Thursday, December 12, 2013

Happy holidays!


Happy holidays from Colorado FCCLA! We wish you and your chapter a wonderful holiday season full of relaxation, rest, and fond memories. See you in 2014! 




Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Holiday Community Service Ideas

The holiday season is a great time to give back to your community. Check out some of the community service ideas Ms. Krupa (Missouri) mentions!

The holidays are about giving and spending time with loved ones, but can also be an extremely stressful time for all of us. The holidays can be even more stressful for the under-privileged, elderly or those who do not have loved ones close. These are perfect opportunities for FCCLA members to serve! If students can get involved in giving back to a cause or helping their community in a way that matters to them, the lasting benefits can be far-reaching. Part of the key to our success with the projects is letting the kids pick out what they want to do. The simpler the project, the more successful it’s likely to be.

There are many ideas for projects! Here is just a small list to help you get started:

• Collect items (lotions, nail polish, sweatpants, sweaters, games, snacks, etc.) for a local nursing home.
• Sponsor a family for Christmas. Volunteer with the organization that gathers the gifts to sort all the donations. 
• Join the Salvation Army bell ringers.
• Collect toys for Toys for Tots.
• Adopt needy families within your school district through a school social worker. 
• Walk to a local nursing home and sing Christmas Carols. 
• Host a “Parent’s Day Out” where parents are able to drop off their children for the day to finish up holiday shopping or run errands. Provide snacks, lunch, games, and activities for the day.
• Send holiday cards to soldiers.
• Bake holiday treats to take down to a local homeless shelter.
• Offer a gift-wrapping service and donate the money to a charity.
• Shovel snow from a neighbor’s sidewalk.
• Help an elderly person put up Christmas lights.
• Make a meal for families in Ronald McDonald Homes.
• Collect and donate gently used books to a children's hospital.

There are many opportunities for community service projects. Giving back never goes out of style. Despite all the new toys in stores and fancy holiday apps online, volunteer work remains one of the best ways to spend the season. In addition to fostering thoughtfulness, charity, and social skills, service-based learning teaches students how to identify and solve issues worth caring about.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Classroom Integration- December

Classroom Integration Ideas:

  • Give a Guided Grocery Store Tour! Find out more at http://cookingmatters.org/at-the-store   
  • Celebrate Games and Puzzle week in November by hosting a family game and puzzle night or host a game time during lunch or after school 
  • Decorate members lockers with a Thanksgiving message on how thankful you are that they are members 
  • Write to a new friend and learn about a new culture using epals.com (safe online pen pal tool) 
  • Give the gift of Alumni & Associates membership to your graduating seniors for only $5.00! Email the state adviser for more information
  • Host a holiday party for members where you celebrate holiday traditions from around the world 

Friday, November 8, 2013

Classroom integration- November

Classroom Integration Ideas:
  • Wonders of the World Map Bulletin Board - Display a map and give each student a pushpin to indicate the most exciting wonder of the world they have visited (they do not have to be the original 7) Before they can place their pin on the board they must share the story with group members as an “get to know you” activity.
  • Label class groups by the 7 Wonders.  Students should create a group chant to build unity.
  • In a Foreign Foods course have groups do reports specifically on the countries where the 7 Wonders are found.
  • Inspiration Boards -
      1. In Design courses have students create inspiration boards to help facilitate the design process.
      2. In Core courses create vision boards (but call them inspiration boards) when discussing values, goals, and decision making.
  • Partner interviews - have students interview a partner then introduce them to the class using the following prompts.  
      1. Great Barrier Reef - how do you demonstrate your diversity
      2. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro - describe a time when looking at something with a different perspective helped solve a problem
      3. Mount Everest - a time when you were on top of the world or a real high point of your life
      4. Grand Canyon - a time when you disappointed or experienced a low in your life
      5. Aurora - the most eerie thing you’ve experienced
      6. Paricutin Volcano - a time when you surprised someone
      7. Victoria Falls - share something spectacular about yourself
  • Aurora Borealis - Bake star shaped cookies on a POW introduction day.

 

Bulletin Board Ideas

·         Prepare for the Journey

·         Experience the wonder

·         Beyond discovery

·         See the world with FCCLA

Wonder what leader you’ll be

Friday, October 18, 2013

October 24 - Food Day!

Celebrate with Colorado FCCLA the 3rd annual Food Day —October 24—by organizing events with your friends, family, and community. Last year, thousands of Americans came together for over 3,200 events in all 50 states. How will you help America Eat Real? Here are some ways you and your chapter can celebrate Food Day developed by Colorado FCCLA advisers:

·         Partner with local businesses to get free items when you mention you are there for Food Day

·         Pass out family-friendly recipe cards to all students

·         Promote a variety of menu items to eat on Food Day

·         Ask all teachers to hang their favorite recipe on the outside of their door

·         Host a bring your health lunch picnic (with music and games) during lunch for the school

·         Hold chef demonstrations on Food Day

·         Pledge to make a family meal contests

·         Host a kids cook dinner night

·         Prepare a food scavenger hunt about healthy eating around the school

·         Host a Food Excursion Game

·         Talk to lunchroom about showcasing local items on the menu

·         Visit a farm to table site

·         Sample food items from your local area

·         Instagram the making and eating of a family meal

·         Host a flavored water station for the school to promote water intake

Monday, September 23, 2013

Classroom integration- September

Classroom Integration Ideas:

1.       Go Orange For Hunger: Support Share Our Strength, National Outreach Project, and go orange for hunger on September 24. Visit nokidhungry2.org/goorange for more ideas.

