Links to FACS-Friendly Internet Sites

I am constantly amazed at the scope of the information available on the Internet. The amount of information is so vast that often it can be intimidating. What I have tried to do with this list of links is to include sites that I have found useful and reliable. Please check back to this section of my web site often, because as I find new sites that can be particularly useful to FACS teachers, I will add them to the list. If you have a site that you would like to have added to this link list, e-mail me and I will check it out and possibly add it.

Our Latest Finds

Bread World When you bake, there are all kinds of lessons to learn and discoveries to be made. You probably know that already. But your teachers may appreciate a reminder. In fact, we feel sure they’d love to know about the Bread Activity Booklets Fleischmann’s Yeast offers. Each booklet serves as a Teacher's Guide. So why not do them and your class a favor. Tell them about this section of breadworld.com. Or, you could simply print out this section for them.
Adorn Magazine This new sewing and crafting publication will give you and your style-savvy students lots of ideas for spicing up your textiles and apparel classes.
Learn to Knit Knitting and crocheting are hot again!  Teach your students to express their creativity by helping them to master this timeless skill.  This site is a great place to begin.
Start Something Start Something Dream Believer's Teacher Kit is a free resource developed by Target and the Tiger Woods Foundation.  Great curriculum for teaching goal setting, leadership, teamwork and volunteerism.
Cutting Edge Discover the latest techniques, products and projects in sewing for fashion, crafts, and home use.
Make It U Great website for inspiring teens to release their creativity through sewing!  Lots of projects and activities your students are sure to love.
Budgeting Click on Consumer Connection at this website for information on budgeting and other helpful consumer advice.
Entrepreneurship This website is directed to teens who want to turn a hobby into a small business.  It offers helpful tips and practical advice and case studies of successful young entrepreneurs.
Teens and Money The section of this website devoted to kids deals with many issues including the topic of teens and money from the parent's perspective.  Assess a teen's readiness for a job, tips on discussing money, and more
Quilt Design Get your students started on one of the hottest sewing trends today.  This website offers a large collection of small quilt projects students will find appealing.


Diet & Exercise

Nabisco This new feature on the Nabisco web site features 100 healthy living tips, information about calorie intake and use.  Good reference for teaching diet and exercise and for personal use as well.
Kraft Foods Healthy Living section features recipes, tools, calculators and more helpful information for making wise choices about diet and exercise.

Education

Education World  Fabulous site offering links to virtually every aspect and curriculum area education.  There's a page devoted to Family and Consumer Science!

Food Preparation

EpicuriousGreat resource for all things food.
All RecipesFind virtually any recipe from this useful web site.
Doughmakers This fledgling company was started by two Indiana Moms as a fundraiser program for their children.  They now market their great gourmet cookware and still have an excellent fundraising program.  Good recipes, too.

Hungry Monster

Entertaining and informative site that features food facts, food jokes, a description of  international cuisines, several food glossaries, and much more.
Dole5aDay Wonderful information, activities and recipes for encouraging students to include more fruits and vegetables in their diets.  Fun!
Fabulous Foods The site features cookbook reviews and links to many other food sites. The Cooking School section is informative and easy to use.
Home Baking This site features recipes, baking tips, and extensive glossary, educator resources and nutrition information all related to baked products.
 
Betty Crocker As you would expect, this is a great source of reliable recipes, but you’ll find so much more. It’s also a handy reference including a glossary, cooking and baking charts, ingredient substitution chart and a section called All About Cooking, Baking & Entertaining. One of my favorite sections is Meet Betty, which traces the history of, you guessed it, Betty Crocker.
 
Better Homes and Gardens Structured very much like the magazine, this site is an extensive source for information related to food and entertaining, house and home, gardening, family activities and more. My favorite feature of this site is the How To Encyclopedia.
 
Kraft Foods Come into the Kraft Interactive Kitchen at this site. Lots and lots of recipes, featuring a Recipe of the Day. My favorite feature of this site is the Food & Family section–ideas to use food to bring families together in fun and creative ways.
 
Domino Sugar A clever site that loaded with good information. Some of my favorite features of this site include a good history of sugar, a very good recipe library, a baking school and recipes specific to major holidays. Meet Dottie is a fun feature.
 
Gourmet Spot Bookmark this one because you’re going to use it a lot. It’s a tremendous resource for all things food. This site is also a direct link to several other of my favorite sites: Epicurious, The Kitchen Link, and SOAR (Searchable Online Archive of Recipes). The Food Reference and Food A to Z sections are extensive! The section on How to Repair Food could save a foods lab from sure disaster.
 
