For the twelfth year in a row, Trigg County Middle School students got a small does of adult life on Thursday morning at the TCMS Gymnasium, in what has been called the “Reality Store.”

“The Reality Store is a program that’s done by 4-H, and it is a real-life learning experience for the kids to see how much money they make per month and what they need to spend it on,” said Trigg County 4-H Extension Agent Janeen Tramble. “They go through a program a couple of days before where they use the independent learning plan.”

The Reality Store isn’t just a standalone thing, said Tramble; teachers try to incorporate it into their classes. This year, 175 seventh graders participated.

Tramble says seventh graders can have anywhere from no kids at all to five kids, they get their careers, and then they go to “Uncle Sam” and have money taken out of their accounts. Then they go around the gym to multiple booths and make various purchases, she went on to say.

Those booths involve groceries, entertainment, transportation, child care and “S.O.S.” – or supplemental income. There’s also a chance booth, which like its name suggests, involves chance happenings such as fender benders but also some positive chance happenings like finding a $50 in your coat pocket.

“Chances are, most of the chances are going to be a negative on your bank account,” Tramble added.

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