Sticks and String

As another teacher laments, tongue in cheek, about knitting marking her as "old", my new batch of grade 6 and 7 students started to learn to knit this week.

I cannot believe how excited the kids are about learning to knit! This term, most students from each class took their yarn and needles home on the first day, many getting relatives at home to teach them. There was more than one grandma greeted by an enthusiastic new knitter last weekend!

What I love is how excited they are when they "get it"! What really amazes me is how fast they're "getting it" this term! Day 3 for most classes and a few kids have finished their Mug Rugs already. Some want to make scarves (I told them to get their own yarn and I'll help them along), many want something More Challenging!

I posted some knitting tutorials during class, as well as some Yarn Bombing examples and some sample knitting projects (like the gloves with the Triforce that I'd like to adapt for some mitts for Andrew).

Something new this term is that I'm being stopped in the hallway, and having kids pop into my classroom to ask for help knitting (usually casting off), and I haven't even taught them yet! They're out of the yarn closet, and being a knitter is a status symbol... I hope it lasts...

Seriously - the yarn and needle suppliers should be beating a path to my door. With any luck, there will be 300 new knitters in town by the end of the school year.

Cheer up, Dora - you're young and hip, and on the cutting edge of the newest trend ;-)

The Week Before Winter Break

The second term 6/7s are pleading to make gingerbread houses. To them, this means slapping some graham crackers together with icing and eating a lot of candy. A noble goal, true, but not one involving "gingerbread". Precision of language, Jonah. (See The Giver, by Lois Lowry)

What I'd like to do is make sugar or gingerbread cookies with them... without losing my mind. But 4 classes of cookies in the week before the Winter Break? Actually, I think I've already lost my mind. May as well do it.

I'm wrestling with the logistics. Do I have them make their own cookie dough? I really don't want to do that - they've only made applesauce so far this term. Cookie dough is probably too much and I'd lose my reputation as a "calm" person (an observation made by a sixth grader during a rather manic learn-to-knit class).

I like the suggestion of buying pre-made cookies and letting them decorate, but I'm not adverse to letting them work a little harder than that. I'd really like to buy the dough, let them roll and cut, and bake, AND decorate.

Another good suggestion was to demonstrate the cookie dough... then divide it up and let them work with that.

One of the secondary teachers has offered me some icing - made up and ready to go, so that's another hurdle cleared. I'll get sprinkles and stuff, but the students will have to supply additional embellishments.

So, I guess the plans run:
A: find dough, let them make cookies
tied for B and C (because I'm not sure which option I like best) buying cookies or making the dough myself.

Stay tuned for Part Two... as we tackle 100 or so gingerbread men.

Part 1.5 The Update

I went to Bunsmaster to start my search for cookie dough. I was helpfully and cheerfully redirected to the Vienna Bakery nearby. I was greeted by another cheerful and helpful fellow (who enchanted me with stories of a castle in Koblenz overlooking the Rhine River).

Long story short: on Monday, I'm going to pick up enough cookie dough to make 100 gingerbread cookies. Another Home Ec teacher graciously donated a BOXFUL of icing tubes - I don't even have to portion it out! Now, I just need some sprinkles, and the kids have been told to bring their own candy.

The Yearbook team has been advised that there is a photo op on decorating day (probably Weds.)

Let the madness begin!

Part Two!

As the first class entered this week, they made a beeline for their knitting supplies, when I intercepted them with a recipe and pointed them towards the demo area. One voice (male, if you're wondering) rang out - we're cooking? But I wanted to KNIT!

I had thought this December week would fly by in a blur - instead it clicked by slowly frame by frame. Very weird. The 6/7s took the full 3 blocks to make their cookies. Day 1 was rolling and cutting (way too thin by the way), Day 2 was baking (thin cookies cook quickly) and Day 3 was the much anticipated decorate and EAT day! The 8s managed to move faster and squeezed in baking and decorating on the same day.

A teacher joined us to get photos for the yearbook, much to the students's delight, and they were pleased to see me circulate with my camera too. It's hard to find time for pictures during such busy classes though!

Baking Day was punctuated with LOTS of visitors - even more than Applesauce Day. The hallway around the Foods Room did smell really good. Face after curious face peeked in the door to see what we were doing, and if there were any leftovers. Then there were the Term One students who peeked in and cried out, "NO FAIR! We didn't get to make cookies!" Popcorn Balls apparently aren't As Good As "cookies".

Buying the dough was a great solution. It was affordable, and really simplified things. I think I would have hated myself if I'd tried to make dough with, or for, all 4 classes. The donation of icing saved me a lot of money, but next time I think I'd made some butter frosting anyway because it's easier to use. We used less sprinkles then I thought we would - but having the Teacher had out portions makes a big difference... and the kids had their own candy - one boy was putting full-sized sour keys on his cookies!

There was enough cookie dough for all 4 classes to make a sheet of cookies per group, plus my beginning ESL students made cookies. In one class I have a student with concerns about "holiday" symbols, who let me know in advance that she could make a gingerbread house but not a tree. With that in mind, I put out ALL the cookies cutters in various shapes and designs. As I circulated around the stations checking on progress and sharing their excitement, this little one bounced up in front of me brandishing a cookie cutter. "It's a BUNNY!" And we shared some stories about bunnies (my sister is known as the Bunny Lady in some circles) and my little student happily made Gingerbread Bunnies. Why not?

P.S. When the classes entered the day after we'd finished the cookies, many asked - "Are we knitting today?" When I answered "Yes," the answer was "YAY!" Gotta love 'em.