2.      Media Revolution: Show “Social Media Revolution 2012-2013” (YouTube) as an introductory to positive image in social media.  

3.      FCCLA Great Barrier Parfait: Introduce FCCLA with the FCCLA Introductory Prezi. Give students an FCCLA knowledge test but have each question represent a different ingredient in a yogurt parfait which represents the Great Barrier Reef (yogurt as water, granola as coral, fruit as fish, etc). Don’t forget to top it with a Swedish fish!

4.      Map Your Expedition through Life : An activity for Life Management where students map out their goals (their 7 Wonders) and plan what they need to accomplish each goal (supplies for their expedition)

 

Bulletin Board Ideas

·         Wonders of the World

·         Focus on Your Wonders

·         Zoom in on Inspiration

·         Inspiration Awaits you

·         Dare to discover

 

 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Classroom Integration- August

FCCLA is a great teaching method to use in a FACS Class. Please feel free to use the following ways to integrate the state theme and FCCLA into your classroom.

Classroom Integration Ideas:

1. I’m Going on a Expedition (Icebreaker): This is the old game of "Going to Jerusalem".  The first person says, "I am going on an Expedition” and I'm going to take an _________" and fills the blank with something that begins with the first letter "A": such as "Ax". The next person must repeat what the first person said and add something that begins with the letter "B": such as "I am going on an Expedition and I'm going to take an Ax,  and a Blanket."  The next person must repeat all and add something that begins with the next letter: such as "I am going on an Expedition and I'm going to take an Apple, and a Blanket, and my Compass"  Continue around the room and see how far you can go through the alphabet. You can also play using other rules - Item starts with same letter of first name, etc.

2. 7 Wonders of You: Explain the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and have students then write down one of their personal characteristics that relates to a characteristic of each of the natural wonders. Have students discuss how they can develop each of their written characteristics in this class.

3. Climbing Mount Everest: This can be used for any content area and is for generating/ brainstorming. Start by having a large triangle drawn (like a mountain) and divide it into three layers. The first layer is for general/ easy ideas; the second layer is for intermediate ideas and the last layer are for difficult ideas. The student will start at the bottom of the mountain (bottom layer) and have to climb their way to the top with ideas.

4. Outdoor Wonders: Plan an outdoor lesson or service project that takes advantage of your local natural wonders.

5. Japanese Tea Ceremony: Research and present on the history of the Japanese Tea Ceremony.  

 

Bulletin Board Ideas

·         Start Your Expedition to…

·         Pack Your Leadership Bags!

·         FCCLA… the 8th World Wonder!

·         Explore   Amaze   Inspire

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Vice President of Membership (2013-2014)

Hello Colorado FCCLA! This is your 2013-2014 state Vice President of Membership, Letha Plecker. I am thrilled to be serving you as a state officer this year. Last year I served as your VP of Publications and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience.

I am going to be a senior at Highlands Ranch High School in the Denver metro area. My favorite areas of study are history and of course FACS classes. It is my goal to become a FACS teacher after college and continue doing what I love: teaching, mentoring, FACS, and FCCLA. I have already jump started my teaching career by teaching 4th-7th graders on Sunday evenings and 4-8 year olds on Tuesday evenings. I love teaching, it's my passion! In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading, and cooking. I also volunteer at a teen drop-in center downtown every week with my family. I have four younger brothers who keep me going. My dad works with computer databases, my mom is a full time mom and a part time retail seller. My favorite color is pink, but FCCLA red comes close. My favorite food is chocolate but steak and ribs are a close second. I'm just an average teenaged girl who has a passion for FCCLA and loves being a leader.

I am aware that you didn't need all of that information, but I have found it helpful to be relatable. Many students that I have talked to are somewhat intimidated by state officers when they are in uniform (which is a lot!) and I wanted to lessen that fear by being relatable. All of the state officers are wonderful people and you have no reason to be intimidated by them because their job is to be the voice of FCCLA, to be your voice. They are normal people who love this organization so much they couldn't resist the need to be a voice for FCCLA. That doesn't mean that you are exempt from being a voice in your community! The officers can only be in one place at a time and we need your help as members to get the word out about FCCLA! We need YOU!

So FCCLA, comment below and tell me something about yourself or about how you have been a voice for FCCLA in your community! I want to hear from you! You can also email us at coloradofccla@gmail.com

Monday, February 11, 2013