Foodies This site is dedicated to a celebration of American cuisine. It is "a playful place for people serious about food." The site features a very complete offering of All American recipes plus helpful hot-to’s and tips.
 
Recipe Source Your students will find this site very useable when searching for recipes specific to a particular region of the world or by recipe type. Recipe collection is enormous! A search can also be conducted by specific recipe title.
 
The Cook’s Thesaurus An easy to use site that provides comprehensive basic information about all types of foods. The site is divided into 17 food categories and provides an easily searchable source of facts related to food and food preparation.
 
Culinary Cafe This site features a huge recipe index, but that’s only the beginning. It also offers a spice encyclopedia, a good hints and tips section, an explanation of kitchen equipment. This section includes complete explanations regarding a wide variety of pieces, plus very good photos of each item. Great for getting students acquainted with kitchen utensils and equipment.

Food History

Food Timeline The most extensive reference I’ve found for tracing the role of food in history. This is the only reference you’ll need for this topic. Links are provided for virtually all entries. Culinary history is a great way to integrate FACS with other curriculum areas. Check this one out. I think you’ll be fascinated.

Nutrition & Food Science

USDA

Food and nutrition resources for teachers plus nutrient database.
 
Food Pyramid 2005 Official site for explanation and application of the new Food Pyramid.
Nutrition Explorations Resources for teaching nutrition.
NET Resources and activities for all grade levels from Illinois Nutrition Education and Training Program.

Sewing and Crafts

 Hancock Fabrics Good source of fabric and pattern information, sewing notions, products plus free project instructions.
  
 American Sewing Guild American Sewing Guild web site dedicated to promoting sewing and related crafts. Good links section
  
 The Electric Quilt I see teaching quilting as a great way to get kids started sewing as well as to integrate geometry and measuring into our curriculum. How about developing a unit with a teacher in your math department? Electric Quilt makes wonderful software for designing quilts from start to finish. This web site has lots of useful information about quilting, but my favorite feature is the Mystery Quilt. The text invites you to "Join us as the world-famous New York Detective, Mitzi McDruben, solves another quilt mystery. The story is told in eight on-line chapters and each chapter ends with a quilt lesson using EQ4. It’s a great way for students to learn to use the software, practice sewing skills, apply math concepts, and get practice following directions.
  
 Compucrafts Compucrafts produces software for generating cross stitch and other needlecraft charts. For their web site you can download a free demo version of Stitch Crafts Gold version 5.01. I use this software and it’s very good. Before planning to use it in class, you should spend some time getting to know the program yourself. Of course, that’s true of any software program. The site provides lots of information about using the software as well as links to many other stitching resources.
  

JoAnn's

This is the web site for JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts and it is an excellent source for craft projects, fabric selections, sewing notions and more. Items can be purchased on line, but lots of information can be printed from the site.
   
McCall's & Butterick Browse and shop for patterns on line or print off project sheets. Sites offer links to other web sites related to sewing and fashion design.
Simplicity
   
Home Sewing Assoc. Linked sites that provide unlimited sources of information and resources for sewing educators. Fascinating information regarding clinical studies that document that sewing relieves stress and enhances creativity. Very good reference for validating your program.

Relationship Skills
The Dibble Fund The non-profit Dibble fund offers a variety of materials for teaching kids and teens how to build more successful relationships.
Glencoe Provided by McGraw-Hill/Glencoe educational publishers, this section of their web site offers excellent free classroom resources. New activities are added weekly.

Child Development
Sesame Workshop Great online resource for early childhood education from the creators of Sesame Street.
Family Fun Online version of Family Fun magazine, this website is packed with activities and articles that adapt well to use in the FACS classroom.
Child Development Info Comprehensive site written for parents, but full of useful information and resources for FACS teachers.
Bright Tots This site features a wealth of information related to child development and related topics. Great resource!

Resource Management
Consumer Information Center Federal Citizen Information Center web site.
Consumer Economics Comprehensive list of resources on all topics related to consumer economics.
Economics Education Internet-based lessons for teaching economics.

Living Environments and Interior Design
Lowes Lots of information from project calculators, on-line demos, to virtual painter which allows you to see the colors you choose in actual room.
Home Depot Very good visual instruction on home improvement projects.
Home & Garden TV Great resource for all things related to home design and decorating.
Do It Yourself Network Great video demonstrations and project instructions plus lots more.

Character Building
Teens Make A Difference Real life community service projects.