The course description below is for 7th and 8th grade students. On student schedules the course title is: Exploring Apparel and Interior Design (1st/3rd 9 weeks) and Understanding Personal Finance and Hospitality (2nd/4th 9 weeks).
The first 9 weeks and the third 9 weeks I teach Interior Design and Apparel. In interior design students learn the basic principles of design, what a sustainable design is, how to arrange and manage a living space. They create a dream room project where the begin with a basic room of their choice, choose the purpose, color scheme, fabrics, wall and floor coverings etc. They will also lay out the room to scale on graph paper using the same templates that architects and interior designers use for house fixtures and furnishings. For apparel students will learn the different factors that influence clothing choice, the basic elements of design, clothing construction techniques, and the impact of function and marketing on clothing choices. Students will also learn to hand sew as well as machine sew. They will select a basic item to make for a sewing project (such as a pillow, pajama pants, pajama shorts, simple overnight bag with a button, basic skirt, or shorts).
The second 9 weeks and fourth 9 weeks I teach Personal Finance and Resource Management and Food Service and Hospitality. In personal finance and resource management students will learn personal financial literacy. They will also learn what resources are available and how to gain access to those resources. Students will create a project based around a purchase that they would like to make. They will create a budget with anticipated and unanticipated expenses as well as income and figure out the best ways to save money and comparison shop for the purchase they will be making. In food service and hospitality students will learn the basics of food safety and sanitation as well as be taught basic culinary skills, the safety and proper use of kitchen equipment and tools, and how to be a good host/guest. During this section of the class students will participate in five different cooking labs which include making muffins, biscuits, granola, pizza, and fried rice.