Flour Baby Project

1. Flour Baby Project 7 Day Project

2. Goals pertaining to the use of a “flour baby” • According to Planned Parenthood Fact Sheet, more than 1 million U.S. teenagers – 1 in 9 women aged 15 to 19 – become pregnant each year. Part of this project’s goals deal with the issue of teen parenthood. Participating students in Grade 11 & 12 will be making “flour sack babies.” Students will represent a “single parent family.”

3. Why? • The Flour Baby is designed to demonstrate the responsibility involved in managing a family which includes a baby. Students construct a daily log, design a birth certificate, and put together a budget for their family.

4. Objective Students Will: • 1. Gain the realization of the commitment of time and energy that it takes to have a child and the demands that a child makes on the parent(s). • 2. Research the cost of living for a married couple(or single parent) with a small child. • 3. Incorporate parental responsibility into your daily lives. • 4. Write a report giving examples about your experiences during the week.

5. What do I turn in? • Your baby birth certificate • Your flour baby • Your 500 word essay entitled “My week as a parent” • You baby book log • Babysitting log

6. Rules • You will create the flour-child(an artfully designed 10lb. Sack of flour or sugar.) • Make your child distinctive yet appropriate(e.g.: no tattoos, piercings, hair coloring), with his/her own personality or style, without damaging or using tape or glue on the actual bag: we’ll be donating the flour to a local food bank when done. • Your child should always be dressed for the weather(one more layer than you are wearing, as babies cannot yet regulate their own body temperature). • You will create a carrier for the child.

7. Grade • Book log/babysitting log = 100 points • Essay = 200 points • Flour baby = 300 points • Turn in the four previously mentioned items to receive credit, plus: • Birth certificate, family budget • Pass that, the more creative you are, the better your grade will be.

8. What if my baby has a birth defect? • On the day the flour baby is born, you will draw names • If you baby is born with a birth defect you will write the name of it on your birth certificate. • Part of your 500 word report will be about living with your baby’s birth defect.

9. How can I dress my baby? • You can use doll parts • Hair • Baby clothes • Nothing inappropriate • Be creative

10. Best Parent Contest • Only those who bring their flour baby on the first day. • You need to show my you baby’s birth certificate to prove you are eligible.

11. Best Parent and Beauty Contest • Anyone eligible can enter the contest. • The top three based on creativity and parent log documentation. • Are you showing that you are being the best parent by clothing your child? • Feeding your child • Child is well groomed • Responsibility is demonstrated.

12. School Day • During the school day, you must carry your child at all times. In this class you must hold your child at all times. If you have basketball practice, arrange babysitting. You must record each time you leave the child with a babysitter using the form in the baby book. Lockers and trunks are not cribs or day-care centers.

13. PE? What do I do? • Talk to your PE teacher before the assignment starts and ask for help. • Ask if he or she would keep your flour baby in the PE office during the period. Thank them everyday. • Include this in your babysitting log they must aslo sign.

14. Other Classes • During other classes, there will be a “play pen” area set up in the corner of the room, where your baby will take a “nap”! If another teacher has to come to me and tell about you distracting their class with the “flour baby” you will lose 25 points. • I will give you a sign to ask your teacher where you will be able to place it for “nap” time.

15. Babysitting Log • You should be extremely protective of your child. If a tragic loss or injury occurs, you will be responsible for clean-up(NOT the custodians.), reporting to instructors, and negotiation of the penalty. Penalties range from additional research to a report on child abuse. If someone else attacks your child, or uses him/her in a recipe, find a teacher as a witness to spare you some penalty. Babysitting log was documented who the child was with and signed by your parent.

16. Morning Hour Feedings • You are not allowed to put the baby in your backpack, go anywhere without your baby, leave your baby in the care of anyone else, or let anyone abuse or neglect your child. • You must wake up every night twice a night during the week and send an e-mail to Ms. Gash, between the times of 1AM and 5AM. You will be leaving a message with your name that your are emailing because you child will not go to sleep and is keeping you awake. Failure to do so will result in a 100 point reduction.

17. Essay about your experience • At the end of this assignment you will submit a paper. It must be at least 2 pages. You will include how the project went, what you thought, embarrassing moment, etc. • This is worth 200 points the baby book log is also a test grade both are summative assessment grades.

18. Irresponsible Parent • You will lose 25 points every time you are seen without your baby! • There will be no negotiation or discussion, just a 25 point deduction! Every teacher will know who my students are and that they have a child for the next week.

19. Baby Book Log • A “baby book” should be kept with the baby at all times. The baby book is a place to record every time that you fed the baby, change the diaper, etc…. At any point during the day, your instructors are able to “spot check” the baby book. If the baby’s feeding and diapering changing has been neglected, points will be docked.

20. Suggestions on How to Make a Creative Looking “Flour Baby” • Encase your sack of flour in two pairs of pantyhose. This will help to protect from spillage and damage. • Stuff the pantyhose with styrofoam balls or fiberfill to create a head. • Clip, stuff and sew the remaining materials to create arms and legs. • Different colored pantyhose can be used to create “multicultural” skin tones. • Now “create your child”. Sew on eyes, noses, mouths, etc… add yarn hair or bonnet. Dress in baby clothes. They can be purchased extremely inexpensively at the Thrift store. Get creative and have FUN!!!!!!

21. DO NOT… • Assassinate another flour baby. If it can be substantiated by other students, you will fail the assignment. • Put anything on your flowerbaby except for clothing(plastic bags, aluminum foil etc.)