This has been exciting year for the family consumer sciences classes at Southwest Middle School. The focus is related to healthy food choices and activities. After the vitality project and the media attention concerning eating habits and food issues, my goal was to incorporate relevant learning and hands-on activities in nutrition.

In seventh-grade life skills, students learn about the food guide pyramid, the number of daily servings as well as serving sizes. Students had the opportunity to taste foods they may not have tried before such as kiwi, mango, edamame beans, jicama and roasted vegetables. They learn about the vegetables and fruits including how to store and use them to prepare healthy recipes.

Various food products are compared using price, taste and nutritional value. Using math skills, students determine the cost per serving. Recipes are prepared in the food lab using measurements. Kitchen safety and sanitation are emphasized.

In eighth-grade life choices, students study food labels. After learning the information on food labels, the students determine serving size, nutrients and ingredients using food packages. To include hands on learning, a variety of foods, including chips, cookies, vegetables, and snacks, are offered in serving size samples. Students select one and the first sample chosen was carrots. The food lab experiences teach not only cooking skills but learning to work as a group to complete a project. The NuVal nutritional scoring system is explained to assist students in comparison and wise food choices. Students use their math skills to prepare a grocery list using a weekly grocery advertisement. This reinforces wise food selection but also adding quantities of products and determining the total cost.

Other areas of lifelong learning skills taught in family and consumer sciences include clothing, child care, child development and consumerism.