Life skills class renovates classroom into apartment

By Derek Etter
Social Media & Marketing Editor

When strolling through the halls of the C100s, students recognize the Life Skills class, always decorated with names of students. However, the formerly unused room next to it presents an entirely new array of possibilities for the Life Skills class to delve into and learn from.

The Life Skills class, teaching students how to refine skills they will utilize upon graduation, have recently renovated a new room next to its home base in the C100s.
​
The apartment sized room is now being used to add to the Life Skills curriculum, with students visiting the class three to four times weekly to apply  hands-on the  skills they learn about in class.

“The life skills class teaches students the skills they will need to use themselves upon entering the workforce,”  Mrs. Denise Wagner said. “The new room allows us to teach at home and at work skills in a hands-on fashion.”

Inside the new room you can see elaborate setups of familiar images.

A quick walk around the room is full of many objects that students can interact and learn from, like shelves of books or board games, spread around four unique “stations”.

First, a mailbox. Students are encouraged to check the mail and see if anything new is within, Beyond that are a living room station and a bedroom station.

These areas contain actual furniture, like a twin sized bed in the bedroom station, and a couch provided by Ashley Furniture in the living room, where students practice everyday skills around the house, like vacuuming, making the bed, fluffing pillows, and anything that allows students to learn how to be more independent, which is the main goal and focus of the class.

Another fascinating station the students have to work in is a kitchen.

Once a month they gather to help set the table, make drinks, and enjoy a breakfast cooked by their teachers with their assistance.

After mealtime, students work together to clean dishes and put everything away.
But the class does not just stop after school.

Many students in the class have opportunities to work in community sites and provide helpful service.

Others volunteer at the SPCA or at Lutheran homes, and some even work at Subway In Red Lion.

In fact, those students who work at Subway also have their own “Laundry Room” down the hall from the C111 where they can wash and dry their uniforms in a washing machine provided by Mrs. Sindy Smeltzer, and a dryer from Home Depot.

They also have a small “Beauty Station” where they can get ready for work, by putting their hair up and in their hats.
However, this unique teaching environment could not have been made without some help.

Wagner, along with Mr. Mike Connors, are the head teachers of the Life Skills class, started by the Lincoln Intermediate Unit, or LIU.

Wagner, who has been teaching the Life Skills class for 6 years now, and was recently the recipient of the “Impact Award” on her students, says that they implement everything they teach into using the new room, which gives a better visual and bodily understanding to students.

What started as a collaboration between supervisors over a few years became a new project that saw its completion this summer.

Looking to have an innovative approach to the Life Skills class, Red Lion certainly has a quite unique and impactful experience for the students which has already shown positive results.