The Fast and Furious Food Lab Challenge
FACS 2 is a new course I was able to create this year. I had these 8th graders last year as 7th graders- or during the first semester of 8th grade. It’s a more advanced Family and Consumer Science course that allows the students to learn a bit more about the junior high standards. FACS […]
A Much Needed FACS Kitchen Renovation – From Drab to Fab
Outdated Family and Consumer Science kitchens seem to be a regular thing. A lot of money goes into a renovation. I was incredibly fortunate to have a full kitchen renovation with a recent district bond. This FACS kitchen renovation is a prime example for taxpayers to see why passing bond issues to support your local […]
5 Ways to Organize Your FACS Kitchens
If I had a dollar for every time we were in a cooking lab and I heard a student ask, “Where is ___?”…well, I’d be rich enough to purchase a private island. Can you relate? There are times students cannot find something in plain sight, but there are also times utensils made it to an […]
5 Tips for Closing Out the Semester
The end of the semester is always known for being exhausting. It’s always a case of “The days are long” and May-cember. Survival of the fittest is great, but why not find some ways to thrive in your role and make it enjoyable for students too? With proper planning and enlisting the help of your […]
5 Simple Ways to Teach Expectations when Cooking with a Guest Chef
Too often we think by junior high and high school, our students should have mastered manners and etiquette. We think they should understand how to behave when there is a guest speaker or chef. However, it doesn’t take long to realize our students are not coming to us with manners, etiquette, and experiences as they […]
Mastering Kitchen Systems: 3 Ways to Prepare Students for Successful Cooking Lab Days
Cooking lab days are another level when it comes to chaos, stress, and they can even be full of magical moments. Mastering kitchen systems and preparing students for successful cooking lab days can be attainable. If you’ve spent any time in a FACS classroom during a cooking lab, you know how some groups bicker and […]
4 Easy Routine Classroom Systems AFTER a Cooking Lab
The cooking lab is over, but this can also be where new learning can occur. Just because the lab finished, doesn’t mean you can’t have strong systems in place to continue learning. I love a good cooking lab day, but I also really enjoy the reflection piece. It might seem easier to move on and […]
Semi Homemade Cooking Labs in the Family and Consumer Classroom
Finding ways to create semi-homemade recipes in the Family and Consumer classroom can seem time consuming or costly, but the experience and the outcome proves its worth. For many of our students, they haven’t taken the time to create something from scratch. Sometimes it’s the time, or the money, or lacking the resources. I would […]
Using Grills in the Family and Consumer Science Classroom
BBQ grills in a Family and Consumer classroom. Maybe you also have courtyard space at your building? Maybe you also want to think outside the classroom walls? If you are looking for ways to take your Family and Consumer Science cooking labs to a new level, maybe grills are an idea! (It should also be […]
Healthy and Simple Cooking Labs in a Family and Consumer Science Classroom
Cooking Labs can be what sparks interest in a Family and Consumer Science elective. The food lab can be fun and exhausting. Messy and marvelous. Delicious and healthy. Do you ever find yourself looking for recipes that are simple, quick, relatively inexpensive, enjoyed by most students, and healthy? Some FACS classes have large budgets, some allow for […]
Using Restaurant Inspections to Increase Awareness
Picture this: Your students are in the middle of a cooking lab when you notice small, clean up tasks being overlooked, such as spilled spices on the floor not being cleaned up. After the lab, you notice a kitchen sink is clogged due to food in the drain. Another kitchen has enough crumbs left on […]
5 Reasons I Use Guest Judges for Each Cooking Lab
Let’s talk about 5 reasons I use guest judges for each cooking lab. Not only is it a fun way to recap and learn from the previous day’s lessons, but it also gets the students (and staff) excited for labs. First things first, before we talk about why the guest judge is something I suggest […]
