New classroom space getting started Summer 2016 post 2

Last night's blog, I started the photos from the main door around the transition space and into the classroom space.

The first space I refer to it as the transition space. It connects the kitchen lab area and the classroom designated area. Within the transition space is a tall bookshelf with textbooks, classroom telephone, tri-fold mirror, the only bulletin board, a wall of lower cabinets (half with extra kitchen wares and half with child development/parenting supplies), and a storage closet (filled from top to bottom).

Remember it is 3 rooms in one. Today's post will show more of the classroom space and most of the kitchen space before I got to moving around or adding any decorative touches. (Decorative theme for the environment will be camping/outdoors/nature.)

You've stepped just inside the archway about half-way along wall looking towards the right.

You've walked down the right wall by the file cabinets and are looking across.

You've walked out of the classroom area and into the transition space by the other opening next to the lower cabinets row and are now looking straight across to kitchen 1 and 2.

You've stayed in same spot and have turned to the right seeing kitchen 3 in the back corner, the tops of the dryer and washer, and then glimpses of piles for kitchens 4 & 5.

You've stayed in about the same spot but have now turned to the left seeing the 2nd door (used mostly as an emergency exit) and the refrigerators (one for FACS use and the other for SP ED functional living skills use). To the left of the door (back side of the storage closet), there are 2 large wooden cabinets (filled with the old plastic student sewing trays and used for sewing notions, child development craft supplies, and misc. office supplies) that are waiting to be moved into the classroom space at the far end.

Will update again in about 1 week to show progress of the spaces!

New classroom space and just getting started Summer 2016 post 1

FACS classroom has 3 spaces or 3 rooms in one

Lots of space to manage

Lots of wall space to decorate

Some chaos to get sorted and organized and possibly inventoried before school starts

So let's have a look--

You've just stepped inside 1 of 2 doors (main use).

You've shifted focus straight across from main doorway.

You've stepped across to the opening to the classroom space to look back to the main door.

You've walked down to the south end of the classroom space and are looking down the room.

That's part one. More will be posted soon of other corners and spaces not seen yet. These were taken in late June 2016. Please note: maintenance has painted all walls white and have already waxed floors!!! The classroom space walls were an antique ivory white and had at least 6 different stencil patterns that had been painted around the room. I felt it was imperative to start with a clean slate--a clean fresh look for the FACS room. If there are any students who had been in the room before, I want them to notice and feel a difference from before.

Also my husband helped move all the desks and chairs into a box shape (not quite the u-shape I wanted). I'll wait and see what my highest enrollment is and might be able to rearrange just before school starts. And for safety sake and traffic flow, there are at least 5 open spots around the seating and teacher desk area (not shown until next post).

Stay tuned for more of the early stage photos of a classroom transformation.

Completed sample of Culinary Arts hospitality vocabulary activity

Interactive notebook entry & pineapple symbol for hospitality used for vocab terms

For teacher's sample interactive notebook:

and see what is folded and attached to the back side of the pineapple:

The instruction sheet has been trimmed down, folded, and only taped along the back of the title end. Students will be expected to tape it (pineapple) only along one side to create a hinge and make it easy to grade.

Note: Something I thought of later was citing websites/sources for definitions. Please look carefully at the leaves.

Another hospitality resource using pineapple motif

Hospitality Terms to review

Entry for interactive notebook if trimmed/fussy cut before taping or gluing onto next page of composition notebook

Terms and directions for vocabulary activity: (there are many more terms available)

Pattern sheet that accompanies the vocabulary activity:

Hope you and your students have fun with this interactive differentiated vocabulary activity for hospitality!

Classroom management tool using the word campers

2016-2017 school year decorating and many activities will have camping theme

While reading an elementary teacher blog last week, this teacher used the word "CHAMPS" with different picture cards to help students know how to behave in different situations like small group, math centers, or whole group instruction.

Since I've chosen to have a camping outdoorsy kind of vibe for the room through decorations, signs, s'more recipe variations for kitchen labs, and more, I decided to tweak the "CHAMPS" and have "CAMPERS".

Explanations: before students start a new activity, go over the following with them before and after--

Conversation= What level of voice can they have? or Are they to work silently on their own?

Activity= What are they expected to do?

Movement= Can they get up and move around during the activity? Can they get up and consult with a classmate in a different part of the room?

Participation= Are they being graded individually? Assessment individually? Able to work with a partner? or ?

Evaluation= How many points is this activity? (or letter grade?) Does it have a rubric? If a worksheet or quiz, will it be graded when everyone is finished or graded by you?

Reflection= Student reaction to activity and teacher reaction...will it be used next year?

Success?= Does the activity need tweaking by teacher? Does it needed better instructions for students? or a teacher example to help some? or is it ready to be re-filed and usable for next year?

Hospitality Symbol posters

Poster 1 creation

Welcome students to the FACS department with historical connections

Before being adopted in the South or along the East coast, pineapples have been linked to extravagant hostesses and royalty throughout Europe as well as to seafaring captains proclaiming they were back home and able to welcome visitors.

So why not welcome students to your FACS department classroom with pineapple motifs?!?!!!!

Poster 2 creation

Morsels: advanced foods class lab and hospitality symbol introduction

Introducing the pineapple as a symbol of generosity, hospitality, and welcome

Students living in southern United States or along the eastern coast may be more familiar with seeing pineapple emblems at the front door or even carved into the furniture compared to Midwest, Great Plains, and West Coast counterparts. 

Using fresh pineapple or pineapple theme decorative accessories can be a reflection on the host and hostess for being hospitable and generous.

