Life Skills: Life Centered EDUCATION

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The Life Skills Program is an educational curriculum designed to assist students in developing the skills they need to function in the community after they leave school. It is intended to be truly "functional education."

The Life Skills cooking curriculum focuses and emphasizes food concepts which will help them maintain a healthy life style. Students learn how to budget, shop for food and how to prepare inexpensive and easy to make meals.

 

 

General Outline of Teaching Units

 

Kitchen safety and sanitation

• importance of washing hands
• washing and storing of dishes
• maintaining clean work area
• dangers within the kitchen
• first aid training for burns and cuts
• food storage

Nutrition

• food pyramid listing food groups
• vitamins and minerals
• calorie awareness
• importance of balanced meals
• maintaining a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise

Shopping

• meal planning
• making a shopping list
• shopping and store etiquette
• comparison shopping
• using coupons and advertised sales

Cooking

• reading the recipe
• understanding recipes and measurements
• selecting utensils (pots, pans, utensils) for cooking
• food preparation: washing, peeling and cutting, etc..

Eating out

• entering the restaurant
• ordering meals
• table manners
• figuring the bill
• tipping
• paying the bill

Miscellaneous Concepts Taught

• shelf life, spoilage and refrigeration
• buying in season, supply and demand costing

 

 

 

The Life Skills Math curriculum focuses on helping the students learn practical and functional math skills that are used in everyday living.

The math curriculum is an individually based program. It is designed to help students progress towards knowledge of everyday math skills.

 

Money Math

• recognizing currency: naming coins and 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills
• counting change: giving and receiving correct change
• budgeting: students learn about simple household expenses (utilities, food, refuse, repairs...) and develop awareness of how much money is needed each month for living expenses.
• banking: students learn how to open and maintain a savings and checking account
• purchasing: (next dollar strategy) leaning how to pay for purchased items with the correct bills, comparative shopping...
• figuring federal income taxes: students learn about how much money the IRS takes out of each paycheck and they learn how the federal government spends it

Practical Applications

• addition, subtraction and multiplication: single, double and triple digit problems and word problems that involve addition, subtraction and multiplication
• division: simple to complex division and use in word problems
• housing: cost, how much of your income will go towards housing
• personal expenses: transportation ( bus system or car payment), recreation (movies, restaurants, bowling, skiing...), clothing, medical, dental
• games: students participate in card or board games that help the students grasp the above mentioned competence.

Time

• basic strategies: for telling time using both types of clocks
• estimating time: what time do I need to leave, how long will it take to get to work, a appointment...
• terminology: am, pm, before, until, after, past