FCS Essentials students completed several communication game rotations that highlighted active and passive communication skills, listening skills, questioning, clarification while providing some fun and time outside. Students also tested their communication skills with a little speed meeting activity of asking classmates questions and discussing their answers.

After learning about character and FCCLA, students engaged in a service learning project making dog toys out of old t-shirts.  The perfect recycle and reuse project.  Students followed directions to learn to use the scooby knot to make the toys.  Students will choose where we will donate the dog toys.

We are starting one of our favorite units... food and nutrition.  FCS Essentials students will make a wide variety of foods through various labs throughout the next few weeks.  Our first lab, chocolate chip cookies, are a perfect lab to practice measuring skills and working through the steps of a recipe, in a group setting.

Each year our Family and Consumer Sciences Department celebrates National FCS Day on 12/3, the birthday of Dr. Ellen Swallows Richards, the founder of Family and Consumer Sciences.  This year the theme was Family Fun Night. Students played board games and ate popcorn to celebrate.

FCS Essentials students used light boxes to sketch an outfit on a croquis and evaluate it using the elements and principles of design. They turned out amazing!

Students completed a unit-ending project in Interior Design.  They drew floor plans and arranged furniture templates for appropriate space planning.  They found pictures of the items in their room and had to do a comparison of two furniture items.  They used an interior design style and they evaluated the use of elements and principles of design in their space planning.

FCCLA, FCS Essentials and FID II/III students teamed together to create a service learning project.  While learning about character and volunteer opportunities, FCS Essentials students researched various organizations that allow student volunteers.  The students found several opportunities to volunteer or donate items to animal shelters.  This started a service learning project that would include one student organization and three FCS classes.  Creating dog pull toys.

And FID Intern and FCCLA member researched how to create the toys.  She made a sample and created a step by step tutorial to share with the classes.  The FID II/III students prepared the fabrics to make the toys.  We have a surplus of donated t-shirts from various organizations and clubs.  These were perfect to upcycle for the project.  FID II/III students cut the shirts into strips and organized them for production.

FCS Essentials students then followed the step by step tutorial to create the toys.  FID II/III students also made some.  Some even took them home to share with their own dogs.  FCCLA members will donate the toys to a local animal shelter after members make them at a meeting in the near future.