# Lesson 3.18: Project: Babysitter's Activity Kit

**Unit:** Unit 3, Growing Up, Getting Along (Human Development and Relationships)
**Topic:** 3.4 Families and Caring for Others
**Grade:** 6 to 8 (written at grade 7; see Differentiation for the grade 6 support and grade 8 stretch)
**Days:** 3 class periods of 40 minutes
**Room:** FACS lab with tables (a classroom works; no kitchen or machine needed). Day 3 needs wall or counter space for the Family Showcase.

## Standards

- NYS module line: NYS HDR 1. Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan c) Demonstrate understanding of procedures required for the care of an infant or young child
- NYS module line: NYS HDR 1. Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan d) Plan and implement experiences for young children which promote physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth and development
- CTE theme line: CTE PSI 2. Design Process (Proactive) a) a. Defining the problem being addressed
- CTE theme line: CTE PSI 2. Design Process (Proactive) a) b. Defining criteria that must be met through the finished design
- CTE theme line: CTE PSI 2. Design Process (Proactive) a) f. Developing and constructing a prototype or model of the selected design
- CTE theme line: CTE PSI 2. Design Process (Proactive) a) g. Testing and evaluating the prototype and model against the design criteria and constraints
- CTE theme line: CTE CIR 1. Communication f) Demonstrate personal development of communication skills through practice of these skills in a variety of classroom applications
- NYS FACS Learning Standard 2 (Intermediate), Key Idea: Students will know the basic principles of home and community safety. They can demonstrate the skills necessary to maintain their homes and workplaces in a safe and comfortable condition. They can provide a safe and nurturing environment for themselves and others.; Performance Indicator: Students demonstrate the principles of safe and healthy childcare.
- CDOS Standard 3a Universal Foundation Skills: Thinking Skills; Interpersonal Skills
- National FCS 3.0: 12.1.1 Examine physical, emotional, social, moral, and cognitive development.
- National FCS 3.0: 15.2.1 Examine the nurturing habits that support a child's growth and development.

Content standard 4.3 (Demonstrate integration of curriculum and instruction to meet developmental needs and interests of children, youth and adults, considering gender, ethnicity, geographical, cultural, and global influences) fits this project, but Area 4 competencies were not extracted in the web research file, so 4.3 is named here as a content standard only.

## Enduring understanding and essential question

**Big idea:** A good activity for a young child is safe, cheap, fits the child's age, and builds one thing the child is working on. A babysitter who shows up with one is a babysitter who gets called back.
**Essential question:** What makes an activity right for a three year old and wrong for a five year old?

## Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. (Low) Given the four development areas (physical, social, emotional, intellectual) and the ages 2 to 6, identify one thing a child of the chosen age is working on in each area and select a kit type from the menu that fits one of them.
2. (Mid) Given the plan template, the $5 materials limit, and the safety checklist, design and build an activity kit for a child of a chosen age that passes every line of the checklist, and write a parent instruction card in plain language.
3. (High) After testing the kit with a partner playing the child's age, evaluate what worked and what did not against the plan's criteria, revise one thing, present the kit in a two-minute demo, and self-assess on the rubric with evidence.

## Vocabulary

Tier 2 (general academic): criteria, constraint, prototype, revise
Tier 3 (FACS): development area, age-appropriate, sensory, fine motor, gross motor, choking hazard, parent card. See the unit vocabulary list (`Vocabulary 03.md`) for Turkish, Portuguese, and Spanish.

## Materials and setup

- Project sheet, one per student: `Project 03 - Babysitters Activity Kit and Family Showcase.md`
- Rubric, one per student: `Rubric 03 - Babysitters Activity Kit.md`
- Handout, one per student: `Handout 03.18 - Kit Plan Template Safety Checklist and Parent Card.md`
- Slides: `Slides 03.18 - Project Babysitters Activity Kit` (Day 1, 2, 3 labeled)
- The build bin, one per table [Sal: your bin; a workable list]: zip-top bags (quart and gallon), hair gel or clear dish soap for sensory bags, food coloring, large buttons and pom-poms (over 1.75 inches for ages 2 to 3, or sealed inside a bag), paper plates, paper cups, construction paper, cardboard scraps, painter's tape, yarn, large craft sticks, markers, glue sticks, child-safe scissors, index cards, one roll of packing tape per table
- The toilet paper tube from Lesson 3.17 at every table (the choke test)
- A price list for the bin posted on the wall (the $5 limit is priced from the list, not from a store)
- Setup notes: Day 1 tables of four, each student plans alone or in a pair (choice). Day 2 the build bin is out before the bell. Day 3 the showcase space is cleared and labeled with age signs (2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Allergy check: no food in any kit; if a student wants a rice or bean sensory bag, the beans stay sealed and the bag is double-bagged and taped. [Sal: check latex allergies before balloons; better to leave balloons out of the bin.]

