This activity is not part of the project itself, but it prepares the students to do the project. The project itself consists of six pages. On the first page I describe the project and outline what I expect and how I will grade it. Then there are the three budget sheets. I am making several changes and I am sure that I will make more in the future.
Children get their career and family situation by chance.
To get a career the student should roll two dice and multiply. To get a family he rolls just one die and the number corresponds to his family situation. Once the children get their career and their family situation I went over everything in detail. Again I discuss the various kinds of taxes, decisions they have to make, etc. We use the budget sheets to do this.