For many sixth graders, their Family and Consumer Sciences class is their first real exposure to the kitchen. The first semester wrapped up for students on Jan. 23, leaving them with new cooking skills and confidence.
Family and Consumer Sciences is part of the sixth grade wheel courses at Berner Middle School, which also includes art, health and technology. Each semester, students take two of those courses on an every-other-day schedule. Among the cooking projects this past semester were cookies, monkey bread, pizza rolls and roasted potato wedges.
Several students have helped out with baking and cooking at home, but never took the lead until this class. They work in small groups, with each assigned a job including chef, assistant chef, kitchen aide and dishwasher. By rotating jobs throughout the semester, students get exposure to different responsibilities.
“It’s important to work together as a team,” sixth grader Amalia H. said. “Each role helps you understand what it’s like to be in a kitchen.”
Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Dani Shehada said that students learn how to prepare and read a recipe, and measure ingredients. Kitchen safety skills are taught before any cooking begins, and students are reminded to always keep a clean workspace.
“Throughout this semester, all of my students have shown tremendous growth by becoming more confident and independent individuals,” Ms. Shehada said. “They have also developed skills such as communication, critical thinking, time-management and problem-solving.”
Christopher B. and Hudson F., who were in a group together, said their favorite projects included pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and a chocolate fudge dip. They enjoyed the class so much that they got together one day at Hudson’s house to make Funfetti sugar cookies on their own, using the recipe they learned in class.
“I know how to handle a kitchen better,” Hudson said, who added that the most important aspect is following the recipe. “One wrong ingredient, or if you forget an ingredient, it will mess up the entire recipe and might not be good to eat.”
Ms. Shehada said that the goal of Family and Consumer Sciences classes are to give students practical skills they can use in their everyday lives. In eighth grade, they also learn how to sew and participate in a career exploration project, in addition to cooking.
“In FACS, I learned new ways to cook and tried different recipes,” sixth grader Charlotte V. said. “I expanded my tastebuds and made new friendships along the way. I learned basic safety precautions when preparing food. FACS is important because as we grow older, we must know how to be safe in the kitchen and be able to prepare food ourselves. We must know the way to share roles and responsibilities in the kitchen and in life.”