## Pre-assessment

Lesson 3.2 (ages and stages of young children) gave students the development areas and a few markers by age. The Day 1 do now asks for one thing a three year old can do that a two year old cannot; the answers show how much of the ages-and-stages chart on the handout needs to be taught again versus just posted.

## Do now and hook (Time: 5 min each day)

**Day 1.** On the board: "Write one thing a three year old can do that a two year old cannot. Then one thing a five year old can do that a three year old cannot."

Debrief: take four. Sort them on the board into physical, social, emotional, intellectual. Then the hook: "You are going to build something a real babysitter would bring to a job. It has to be safe, it has to cost under $5, and it has to fit one child's age exactly. Pick your child."

**Day 2.** On the board: "Look at your plan. Write the one thing on the safety checklist you are most worried your kit will fail."

Debrief: take three. Then the hook: "Build it so that line passes. You have 24 minutes."

**Day 3.** On the board: "Your partner is about to become a three year old (or whatever age you chose). Write one thing a child that age might do with your kit that you did not plan for."

Debrief: take three. Then the hook: "That is the test. Then the showcase."

## Procedure

**Day 1: The brief and the plan**

| Step | Teacher will | Students will | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Direct instruction: the brief, the menu, the criteria | Hand out the project sheet and the rubric. Read the brief: design one activity for a child of one chosen age from 2 to 6 that is safe, costs under $5 from the bin price list, and builds one development area. Show the menu of five kit types with one picture each: a sensory bag (sealed, squishy, things to find), a story with props (a short story you tell with three or four objects), a sorting game (by color, size, or shape, with a container), a movement game (a path, a hop, a follow-the-leader card set), a simple craft (a paper plate animal, a yarn-wrapped stick). Show the criteria (fits the age, builds one area, safe, under $5, has a parent card) and the constraints (bin materials only, no food, nothing that fits through the tube for ages 2 to 3 unless sealed, done in one build period). Name the PSI lines: this is the design process, and today is define and plan. | Read along. Choose an age. Choose a kit type from the menu (a second choice in case the first does not fit). | 10 min |
| 2. Direct instruction: matching the age to the area | Post the ages-and-stages chart from the handout (one line per age, per area). Show two examples: a sorting game by color fits a 3 year old's intellectual work (naming colors, one-to-one matching) but bores a 6 year old unless it becomes sorting by two rules; a movement path with "hop, then crawl" fits a 4 year old's gross motor work and is too hard for a 2 year old. Ask: what is your child working on in the area you picked? | Find their age on the chart. Write the development area and the one thing the child is working on. | 6 min |
| 3. Practice: the plan template | Students fill the plan template: the child's age, the development area, what the child is working on, the kit type, what the child will do with it (three steps), the materials list priced from the bin list with a total under $5, and the first safety check (what could go wrong and what stops it). Circulate and sign plans that pass the criteria. A plan that is over $5 or that fails the tube rule gets a question, not a no. | Plan. Price. Get the plan signed. | 15 min |
| 4. Closure Day 1 | Exit line on the plan: "The one thing my kit builds is ___ because a ___ year old is working on ___." Two students read theirs. Plans stay in the room. | Write. Hand in the plan. | 4 min |

**Day 2: Build, write the parent card, safety check**

| Step | Teacher will | Students will | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Direct instruction: build rules | Hand back signed plans. Read the build rules: bin materials only; the tube is on your table and anything loose that fits through it is sealed or gone (ages 2 to 3) or on the parent card as "with an adult" (ages 4 to 6); scissors are child-safe and cutting is done seated; tape and glue, no staples; you may change the plan, and you write the change on the plan; build first, card second. Show one finished example of each kit type, briefly (a photo on the slide is enough). | Listen. Gather materials from the bin against the plan's list. | 4 min |
| 2. Practice: the build | Start the timer. Circulate with the clipboard (see Check for understanding). Answer "will this work" with "what does your plan say the child is working on?" Call time at 18 minutes for the card. | Build the kit. Write any change on the plan. | 18 min |
| 3. Practice: the parent instruction card | Show the card format: the kit's name, the age it is for, what it builds (one area, one sentence a parent would understand), how to use it (three steps in plain language), safety (what to watch for, what the child should not do alone), cleanup (one line), and "made by" (first name or initials only). Show a bad card (long, uses "fine motor" with no explanation) and a good one. Students write on the index card or the handout template. Then the safety check: each student runs the ten-line safety checklist on the handout against the kit and initials every line; a partner runs it a second time. A line that fails gets fixed now or noted for tomorrow. | Write the card. Run the checklist twice. Fix what fails. | 10 min |
| 4. Closure Day 2 | Kits and cards stay in the room, labeled with the plan. Ask: "What is one line on the checklist your partner caught that you missed?" Two students answer. | Store the kit. Answer. | 3 min |

