Family & Consumer Sciences Resources

Child Development

This course is a technical laboratory course that addresses knowledge and skills related to child growth and development from prenatal through school-age children, equipping students with child development skills. Students use these skills to promote the well-being and healthy development of children and investigate careers related to the care and education of children.

Child Development Associate Foundations

This course addresses the knowledge and skills related to applying Child Development Associate Competency Standards in early childhood environments and understanding how these competencies help young children move with success from one developmental stage to the next..

Food Science

This course is the study of the nature of foods, the causes of deterioration, the principles underlying food processing and the improvement of foods for the consuming public. In Food Science students will conduct laboratory and field investigations, use scientific methods during investigations and make informed decisions using critical thinking and scientific problem solving.

Introduction to Family & Consumer Sciences

This course focuses on a broad range of topics in Family & Consumer Sciences such as human services, employability skills, consumer practices, leadership skills, community service, apparel construction and interior design. Additionally, the course offers FCS Challenge lessons where students are prompted with a problem and use skills they have learned in the course to meet the challenge.

Principles of Education & Training

This course introduces learners to various potential careers in education. During this course, students will study the societal context that influences schools, as well as various educational models. In addition, they will learn the basic responsibilities of a classroom educator.

Instructional Practices

This course can prepare students for a career in education. The course will help students gain valuable knowledge over topics like leadership, learning styles and how to create a successful learning environment for others.

Human Growth & Development

This course analyzes human development across the lifespan. Within the course, milestones for physical, emotional, social and cognitive development are identified and methods for optimizing development are explained.

How to Get a Child Development Associate Certification

As a CTE Family and Consumer Sciences instructor, chances are that you have students interested in taking child development courses. Many of these learners may be looking to earn a Child Development Associate certification to help them stand out from their peers.

But what exactly is a Child Development Associate (CDA)? How do you become certified, and what steps do you need to take to be successful?