“Take Our Kids to Work Day” was a smile-building experience. By Loren Kessell

 

The NKBA had an abundance of young “interns” last Thursday as 18 children donned yellow plastic hard hats and picked up their toolboxes at the Association’s headquarters for “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.”

The Youthquake kids prepare for their exciting day.

With wide smiles, they got ready to trek around the office and show their parents and the rest of the staff that they were ready to accomplish the day’s activities. After parading with their new accessories, they tackled several crafting projects. Each young builder received a wooden picture frame, birdhouse and initial letter to paint to his or her liking. Then, they grouped into teams for a scavenger hunt.

Teams answered questions by locating items and interactively working within the kitchen space at NKBA. Using miniature measuring tapes, each team calculated how many inches the kitchen sink is from the point of the closest microwave. They located past NKBA presidents, measured the dimensions of appliances, and mixed up batches of homemade Play-Doh from a flour/oil/Kool-Aid concoction, vigorously stirring with their plastic tools.

“I loved the scavenger hunt and the Play-Doh,” Bjork Millard, 9, said. “I learned a lot! Even though we didn’t go to school today it was like art and math class. We got to measure things!”

The children sit and mingle while painting their projects.

Bjork is one of Elle H-Millard’s four children who attended; Millard is an NKBA Insider and Industry Relations Manager, who represents the association at trade shows and industry events all over the world.

After an educational hour of scavenger hunting, the lunch whistle blew, and teams settled in for macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers and pizza. And, of course, mingling with new friends.

Teams went outside to work off post-lunch energy with a few games, and then returned inside to their craft stations to decorate their toolboxes.

“I loved going outside and playing corn hole!” said Nicholas Figiel, 14, who is the son of Julie Figiel, NKBA’s Chapter Growth Advocate. She serves as the liaison between NKBA National and the entire chapter network.

Soren Millard measures to help solve the scavenger hunt question.

The final activity of the day taught the young crew about creating kitchen and bathroom plans on their own, utilizing grid and sketch paper and NKBA’s combination templates. Everyone drew tirelessly while learning about appropriate places to put appliances and hardware.

At day’s end, no one wanted to leave, but they took away valuable lessons. They sat in a circle to discuss the activities and what they would like to be when they grow up. Turns out there are some future builders and designers in the next generation!

“I learned that, maybe, one day we could all work here,” said Madeline Mackenzie, 11, whose dad, Andrew Mackenzie, is Senior Professional Development Specialist, helping NKBA members earn and maintain certification. He led both the scavenger hunt and the kitchen and bathroom designing activities.

With the amount of creativity and positive energy displayed by these children, it’s easy to see they’re on the way to achieving their dreams. Who knows? We might be looking at some future NKBA members!