Working...
Students in Housing and Interior Design have been working hard on putting what they’ve learned into action. Students completed a project to create a design plan and sample board for a nursery. Conveniently, one of Putnam County’s very own was expecting her first baby. Mrs. Tiffani Klinginsmith was nice enough to act as our client. Based on a client interview, students used the basic elements and principals of design and created designs for her nursery. This project can be done with an imaginary client, but the students enjoyed the project even more knowing their projects were designed for a “real-life” person.
Students in Child Development have spent the semester spanning development starting with pre-natal up to children three years of age. When discussing pre-natal development and pregnancy, students were required to wear the Empathy Belly Pregnancy Simulator. The belly is a weighted garment that will allow the wearers to temporarily experience more than 20 of the typical symptoms of effects of pregnancy including weight gain, increase in body temperature, pressure on bladder, and many more. When wearing the garment they had to do various everyday activities like doing laundry, washing dishes, and to lie down. Students also took a field trip to the birthing centers in the Mercy Medical Hospital in Centerville, IA.
Students most recently in Child Development have been learning about the physical development of toddlers one – three years of age. Students have completed a healthy snack cookbook and they were given the chance to cook and sample a variety recipes. Beyond nutrition, we have been discussing the difference between gross and fine motor skills of a toddler and how to develop those skills. To show students what it feels to have the fine motor skills of a three-year-old, they were asked to color a basic shape using their toes. Students were surprised to have a picture that looked much like one of a three-year-old. Our class is also creating a variety of coloring books which can help increase the fine motor skills of a toddler while allowing them to use their creativity with color. We are donating the coloring books to our local daycare centers in Unionville or to the preschool classroom.
Through active, hands-on activities, students have been working hard in FCS (Family and Careers Skills) classes to apply the knowledge they’ve learned in an interesting, fun, interactive way.