Sept. 4, 2024
“Family and Consumer Science (FCS) is a new program at Hickory Hills this year, and the course description sounded like everything I love. I’m excited to be involved in a department that has so many hands-on experiences and teaches kids skills they will use for the rest of their lives. Plus, it gets them excited about even more amazing FCS and FCCLA opportunities as they head to Glendale for high school!
This is my sixth year at Hickory Hills, and in the time I’ve been here, a few groups and classes have worked in the terrace gardens and greenhouse, but no one was able to devote consistent time to it. I asked Mrs. Young, the Hickory Hills principal, if I could incorporate the area in my FCS classes, and she answered with an enthusiastic “Yes!” Kendall Slaughter, the SPS Farm to School Coordinator, helped me clean out the gardens, power wash the tiles, and plant everything because I really had no gardening experience before this summer. I could not have done this without his expertise!
As we worked all summer, I hoped the students would love the area and enjoy learning about the various plants and vegetables we can grow throughout the year, and I wanted them to experience what could be accomplished. My seventh-grade classes will work in the space the most because it ties in with their life science curriculum. Students are already sharing that they are excited to finish up the summer plants and begin preparing for the fall. I’m hoping they find gardening to be an outlet or even a hobby they can return to in their futures.
In the terrace gardens, students are learning skills in FCS classes that they will use for the rest of their lives. We focus on improving interpersonal skills and learning human development, along with the basics of cooking, sewing, and budgeting. These tasks help develop critical thinking skills that students will use forever.” - Julie Johnson, Family and Consumer Science teacher at Hickory Hills K-8 School