**Day 3: Test, demo, showcase, submit**

| Step | Teacher will | Students will | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Practice: the test | Pairs. Partner A hands the kit and the card to Partner B, who plays a child of the kit's age for three minutes: does what a child that age would do, no more and no less (the ages-and-stages chart is the script), asks "why" if a 3 year old, tries to put a small piece in their mouth if a 2 year old (pretend, and the piece should not be there). Partner A watches and does not help. Then switch. After both tests, each student writes on the plan: what worked, what did not, one change, and makes the change if it takes under two minutes. | Test, watch, write, revise. | 10 min |
| 2. Share: the two-minute demos and the Family Showcase | Kits go on the showcase counter under the age signs with the parent card in front. The tradition cards from Lesson 3.15 are posted on the wall above them (name optional). Run the demos in the posted order: each student (or pair) has two minutes at their kit to say the age, the area, what the child does, one safety line, and what changed after the test. Score live on the rubric's criterion 5 (the demo) and criterion 4 (the build) on the clipboard. Students not presenting walk the showcase with the gallery card on the handout: one kit they would bring to a job and why. [Sal: with more than 16 students, run two demo lines with a student timekeeper, or score the last few demos from the card and the kit alone, which the rubric allows.] | Present. Walk the showcase. Fill the gallery card. | 20 min |
| 3. Self-assess and submit | Hand out the rubric's self-assessment row. Students score themselves on the five criteria with one sentence of evidence each, then submit the kit, the parent card, the plan with the test notes, the safety checklist, and the self-assessment together. | Self-assess. Submit. | 5 min |

## Questions to ask

Monitor understanding:
- What age is your kit for and what is that child working on? Which area is that?
- Does anything in your kit fit through the tube? If so, what did you do about it?
- What does your parent card say the child should not do alone?

Deepen learning:
- Your partner playing a 2 year old put the kit in their mouth. Was that the tester's fault or the kit's?
- Why does the parent card have to be in plain language when you know the real words (fine motor, sensory)?
- If a parent asked "why this and not a tablet," what would you say?

## Check for understanding

Day 1: every plan is signed only when it names the age, the area, the one thing the child is working on, a total under $5, and a first safety check. That signature is the check.

Day 2: clipboard checklist during the build, one line per student: "building what the plan says or wrote the change," "tube rule handled," "card in plain language with the three steps." A student whose card says "builds fine motor skills" and nothing else gets the question "what would a parent see the child doing?"

Day 3: the test notes on the plan (what worked, what did not, one change). A student whose "one change" is blank did not test hard enough; send the partner back as a harder three year old.

## Closure (Time: 4 min Day 1; 3 min Day 2; 5 min Day 3)

Day 1 and Day 2 closures are in the procedure tables above. Day 3: the self-assessment and submission (Step 3) is the closure. Then one round of voice: three students name one kit from the showcase (by its name, not its maker) that they would bring to a real job, and why.

## Differentiation and supports

- ELL: the kit menu has a picture for each type; the ages-and-stages chart uses short lines with an icon per area; the parent card has a picture-card option (draw the three steps, label each with one word) and sentence starters in Turkish, Portuguese, and Spanish on the project sheet (marked [check with a native speaker]); the demo may be given in a home language with the card in English, or the card may be in two languages, which a real parent might want.
- IEP and 504 (general): choice of working alone or in a pair; the plan template has checkboxes for age, area, and kit type; the parent card can be the picture version; the demo can be given to the teacher only at the table; extended time means the card can finish at the start of Day 3; the self-assessment has sentence frames; a student who cannot build with small pieces chooses the movement game or the story with props, which use large items.
- Grade 6 support: the kit menu is three types (sensory bag, sorting game, simple craft); the age is 3 or 4; the parent card is the three steps and one safety line; the demo is one minute.
- Grade 8 stretch: the kit must include a "make it harder" variation for a child one year older, written on the card; grade 8 students also write two sentences on which of the eight caregiver jobs from Lesson 3.16 the kit serves and how a babysitter would use it to handle a hard moment (a child who is bored, a child who is upset).
- UDL checkpoint used: multiple means of engagement (choice of age, kit type, alone or pair, language of the card) and multiple means of action and expression (a physical kit, a written or picture card, a spoken or table demo).
- No-kitchen or no-machine alternative: none needed; the bin is paper, tape, bags, and yarn. If the bin cannot be stocked, every kit type can be built from paper and tape alone (a paper sorting game, a paper story with props, a taped movement path, a paper plate craft, and a sensory bag of shredded paper and one large object).

