I am needing ideas for 6 weeks to last 2 hours long each.  I plan to do my first class as a learn how to make good cake icing for decorating, leveling cake, filling, icing cake, ect. What are some other good things to do? I have taught several times at other places and always seem to run out of things to do in our time slot. Hoping I can get more ideas here. 

AHow many times a week? And what is the general scope of work -- all baking or all decorating or all desserts or a combination?

Basic cake decorating with also a little cupcakes mixed in. They also want at the end for me to show to assemble a tiered cake. It is just once a week for 6 weeks. 

You could spend one two-hour class on piping...borders, writing, cornelli lace. It takes a while to master the piping bag.

Also- Duff roses, how to decorate with fondant...stripes, dots, zebra, etc.

AWhat's a duff rose?

This is a pictorial for a Duff rose

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164874036328588555/

Here's one with directions:

http://judyscakes.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-peasy-roses.html

AThank you, poohsmomma -- oh yeah he did that on his show with girl scouts I think - very cool

AI found out it is a 7 week course and 2.5 hours a week! Ugh, I hope I can fill these hours. I plan to let them work on parchment paper different techniques. I do plan a border class, as well as a cupcake class and learning how to fill cupcakes. The last class will be how to assemble a tiered cake. I don't think I will do a class on how to cover a cake in fondant but do plan to do one on a fondant accent class as well as butter cream roses.

I am getting nervous about this!

For each class, think of a few different techniques you want to teach. First you demo one technique, then students practice what they just learned. Most of the time your students should be practicing while you walk around (and around and around) stopping to help each person improve. Then repeat with another demo and practice session. Two and a half hours is not a long time for this kind of hands-on learning. 

i think you should have them do a fondant covered cake or at least a dummy -- you've got almost 20 hours to use -- some people advance very quickly in this stuff and others lag behind -- i'd start with flowers myself -- drop flowers, gum paste flowers, ribbon roses -- later include modeling marzipan into harvest pumpkins,  and making chocolate leaves -- give them a sense of empowerment right off the bat whet their appetites for more -- build each class so that at the last class they can decorate & take home a one or two tier cake

• icings and piping
• rolled icings and making flowers
• special techniques -- chocolates and marzipan modeling-- maybe easy boiled & spun sugar 
• cookies cupcakes -- techniques to use decorating
• trump l'oeil cakes -- spaghetti, meatloaf &mashed potatoes, a turkey cake
• tier cake assembly -- they gotta put all the items they made somewhere 

extra ideas -- decorated pie, fudge using cookie cutters and silicone molds, decorated bundt cakes, gingerbread house, 3-d cookies  oh a croquembouche or a stacked cookie christmas tree --

for trump l'oeil i'd offer for them to do a spaghetti cake, turkey cake, or maybe meatloaf & mashed potatoes -- dig into their creativeness -- for special techniques i'd do the chocolate leaves and chocolate decor for cakes -- 

i think i'd watch them in the first class and divide them into a spaghetti cake group, a harvest cake group and a small tier cake group by end of the 6 weeks -- and still each student can learn all the different elements of each group once they get their work completed for that class time -- these are long classes -- get a ton of stuff and if you don't get to it no problem but you need to fill up your lesson plans -- i would go nuts if i had to do borders for 150 minutes plus their hands can't hold up that long -- you might want to break it up into 25 minutes instruction 50 minutes piping 50 minutes modeling 15 minutes instruction & 10 minutes cleanup --

this is a very rough draft of a possible lesson plan -- just a lot of brainstorming -- in other words i would run amok in an invisibly controlled way  working toward each of them doing a cake or dummy -- so save the leaves and flowers, pumpkins etc. for the day they make their cakes or dummies -- be sure to have boxes for them to carry home --

A standard wilton course is based on 2 hours, 4 classes. The timing generally works out. If you flip through a book, you will see how it is divided. (I did teach it)

Course 1 basic, baking, buttercream is 4 classes for 2 hours, but I bet you could cover it in 2 classes, 2.5 hours.

Course 2, and Course 3.. same idea. .. so you can cover buttercream, fondant and gumpaste in the first 6 classes, and leave class #7 as the grand finale and stacking.

I wish I could have "mixed" it up a little and modified it (leaving out ugly stuff, insert cooler stuff, and inserting holidays stuff). The basic outline in the lesson books (Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc) may be a good starting point. Modify it as you see fit. 

Yes, following the basic Wilton method - very similar to what MimiFix said:............ "For each class, think of a few different techniques you want to teach. First you demo one technique, then students practice what they just learned. Most of the time your students should be practicing while you walk around (and around and around) stopping to help each person improve. Then repeat with another demo and practice session."  Introduction to piping, handling a pastry bag (both parchment and other) are important beginning elements.

K8 said: i'd start with flowers myself -  Sorry K8.... nope:) Usually your advice is mostly right on but not this time :)  They need to learn to handle a bag - going back to Wilton's intro classes.    THEN you can move on to basic flowers, borders, writing, cornelli lace, stripes, dots, etc. It takes a while to master the piping bag.

Thanks so much for the ideas!!! Now that I have started teaching the class ideas are flowing! The group is great and begged me to throw in a cookie night as well as a cupcake night. I think I will do a fondant covered cake as well as making fondant/gumpaste things as well as royal flowers, that way the last night we will have a tiered cake and they can put everything on there! I am really excited!!

awesome! glad to hear you've got an enthusiastic class