Netflix Binge to Teach Organizational Skills!

Grab a cup of hot chocolate and get ready for a Netflix binge in the classroom!  The new Netflix series ‘Tidying Up’ has everyone talking about organization!  Your students will not be disappointed with your choice to implement this new series into your Interior design, child development, adult roles or relationships curriculum. 

The new Netflix series that was just released January 1st and is based on the KonMari organizational strategies by Marie Kondo.  She inspires individuals to tidy up their spaces using the spark of joy to bring happiness and ease to the home.  While helping individuals and families organize their homes she addresses the National FCS standard 2.2.2 - Apply time management, organizational, and process skills to prioritize tasks and achieve goals, by teaching an easy 5 step organizational process.  You can learn more about her “style” and simple techniques by visiting her website at https://konmari.com/. 

Image by konmari.com

Let the binge begin…..grab the hot chocolate, your favorite cozy blanket and settle down to find a new kind of motivation inspired by Marie!  

Purchase the ‘Tidying Up Movie Guides' that includes movie guides for 5 episodes and answer keys! Your students will be engaged, and walk away motivated!  

(Expires 1/20/19)

Visit my Etsy Shop and use the code TIDYUP19 to save 50% on this package of 5 movie guides!  

Want to make sure you get these deals before they are gone?  

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What are some of your favorite Netflix shows to use in the classroom? 

Fun Interactive Meal Planning!

Teaching and Stickers are just a natural fit! …….so when I ran across this AWESOME sticker book on Amazon I immediately thought about how I could use this in the classroom!

Image by melissaanddoug.com

Melissa & Doug makes a super cool sticker book for children and they have one with food!  For $4.99 on Amazon, you get 15 place settings and 225 stickers.  What a great way to end a lesson on nutrition or plating!

                                                       Image by melissaanddoug.com

Here are some additional ideas of how you could use this sticker book to engage your students!

• Have student use their nutrition knowledge to build a balanced meal. 
• Ask students to use the stickers to demonstrate Mise en place. 
• Use the Make a Meal sticker book as an introductory activity – ask students to create a plate then calculate the total calories, etc. 
• Using their food label knowledge have students create a meal under “xxx” calories.

Got another idea? Share it!  

How else can you use this awesome educational tool? 

Farm to Family & Consumer Sciences!

It’s harvest time across the Midwest.  Which means a couple things, slow-moving machinery, harvest moons, open fields, and an educational opportunity!  Farming is what led me to a career in Family & Consumer Sciences so many years ago.  I valued the love and labor my family put into feeding this country and knew I could be a part of that teaching by helping students learn to purchase, prepare, and preserve the commodities!

Being from small rural America I didn’t know when I entered this profession how many students would not know where their food comes from or how many products are derived from the grain yields of today’s farms!  I enjoy sharing these facts with the students....

Did you know that chewing gum is made of field corn?  

Click the chart below to learn more about what other items are made from corn.

Image from Iowa State University & National Corn Gowers Association

Did you know one United State's farm feeds about 165 people?  
Click the image below to learn more Farm and Food Facts.

Image from American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture

In the classroom, I seize the harvest season as an opportunity to teach students about the farm and how food is grown, shipped, and stored in addition to purchased, prepared, and preserved.  Since Family & Consumer Science programs outweigh Agriculture programs in today’s education system it is only fair to do our part to educate students using the farm to table platform. 

Farm Bureau is a national organization that speaks out on issues of concern for the nation’s farmers and ranchers, rural Americans, and consumers who care about maintaining our nation’s food security. This wonderful organization can help you bring this platform to your classroom.  The organization stands to support the nation’s food supply and has created an educational platform to educate everyone on agricultural related topics.  This service is provided through “Agriculture in the Classroom.”  The website and volunteers offer a wealth of educational resources that can be used in your classrooms. 

Check out these examples!

Farm to Table Video

Food & Nutrition Resources

Agriculture Careers

Energy Bar Exploration: Project-Based Lesson

Culinary Concepts: Project-Based Lesson

The quicker the better? Lesson

That is not it, there are many more!  Go check out their AWESOME "Ag in the Classroom" website and educate your students about our food network.  

In addition to the free items provided on the website, the organization has volunteers that will come speak to your students!  Reach out to your state program about availability in your area. 

Interested in learning more about Ag in the classroom?  Check out their annual conference – scholarships are available to help pay for this professional development!  Also, follow "Ag in the Classroom" on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for new resource updates.

Do you have a partnership with your local Farm Bureau organization?

UPDATED: Child Development Planning Guide

Do you teach Child Development?  Do you LOVE teaching but don't have time to plan?  If you answered "YES" then grab this FREE download!  It's a Child Development Planning Guide, yes the full scope and sequence! 

Click the image to download your FREE copy!

This document was recently updated with new resources!  If you don't want to miss the release of new lessons be sure to follow my blog, Teachers Pay Teacher Store and/or Etsy Shop.  

Want to know more about the planning guide?  See my previous post by clicking the image below!

Click the image to view the previous blog post.

What lesson do you want to see me release next?  Did you know that in recent months I have been designing on request - don't hesitate to ask!

It’s Spooky, It’s Educational, It’s Halloween Fun!