## Assessment

| Objective | Standards met | Learning task | Assessment (formative or summative; tool) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Identify what a child of the chosen age is working on and select a kit type | HDR 1. d); PSI 2. a) a., b.; National FCS 12.1.1 | Day 1 Steps 2 and 3 | Formative; signed plan (rubric criterion 1 is scored from the plan and the kit) |
| 2. Design and build a kit that passes the safety checklist, with a plain-language parent card | HDR 1. c), d); PSI 2. a) f.; Std 2 PI A; National FCS 15.2.1; CDOS 3a Thinking Skills | Day 2 | Summative; `Rubric 03 - Babysitters Activity Kit.md` criteria 2, 3, and 4 |
| 3. Test, revise, demo, self-assess | HDR 1. d); PSI 2. a) g.; CIR 1. f); CDOS 3a Interpersonal Skills | Day 3 | Summative; Rubric 03 criterion 5 and the self-assessment row; test notes on the plan |

Project 03 is scored on `Rubric 03 - Babysitters Activity Kit.md`: five criteria at four levels, 20 points, labs and projects category. The self-assessment row is filled before the teacher scores.

## Homework

None. Optional: the kit goes home. If a student babysits a child of that age, they may bring back one sentence on what happened (no names).

## Connections

Inside the building: an elementary school or a pre-K in the same building or district could receive the kits as a donation after scoring, with a teacher's permission and a safety look by that teacher; the state module's own illustrative activity ("Activities for Afterschool Program") does exactly this. The art teacher may lend the paper and yarn. Community: a public library children's room or a family shelter's play area sometimes accepts donated activity kits; ask first and send only the kits that passed every checklist line. [Sal: never send a kit with a student's last name on it.]

## Sources

- NYS Middle Level CTE FACS Content Module 02, Human Development and Relationships (nyctecenter.org, June 2018), lines 1. c) and 1. d), and the Illustrative Activities "Activities for Afterschool Program" and "Prototype Toys," which this project adapts. Copy in `02 Standards/NYS Module PDFs/`.
- NYS Middle Level CTE Theme Module, Problem Solving and Innovation, lines 2. a) a., b., f., and g.; Communication and Interpersonal Relationships, line 1. f). Same folder.
- NYS Learning Standards for Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences (1996), Standard 2, Intermediate, FACS strand, PI "Students demonstrate the principles of safe and healthy childcare." Wording per `02 Standards/STANDARDS SOURCES - web research.md`, section 2.
- National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences Education 3.0 (LEAD FCS Education, 2018), competencies 12.1.1 and 15.2.1; content standard 4.3.
- The small parts rule (anything that fits through a toilet paper tube is a choking hazard for a child under 3) per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission small parts guidance, as in Lesson 3.17.
- Sal's own materials: the design-and-test project shape follows his Feed a Family of Four project (plan, check, build, present, self-assess) from Project 01.

## Teacher notes

- If Day 1 runs short, the plan finishes at the start of Day 2 and the build gets 15 minutes instead of 18. If Day 2 runs short, the parent card finishes at the start of Day 3 and the test gets 8 minutes. If Day 3 runs short, cut the gallery card and score the last demos from the card and the kit, which the rubric allows. Never cut the test; it is the PSI "testing and evaluating" line and the reason the demo has something to say.
- The choke test tube is the safety check that matters most. For ages 2 to 3, nothing loose that fits through it. For ages 4 to 6, small pieces are allowed with "with an adult" on the parent card. Say it on all three days.
- Common mistake: a kit that is really for the student (a complicated craft a 13 year old would enjoy). The question that fixes it is "what would a three year old do with this in the first ten seconds?"
- The Family Showcase is the Day 3 demo round, with the tradition cards from Lesson 3.15 on the wall above the kits. It is not a separate event. If the room has a hallway display case, the kits and cards can stay up for the rest of the unit.
- Budget for the unit plan: the build bin costs about $25 to $35 per class set if bought new (bags, gel, pom-poms, paper plates, yarn, tape); most of it is reusable across periods and years. [Sal: add this to the Unit 3 budget line.]
- No real child is used to test any kit. The partner plays the age from the chart. If a student wants to test the kit with a sibling at home, that is their family's call and is not part of the grade.