Small children love few things more than cookies, so Milford Family, Career and Community Leaders of America student Stephen Vance thought why not teach them how to make their favorite treats.
Vance, an eighth grader at Milford, had the idea to teach second graders how to bake cookies for his FCCLA Students Taking Action with Recognition project. According to the FCCLA website, STAR projects challenge a student to demonstrate knowledge, skills and abilities to actively identify an issue concerning families, careers or communities. They then have to research a topic and develop and implement a project to push toward a positive change.
Vance's category was “teach and train,” which challenged him to create and deliver a lesson to a group of children.
Vance said his project combined his passion for science and desire to be a teacher with the possibility of teaching life skills to children at a young age.
Before children hit the kitchen, Vance said he taught students the basics in baby steps.
“I used lots of pictures and small steps,” he said. “I also made sure each kid had a job t o do.”
Once the students were ready to bake, Vance said he had to remind them to stay on task from time to time and was able to offer help when needed. But for the most part, he said, the second graders grasped the lessons and were able to produce quality cookies.
“It was the best experience,” he said. “I felt so blessed.”
Vance said the project reinforced his desire to work with children and felt like they had fun along the way.
“When one of the second graders said, 'This is the best day of my life,' that was the best part,” he said. “Their excitement was fun to be a part of.”