This handout can be used at the start of a school year or unit about hospitality or could be an additional lesson and/or lab when covering fruits and fruit salads.

Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad Lab

Additional skills and concepts for advanced foods students (Culinary Arts) would be: food presentation, garnishing, knife skills, various fruits prepping, historical connection, and geographical connection. This lab would also be great for students not to enjoy themselves but to serve to faculty and administration.

Life preservers: Starting entries for Intro to FACS interactive notebook

Acrostic "poem" could double as a title page

Students will receive just the typed form and can then INTERACT with it by trimming it down with decorative edge scissors and adding color with their responses. I plan for this to be done on Day 1 with brainstorming and collaborating going on around the room. Intro to FACS is my last class of the day, so I hope this will be a fun active way to start the school year for them.

2 fives with their hand tracings: 5 behaviors or attitudes accepted at home and 5 behaviors or attitudes they expect to see in the FACS classroom=

These two entries will be great for me to read during the first few days of schools by allowing to "see into their minds".

As you might be able to see by the paper, I am using composition notebooks. I've pre-numbered the first 50 pages and plan to do mine chronologically. I plan to include reflective pieces along with the teacher-provided notes, worksheets, handouts, quizzes, etc. For Foods I and Culinary Arts classes and when Intro to FACS has food labs, I think I might have them tab the recipe entries, so if they keep their notebooks for years to come they can quickly flip to the recipes. Just thinking phase now for that...wait and see! :)

Using a honor society publication as a classroom resource

From Summer 2016 issue of Phi Kappa Phi Forum

Info graphic example:

As a member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi [inducted June 2001 at University of Missouri-St. Louis], I received the newest issue of the society's magazine today. As soon as I saw the column space of different sports media data related to the 1984 Olympics, I knew that this would make a terrific visual resource for students.

I don't limit myself to only using printed materials within the home economics domain; sadly that would be very limiting.

I've fallen in love with info graphics! They appeal to the brainy academic research side of my brain and also to the other creative flexible expressive half.

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory is one that I totally believe and try to remember in my classroom practices. Students, like myself, have different strengths and weaknesses; however we can all be more successful if assignments and learning combine analytical with artistic, structure with fluidity; and written with visual. 

Morsels--New kitchen unit memo boards

Color coordinating

Kitchen laboratory zones work well to be organized by color. When students get assigned to a particular unit area, they are taught to keep their items in their assigned space. 

However that will vary for the Foods II/Culinary Arts students when I allow more creativity for table setting to mix and match. The stipulation is that when clean-up is completed, everything gets returned to its proper home.

Here are the new small cork boards created for Fall 2016:

The boards were purchased at a local Dollar Tree along with 2 sets of watercolor paints and some extra brushes for $8 plus tax. I already had a black permanent marker to draw large number profiles in the center of each board. While the paint was drying I thought I'd might need to do a 2nd coat, but overnight drying worked great and I'm super psyched about these being not only eye-catching but setting the tone for the food lab units' organization.

FACS Classroom Environment enhanced with camping theme posters

New Camping Theme to be used in FACS classroom for Fall 2016

Let the Adventures Begin in FACS, Explore--Be Ready for College and Career, Be Happy Campers, Be Brave--try new things, Have Courage, Dear!, Have Glowing Behavior Today?, Give a Hoot for: respect, friendliness, support, encouragement, teamwork, and individuality

I'm thrilled with how these turned out and will be more so once I've trimmed and mounted to scrap booking papers that will add to the colors and camping theme. I want the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom to have a very inviting "I want to be in this room" atmosphere.

Proverbs--poster reminder with formula for relationships

Recipe for Relationships

A home economics (Family and Consumer Sciences) classroom just needs to use the word recipe instead of formula, right?!?! Well, a formula for relationships is found on this poster:

Whether discussing friendships, acquaintanceships, dating, or family interactions, we all can use a reminder to include patience, kindness, laughter, and love as we exchange dialogue with those around us.

Embellishments--New sign for new classroom using camping theme

STEM in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom

Creativity in projects whether for sewing, crafting, or other topics involves problem solving and some times engineering (folding, fabricating, designing, etc)

Bee Hive

creative engineering/crafting area

The page will be cut in half and mounted on scrapbooking paper rectangles before displaying in the classroom. The business of busy-ness of students is what I want and for purposely labeling and providing a set area of the room for crafting (creative engineering). 

Attachments--new pillow examples for Intro to FACS classes

Sewing projects 1, 2, & 3: small accent pillows building up basic machine sewing skills

Straight stitching, back stitching, reinforcing, and pivoting are the basic machine sewing skills learned with the 3 pillows photographed below:

Top photo is #3: students have to use scraps from their 2 coordinating fabrics and create a pillow that shows more complexity than pillow #2. They must also hand sew on 2 buttons minimum. I've added ribbon and rick-rack that I've tacked-stitched on to be part of my complexity. The back side which I'm not showing has a 4-square quilt block like #2 but I've added some batting and free-form machine stitched a large S into the center of that quilt block before I sewed the 2 sides together.

Middle photo is #2's quilt block. The other side is seen in the bottom photo on the left side (bandanna print).

Bottom photo on the right is #1. The gray, white, and black print fabric is used on both sides.

These are approximately 9" x 9". Working in rural poverty Midwest school district, I needed to keep costs down, so I require the smaller size pillows needing just 1/4 yard each of 2 coordinating fabrics.

Students feel so very accomplished after completing all 3 pillows!