - The Building & Fixing Path
Health Sciences - The Health Path
Human Services - The Helping Path
Natural Resources & Agriscience - The Nature Path
-Ai Supported
1st Grade Register NOW!
Kickstart to Career Financial Champion Field Trip:
Students will experience a behind the scenes tour of a financial institution.
- Students will get to make an actual deposit.
- ⭐💰 Students will receive $ to deposit into their KTC account!
- Transportation costs covered by the Community Foundation for Muskegon County.
KickStart to Career Coordinator, Kari Wiersema, will be coordinating & scheduling the field trips.
- ✍🏻 Register HERE!
2nd Grade Register NOW!
KickStart To Career Connection Project:
This activity helps students start building an awareness of careers, career zones & making connections between the world of work and classroom work through fun books.
- This can connect to ELA, Social, Studies or SEL standards.
- ⭐💰 Upon completion students receive an incentive deposit into their KTC account.
5th Grade: Money Smart Career Choices Activity Registration Open!
I have had several teachers ask about starting this fun activity early🤗
⭐💰Help your students connect future career choices to financial literacy and earn money toward their future career goals!
- Students explore personal interests, potential careers, and education levels to begin thinking about their future career goals.
- Future salaries and taxes are discussed.
- Students are reminded about the importance of saving for their future career & college goals.
- This activity connects to ELA, Financial Literacy & M-Step Prep
- ✍🏻Register HERE!
4th Grade NEW Lemonade Tycoon-Register NOW!!!
- Lemonade Tycoon Activity:
Students open and manage their very own virtual lemonade stand and learn manage a budget for the business. Banzai Lemonade Tycoon serves as an engaging introduction to the fundamental economic and financial principles that are integral to almost every career path, helping students develop a foundational understanding of how money works in a work-related context.
- This can connect to Michigan Standards for Financial Literacy
- ⭐💰 Upon completion students receive an incentive deposit into their KTC account.
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR SPOTLIGHT ON AG READERS!
Help your students learn more about the world of agribusiness!
An opportunity to host a guest reader to engage your students in the world of agriculture. This annual program through W. Mi Works connects local farmers and food processors with your classroom, helping students learn more about agribusiness and its impact on their daily lives.
- Event takes place in March-sign ups are now!
- Registration is through W. Mi Works
- SPOTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!
- 👉 Activity Details
- ✍🏻 Register HERE! - Make sure to register for Muskegon county.
4th & 5th Grade MCC STEM Lab Field Trips - Registration is OPEN!
- Come learn about STEAM in a fun and engaging way!
- Learn how to apply the engineering design process while building and programming robots, completing engineering challenges, exploring the Fab Lab, and so much more STEAM fun!
- There is a bus grant opportunity!
- ✍🏻 Register HERE!
Xello Elementary is Growing in Muskegon County!
Check out: K-2nd Career Town and the 3rd-5th Xello experience.
If you interested about starting Xello Elementary in your classroom, building, or district; let's connect and I can share how districts are engaging in this work
- Schedule Meeting
- mkuck@muskegonisd.org
- 231-767-3626
Field Experiences and Community Connection at MPS🎨🏙️
All 2nd and 5th grade students at Muskegon Public Schools recently engaged in hands-on career awareness activities aligned with the Michigan Career Development Model.
Grade 2: Community & Culture: All 2nd graders visited the Muskegon Museum of Art to create a community map and explore diverse artistic expressions. This was followed by a guided bus tour to connect their map-making to the actual Muskegon community. Students will now link their observations of local landmarks to the Career Town locations and Six Career Zones in Xello.
Grade 5: Business & Enterprise: All 5th graders participated in the immersive Junior Achievement (JA) BizTown experience in Grand Rapids. After completing intensive classroom preparation, students took on roles within a simulated economy to learn about local businesses and the wide variety of careers that power a community. They will use Xello to conduct in-depth research on the careers they encountered at JA BizTown.
Parent Career Speakers at Beechnau Elementary👍
This fall, teachers at Beechnau Elementary invited parents to come in and share information about their careers with their students.
2nd grade students at Beechnau have been engaging in Xello and learning about careers through the KickStart to Career Connection Activity. Their amazing teachers wanted to expand on that learning by having parent career speakers throughout the year. In this first session, the students heard about financial, horse training, cosmetology and nursing careers and the other careers connected to the work they do. The parents brought in tools from their jobs and even engaged them in amazing hands-on activities. What an amazing afternoon of learning!
