1. Have a cookie lab or allow the students to create a new cookie recipe and let the students judge on the best tasting or most creative.
2. Make holiday ornaments. If you have a class tree, you can use these to decorate the tree until the break. You can easily make them by using either the affordable plastic ornaments, foam balls, light bulbs, or any other creative materials. Allow the students to paint them, put things inside, add decorative elements and more. Check out my pinterest board here for tons of more ideas!
3. Create a standards covered scrapbook. This one keeps the educational level up in the class while also being fun. Give the students a list of all standards covered and have them find pictures or insert completed projects that cover the standards. Remember to have to decorative elements to make the scrapbook look great!
4. Community Service Project. These are always great this time of year and can most definitely be used for Star Events competitions as well. Check out some of my service project ideas here.
5. Create a FACS promotional brochure. These can be great when done correctly and when done by the students, helps promote the program that much more.
6. New Year Calendars. Have students create calendars for the upcoming year by providing them with blank calendars and for each month have them put relevant tips, ideas, and information for that month. For example, for April, they can put prom tips, dress/suit ideas, etc. For March, they can put St. Patrick’s day recipes or green recipes, and more. Either way, you want the calendar to be useful for the students throughout the year.
7. Class Evaluations. Have students complete class evaluations on your class. This can be very eye-opening and should provide you with several ideas for the upcoming year.
8. Recipe for Success. Using the scrapbook recipe format have students create a recipe scrapbook page for future students on how to be successful in your FACS class. Encourage them to use lots of pictures and decorative elements.
9. Covered Standards Scavenger Hunt. This can be so fun and will allow students to find ways that FACS is useful in the real world. Provide students with a list of the standards and provide them with a standard gift bag. Students will then place items that they have found that relate to the standard in the bag. You can even have the students share what they brought and why they think it applies to the standard. Items like newspaper articles, magazine articles, internet articles, recipes, are great too! Example: Analyze developmentally appropriate toys for children and students can bring in a toy and share with the class the appropriate age level and what it does.
10. Invent a Holiday. Now this one is going to be interesting. (So many holidays in the winter, why not?) Discuss with the students that most holidays have traditions, certain foods, a certain way to dress, a certain meaning, and usually a symbol and/or color. Have them think about their favorite holiday and why it is their favorite. Then have students create their own holiday with all of those same aspects and share with the class either through posters, PowerPoint or oral presentation. You could even have the students create greeting cards as well!
11. Create a Standard Poster. This is simple, have students choose a standard and create a poster along with an illustration or class photo that pertains to the standard. Can be great to use in your classroom for the upcoming year.
12. Happy Holiday Potluck! Assign each student or group a holiday. You can focus on only fall/winter holidays or holidays throughout the year. Have the students either make a presentation or create a poster about their assigned holiday and choose a dish to make and bring for the holiday potluck. What a great way to end the year with an educational potluck (not a party!)!!
I hope that these activities help and get your juices flowing. If you have any other ideas you would like to share please do so below or on our facebook page. Please enjoy the free modifiable template to use for your own class.