As a high school teacher, I always leverage the holidays as a great way to incorporate a little fun into my curriculum, an opportunity to lighten the mood of the classroom and bring the joy of school back to the learning environment.  These small moments throughout the school year put smiles on the faces of my students and myself, especially when teaching child development! 

Halloween is one of those little spooky holidays that many high school students remember celebrating as a child.  So why not continue to howl and celebrate?  A little strand of wicked pumpkin lights across the whiteboard, a black tablecloth draped across my podium and let the kids do the rest!

Grab a pack of cheap paper plates, some paints, construction and tissue paper, party streamers, and string to get the midnight decorating started.  Have your students make a Halloween Paper Plate Craft to decorate the room. Need ideas? Visit the Crafty Morning Blog for some of my personal favorites!

Image from Crafty Morning Blog

This activity is a great craft for after a unit test or quiz.  Students can begin crafting quietly while others are still testing. When they are finished have them hang their masterpieces on the walls and/or from the ceilings to make your classroom a little haunted. 

In addition to decorating the classroom, I don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate!  On or near Halloween Day my Child Development class participates in a standard-based Halloween party!  The party if fun, educational, and most of all a great marketing tool!  

Activities included in the Child Development Halloween Party Lesson Plan include...

• Crafts
• Coloring
• Games
• Snacks

The Child Development Halloween Lesson Plan download includes printables, grouping labels, directions for activities, aligned national FCS standards, and a follow-up written assignment and rubric. 

You can purchase this great Lesson Plan by visiting my Etsy Store, TeachingSuccessFCS.   

Use the code: SPOOKYFUN to save 25% through midnight Monday, October 8th!

How do you celebrate

Halloween in your classroom?

Taking the Finish Line with FCCLA Professional Development

This past week I was very honored to be invited to present at the Indiana FCCLA Fall Rally Adviser workshop held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  This group of professionals works hard every day not just teaching but bringing the ultimate leadership experience to their students.

While students were learning about skills to help them win the 'race'.  I was able to work with both new and veteran advisers from across the state in 'pit row.' 


The first presentation focused on educating new advisers about FCCLA through an interactive presentation that incorporated the experience of veteran advisers.  Did you know FCCLA has 164,000 members and it takes just 12 for you to have your own chapter!

**Click the logo to view more facts about FCCLA**

We were able to 'start the race' with a simple icebreaker, click the image below to download a FREE copy to use at your next chapter meeting!

Click the image to download your FREE copy!  or visit TpT Store: Teaching Success with FCS.

Using Nearpod we discussed how to get an FCCLA chapter started by recruiting, affiliating and engaging 'the fans!'  This was followed by topics such as meetings, officers, planning events and fundraising - all the 'race day' essentials!

As part of the workshop, advisers were provided an agenda template to use at their next chapter meeting.  In celebration of this 'victorious' professional development, you can download a FREE copy too!

Click the image to download your FREE copy!  or visit TpT Store: Teaching Success with FCS.

In the afternoon training, advisers learned how to incorporate FCCLA STAR Events into their classroom.  The presentation explained how STAR Events meet students learning needs through standards-based teaching, differentiation, project-based learning, and many more current best teaching practices to 'win the race!'

Did you know that the My Career Plan and Career Investigation STAR Event are great companions?  Check out the FREE outline to 'fuel' your classroom!

Click the image to download your FREE copy! 

Do you need a speaker at your next FCCLA event?  Contact me to discuss how I could bring some of these learning opportunities to your group!

Fundraiser Fatigue?

Do you get Fundraising Fatigue?

Do the words “Fundraiser Fatigue” describe your feelings when thinking about student clubs and/or organizations? The amazing opportunities students are provided through these extra curricula’s are often overshadowed by the door to door sales or hosted events to raise adequate funds. All this can be exhausting in addition to your “day job”. If you can relate to this I would encourage you to pick up a copy of the book “Club Funding Smarter Not Harder” written by Ryan M. Judge.

Judge is a former Family, Career and Community Leaders of America advisor who perfected and eliminated traditional fundraisers. I recently had the pleasure of reading and reviewing his book. The publication is easy to read and outlines how to acquire business sponsorships to fund your club or organizations needs in an effort to reduce teacher burn out, parent frustration, and fundraiser competition within your school.

I appreciated the texts attention to detail, providing helpful insight into a proven model for success. Judge not only provides essential documents for setting up a corporate sponsorship model but also how to begin networking with local businesses to support your program. The book provides all the information and tools you need to maximize your donation dollars with sponsorship levels and ideas on how to give back to your donors. He shares with his readers letter templates to get started along with tips on how to personalize each letter and set up an efficient contact database. Judge's simple to follow process and materials are worth the read for anyone looking to let go of the “fundraiser fatigue” as we begin a new school year.


To help eliminate your fatigue, Judge includes how to incorporate his model into your club or organizations handbook and suggest getting students and parents involved in the process. He shares his best practices for including all members. Involving parents and students can add diversity to the outreach of companies, personalized your approach and lessen the workload of the advisor.

If you are interested in spending more time planning your student’s next learning experience versus a fundraiser check out this book. 

You can purchase “Club Funding Smarter Not Harder” on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or by visiting www.theseasonedgroup.com/publications and use the code: SUMMER by September 8th to SAVE $5 on your order!


Do you use business sponsorships to fund your club or organizations events?