For many of us, our pets become part of our family and we want to love on them by giving them toys and treats! Sadly, there are many pets in need of love especially at organizations such as the SPCA, Rescue Pet Centers, and Best Friends centers. Pet Based Service Projects can be creatively included in your curriculum via labs, sewing or non-sewing projects and even repurpose projects to help those organziations. Read on to see a variety of ways to do this on the cheap!
If you teach a culinary foods class, you no doubt include a unit on grains. While there are a lot of options for working with grains, the material can be a bit dry to teach. Thanks to Nebraska FACS teacher, Sarah Smith, this doesn’t need to be the case. Her “Cooking with Grains” is an interactive lesson you will want to try with your students!
When teaching basic kitchen skills, one of the first lessons I teach is kitchen safety. To me, kitchen safety is primarily about common sense so I don’t spend a ton of time on it, but emphasize it frequently throughout the course and labs. The “Kitchen Safety Categories & Activities” is one that can be used in both a digital drag & drop style or hand’s on cut & paste style depending on your situation.
When you think of food preservation, you might automatically think about canning. However, there is so much more to it, and thanks to Anna Hall of Ohio for sharing her Food Preservation Unit, you can find out! This engaging food preservation unit covers five days and explores various methods such as frozen, dried and canned foods as well as the changes throughout history. The unit culminates with students actually canning pickles.
Studies show that students who actually engage with hands-on learning are more likely to remember information, stay focused and increase brain activity! Tarsia Puzzles for Foods Class are a great way for students manipulate pieces to review and/or apply content. Included below are several that I created for use with all age groups. What ways can you think to use Tarsia Puzzles?
If you tuned into the website last week, you found the Breakfast Lesson: Part I featuring the Rule of 3. Today’s post features the corresponding Bloomin’ Garden Toast Breakfast Lab: Part II. This lab not only follows the rule of 3, but incorporates knife skills and creativity all within a 43 minute period!
Who knew there could be so much information out there to teach about breakfast, but there is! I guess when you’re deemed the “most important meal of the day,” there’s a lot to learn and/or teach! In this “Breakfast Lesson: Part I,” the theory behind why breakfast matters and how to create a healthy breakfast will be shared. A lab applying the information will be shared in Part II, so you’ll have to stay tuned!
During an inservice, our local National Guard did a presentation for us on how they could be a post-secondary option for students upon graduation. They also shared some opportunities they could offer the school such as knocker balls, rock climbing walls and my favorite…the MRE Kits: Chopped Challenge. Keep reading to learn more about this fun event!
Beth Beattie, of Missouri, shares this $10 Meal Challenge Project inspired by the Iowa State Fair! During this past year, her sons were mesmerized by the Iowa State University Extension office’s $10 meal challenge offered to all 4-H members. This project is Beth’s reinterpretation of it. So, if you’re looking for an engaging project to combine food budgets, MyPlate and a family meal, be sure to take a look!
In an effort to add gamification components to her courses and create memorable learning experiences for her students, Jennifer Estes, a North Carolina FACS teacher, created this WIC Healthy Meal Challenge. You’ll have to check out this lesson as it promotes student engagement, risk taking, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, in addition to covering Jennifer’s course standards!
