Author: K.Graybill

Kim Graybill is a veteran Family and Consumer Science teacher who teaches both middle and high school in Pennsylvania.

Cowboy Cookies

When teaching students measuring skills and then introducing them to the kitchens and labs, I often demonstrate a recipe. Demonstrations can be helpful because students see the measuring that needs to be done using the same equipment and tools that will be available to them. It also shows them the mixing procedures and what it should look like at various stages until it reaches the final product. This Cowboy Cookies recipe is one I’ve used over the years that students have enjoyed and is nut free. This recipe can easily be made by students and because I always had extra cookies, we shared them in the office for all faculty and staff to enjoy!  

Mashed Potato Bowl Challenge

A particularly famous fast food eatery offers a mashed potato bowl option on their menu. This meal in a bowl has gained popularity over the years, but why limit yourself to their version when you can make your own? In this Mashed Potato Bowl Challenge, students will create and market their own version of a mashed potato bowl to a panel of judges based on specific criteria. Let the challenge begin!

Salary to Budget Hyperdoc

We all know that to manage our finances effectively, it helps to have a plan…aka budget.  With that being said, many high school students and young adults have no idea how to do this. If you teach any courses, classes or units that include adulting or financial literacy, this Salary to Budget Hyperdoc is a must to get them ready for life!  Initially, the hyperdoc puts the learning in the hands of the students as they independently work through the basics about budgets before applying what they’ve learned in a simulated budget, paper plate visual project, using a randomly assigned occupation and salary. Learn more as you continue reading.

Toddler Autonomy & The Parenting Toolbox

Toddler Autonomy & The Parenting Toolbox focuses on ways parents can journey through this stage of development as toddlers try to gain independence. This lesson includes a variety of engaging activities for students and would be a great addition to any child development or parenting class!

Fancy Dessert Collages

It’s been my experience that most students love desserts! Fancy Dessert Collages is a project where students can learn about many different types of fancy desserts as they create and share information around an assigned or chosen dessert! As the teacher, you can decide, whether you want to run a “Fancy Dessert Challenge” for students to try their hand at preparing different desserts or just offer up a lab or two around a select few desserts. Either way, your students will get to experience fancy desserts in a variety of ways.

Communication in the Workplace

We all know that communication is essential in the workplace, but do students realize how important it is? Thanks to Sasha Roble, a PA Cooperative Education Coordinator – Capstone for Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center, for sharing this fun, engaging lesson. Communication in the Workplace will help students understand, not only the importance of communication, but the process, the causes of ineffective communication as well as forms of non-verbal communication.

Sustainability Case Study: The Wasteful Watts

Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re all guilty of being wasteful in some area of our lives!  In this Sustainability Case Study: The Wasteful Watts, students will explore ways the Watts family can make changes in their habits and lifestyle to be more eco-friendly, practice being green(er) and make better choices regarding sustainability!

Aging in Place

Growing older is inevitable and most older adults want to stay in their homes and be as independent as possible! This is called Aging in Place and in order for older adults to be able to do this successfully, they need to make sure their homes are safe. Read on to learn more about this topic and explore potential home safety options.

Babies & Microplastics

Parents today have a lot of things to be concerned about when it comes to keeping their children safe. One of the latest safety concerns is around microplastics. After reading about this topic, I immediately thought that Babies & Microplastics would be a relevant lesson to include when teaching about infant and toddler safety in child development, parenting or even health classes.

Calories & Exercise Lesson

I’m a huge fan of hands-on activities for a variety of reasons! One of my favorites involves hexagonal thinking blocks. Not only does it provide students with engagement, but it also allows them to communicate, collaborate and think critically when working with the blocks. If you’d like to give this a try, check out the Calories & Exercise Lesson below.