Classroom Resources

Update!

Its been a long while since I have had anything to post about the major happenings going on in my classroom. This is probably because my life has been consumed by one tiny little soul, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. “Baby James” joined our family in December, and before that, I was frantically trying to get prepared for maternity leave while also feeling the effects of the longest pregnancy ever!

I am still currently enjoying the wonderful time called “maternity leave”, while also stressing everyday about how I’m ever going to make it to work on time with two kids, and knowing it is totally possible because I see other moms doing it all the time.  I strongly believe I would go back to work sooner if I could just take my son with me, but since I can’t, I’ll continue to enjoy what little time I have left at home (down to two weeks left).

This site was created in the beginning as a way to show how I was using different resources created by others and by myself in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom, and while I want to maintain that as the main portion of the site, I am also going to add in a few more details of life outside of teaching, and my effort to find a work/life/parent balance in it all.

So for now, here is a little preview of what I get to enjoy everyday right now, as I figure out how to be the mom of two kids! IMG_0631.jpg

Monster Career Activity

Today is Halloween, which is not my favorite holiday, but I wanted to embrace it anyways, and therefore I created this activity for my students in Career and Life Planning.

We are currently in our Career Unit for the class, and I wanted an activity that would be engaging, allow them to work together and be creative while also still relating to the unit we are studying. So, I created this Monster Career Project.

Students were split into pairs and were given the directions listed on the assignment sheet. They only had about an hour to complete the assignment because we had cookies as a treat for today, so they had to stay on task and work.

Here are a few pictures of our monsters and career advertisements that were created today. img_3072

9 Months That Made You

We just finished covering prenatal development and birth in my human growth and development class. As a part of this unit, we were able to watch the documentary series the 9 Months That Made You. It is available to purchase through PBS, and it is also on Netflix.

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My students loved it. The stories were extremely interesting and also relevant to what we were discussing in class. It was really intriguing to see how different parts of pregnancy affect the life of a human and how genetics plays such a huge role in our development.

I created a guide for each episode and they are available on my TpT store: Episode Guides 

These would be great for when you need to be out of the classroom, or as a way to reinforce content that has already been taught. I would highly suggest using this documentary series as a resource in your classroom!

Flannel Story Board Project

Students in Foundations to Early Childhood are finishing out the year with a service project! They are currently creating pieces that can be used as part of a story board for classroom teachers to tell stories, or for young children to use during story time. When they are done, we will be donating all of the items to a local daycare. Here are a few pictures of some work in progress story pieces! I will post final products when we are done.

Here is the assignment sheet as well, if you would like to add this project to your classroom. Flannel Board Final Assignment

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Stromboli Lab

As we begin the downhill slope to the end of the year, I like to work through the section of the MyPlate Diagram and have students prepare dishes for each group. For the Grains group, we made Stromboli. Students first did a small Webquest on basic grain information, then watched a demonstration on how to make a Stromboli (with fresh dough of course), and then made their dough. During the demonstration, students had to take notes about how to prepare the recipe, because all directions were left off of their recipe. It was helpful in keeping students engaged and listening because they couldn’t be successful in lab without the directions!

Today, students prepared their Stromboli and then created advertisements about one type of grain to encourage others to eat more a that grain in a healthy way. There wasn’t a lot of leftovers, so I think lab was a success!

Here are links to all the assignments my students completed in the lab

Grain Advertisement Assignment

Grains Online Assignment

Stromboli Demo Lab.docx

Exercise Tasting in Nutrition and Wellness

As part of our overall wellness unit, today we did an “Exercise Tasting” activity to give students a chance to try out a variety of different exercises. I did include Meditation as one of the exercises, because exercising and calming the mind is an important part of overall wellness.

I am blessed to have access to Beachbody On Demand, so I used the availability of different exercise programs through Beachbody to make today work. They had 7 stations, (Yoga, Weights, Kickboxing, Pilates, Cardio, Meditation, Walking). Students complete between 5 and 7 minutes at each station, and answered questions to evaluate each exercise after spending time completing the activity. It was a great way to get students up and moving and giving them a chance to try out different exercise programs. Exercise isn’t a one size fits all, and if students can find activities they enjoy now, they will be able to create healthy habits that will last into their futures. I had fun, and I hope they did too!

Here is the assignment sheet they completed during class. Exercise Tasting

Updated Classroom Tour

I wanted to share a few updated photos of my classroom, since it has had quite a makeover since my first classroom tour (Classroom Tour 1). I have taken out quite a few tables to make more room, and updated my classroom to a move flexible seating or coffee shop style seating. My students love the choices in seats and the ability to work in different areas where they are comfortable.

It took a while for me to decide to go with a flexible seating arrangement because it meant giving up a little bit of control about the space in my classroom and where my students sit. I still make suggestions when needed, but giving students the choice to make a simple decision about where they learn best has worked really well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view from my desk, which is in the corner of the room.

This is the view from the back of my room. Right now, I can seat up to 20 students in my classroom, and my average class size is around 16, so there is plenty of room for my students and choices for them to sit in a place that is best for their learning needs.

I also turned an old podium that I decided not to use anymore into a Makerspace Area. This area works great and doesn’t take up a large amount of area, but still holds quite a few supplies for my Makerspace.