Connecting School and Home Exepriences

As a child I was always surrounded by experiences related to the family and consumer science discipline.  I loved observing the way my mom worked in the kitchen, decorated our house, washed our clothes, and sewed our Halloween costumes every year. As I got older I became increasingly interested in what I was observing and wanted to take those observations and put them into action.  Luckily my mom was patient and let me ask question after question until I had mastered the skills that I was so determined to learn.  Seeing the end results are what motivated me to continue finding other opportunities to learn.  As I got older my curiosity grew stronger and I wanted to be exposed to more experiences of homemaking skills.  I started babysitting because it was like playing “house.”  I could take care of children, make dinner, clean house, and get paid all at the same time.  I wanted to take on the role of a mother so quickly that I rightfully earned the nickname of “Suzy Homemaker” because I wanted to do it all!!  When I entered high school I had a lot of positive experiences in my FACS classes.  It was nice to learn the purpose behind all of the hobbies that I had taken up over the years.  I particularly remember the exact day my high school interior design teacher explained to me what a family and consumer science degree entailed.   

I almost fell to the floor in complete amazement!!

The heavens had opened and my brain went into an overload of excitement! 

I thought she was joking! I couldn't believe there was a college degree that encompassed all of the things that I had grown up enjoying doing so much.  I think it is safe to say these past experiences most definitely shaped the way I thought about this discipline, and my thoughts are still the same today.  In my future classroom I plan to teach my students the relationship between classroom learning and real life learning.  I will show them how the skills they learn in my classroom can be implemented outside of the classroom.   I will share personal experiences about how I have benefited from FACS skills.   I will be sure to make every lesson relatable to each student so they can interpret in a way that they can fully understand.  I will strive to help them understand that observing is one of the biggest teaching tools to possess.  I will explain that observing teaches us to look outside the social norm and standard ways of learning.