Family & Consumer Science

Family and Consumer Science helps empower Middle School students to prepare for the challenges of living and working in our ever-changing society.

Seventh and Eighth graders work in 4 areas of study: Life Skills, Nutrition, Culinary Skills and Sewing. The classes, which meet daily, are mixed in grade levels and meet over the course of a year in a rotation of 10-12 weeks.

Life Skills: In the Life Skills concentration, students examine their values, including challenges and changes that face typical adolescents. Worksheets are provided which offer activities leading into projects which center on the physical, intellectual, emotional and social changes of students in this age group. As a final assessment they create their own “Who I Am” poster, which reflects their personal values, interests and challenges.

Nutrition: Students study the New Food Pyramid Guide, being able at the course’s end, for example, to explain the recommended number of daily servings for each food group. They keep a food diary and do a comparison of their habits and how those match the new guidelines. Students participate in activities that ask them to reflect on their current diets and their ability to make better life choices.

Culinary Skills:  Students work on a variety of food preparation techniques for baking and cooking.  They learn proper sanitation methods, the creation of an ingredient list and a time management plan.  Students research recipes and participate in a baking challenge.  Some of the foods that students will prepare include omelets, chicken burgers, cookies or cakes, pizza, vegetable stir-fry as well as a variety of multi-cultural recipes.  Informed shopping techniques are discussed which promote healthy selections of foods and thrifty purchasing.

Sewing:    Students participate in the learning of different hand sewing techniques, including straight stitching, backward stitches, hem stitches, as well as sewing a button onto fabric.  They learn about different fabrics and their uses.  Students are able to use simple patterns for sewing a final project such a self-designed and sewn travel pillow.  They learn about the different parts to a sewing machine as well as how to thread and operate the machines.

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Culinary Skills
Preparation Cooking

Machine Sewing
Students learn to use and make beginning projects on a sewing machine.