Oddest Moment of the Year

First Entry:

I received a verbal message today - a parent had called, and wanted to speak to the Home Ec teacher. Now, of course, my mind races through the range of reasons why a parent would call for me. My messenger goes on to tell me that the caller wanted to know if I would help her child bake a birthday cake for the mother's birthday.

Today was the last day of the term.
We don't use flour in my class because of my kids with Celiac Disease.
We have a 41 minute block, so a cake would be a 3 or 4 day process (demo, 2 days to bake, 1 to decorate).

I'm really not sure what this mom had in mind. That since it was the last day of class I'd have each child bake their own cake? Maybe she heard about the Grade 8s and misunderstood the scale of our attempts? Does she think I'm going to stay after school for a couple of hours and supervise him preparing the cake??? (Please note that there is a direct connection to "Popcorn and 10,000 Shards of Glass" hidden in this anecdote.)

Since my sarcasm filter is officially broken these days, and I can barely restrain myself around the kids, I'm not convinced I would have come up with a suitable response to this odd request. Well, maybe... I surprise myself when I have to come up with something good off the cuff. At any rate, I'm glad I got the message and not the phone call.

Thus, I submit to you, Dear Readers, the first entry in what will probably be a long list of Odd Moments of the Year. If they're entertaining enough, we can have a contest in June to determine the winner/favourite. I'm sure there will be a lavish and glamourous prize... just let me confer with my sponsors.

Blender Smoothies - what could possibly go wrong?

Okay, yeah... you're probably thinking of the same two things that I was. That someone would forget the lid and that someone might stick a wooden spoon into a moving blender. Close...

Our first demo was the exciting one (because I learned where my assistant was liable to goof up). My calm, responsible, assistant chef was a little nervous in front of her peers, and eager to do a good job, she moved a little too quickly. When the smoothie appeared finished, she started to pour, and found a large, frozen strawberry marring the perfection of her work. She quickly popped the blender jar back on the base and... the workstation and the front row were immediately speckled in strawberry smoothie! Lesson One: always put the lid on the blender.

Since I'd uttered many dire warnings about unplugging the blender before sticking anything in it, I was relieved that I only had to unplug a few while students were digging for those stubborn strawberries, but no damage was done. (Maybe next time, I'll let the fruit thaw out instead of using it frozen.)

Much like our recent episode with the exploding oven door (Popcorn and 10,000 Shards of Glass) it was the unpredictable element that caught up with us.

One group returned to the supply table, dismayed. "It spilled", they said. A few minutes later, their cries of anguish rang out, as it developed into "It spilled again!" "Spilled" wasn't quite accurate though. The blade mechanism  became dislodged and the base separated. The smoothie headed south. We were able to contain the mess, more or less, and salvage enough of the product that they could have called the operation a success. Until one of their group decided that since his hands were covered anyway, he should just play in the smoothie. The rest of the group, disgusted, declined to sample their product. I don't blame them, actually.

The misbehaving blender was closely supervised during the next two labs, leading to a diagnosis of "Operator Error", and the teacher learned that she should probably check all the blenders after washing to make sure they got put back together properly. I don't recall anyone telling me that I needed a degree in electrical engineering for this job, but being handy certainly IS a prerequisite!

A few more days left in the term now, and we'll be dealing with some sustainability issues before they move onto Tech Ed. and I get a new batch from Performing Arts... and then I get to do it all over again.

Damage summary - the summer camp reported that my hand mixers "lights on fire". We've blown the fuses (more than once) using the microwaves. We've lost an oven due to catastrophic failure of the front panel and it looked like we'd ruined a blender, but I think we can extend its life into Term Two.

Supplies needed - besides consumables, I need mixing bowls, medium saucepans, spatulas, drinking glasses and oven mitts. And yarn. Lots and lots of yarn.

And next term - I'm hiding the knives until cooking lab days.

The End of the Grade 8 Term

I told the class this week that it's kind of a disappointment.

I've watched how much they've grown and learned and all of a sudden it's time to pass them on to the next Explorations teacher. Since I'm used to being a classroom teacher and keeping the group an entire year, this concept of keeping them for 7 weeks and then sending them on their way is downright weird... and a little sad. (Don't tell them that!)

The class didn't give me much feedback about the course - one student said "Fewer videos" (she could remember 2) "Fewer worksheets" (we did maybe 6), and finally revealed that she WAS disappointed that we didn't sew because they were supposed to make pyjama pants this year.

A few are audibly disappointed that the younger classes are learning to knit, and they're not. But there just wasn't enough time.

I liked that we got through some ideas regarding sustainability, although I'd hoped to do more with the older students. What happened, was that we got side-tracked by interesting, although barely relevant topics (Like the risk of impregnation while swimming in a public pool. Some things you really need to deal with in class, and not let them wander around with these weird ideas in their heads)

I do wish I had more time to reflect on my unit plan (did I just willingly use the r-word? Ugh.) because there is a lot of room for improvement. At the term's end though, I had a group of students quietly savouring their quinoa brownies... and they even did a good job of clean up!

Quinoa/Chocolate Brownie Bites

Okay! I LIKE this recipe... it's indestructible!

Even though the students struggled with the (relative) complexity, even the group who cooked their quinoa by "winging" it managed to come up with a decent looking, highly edible product.

You know what's delicious? The silence that falls when a group of 13 year olds start eating something yummy that they just made by themselves. Too bad that magic didn't extend to the younger classes that followed, but the 6/7s were a little disappointed that they weren't cooking today, and that they weren't cooking whatever it was that smelled so good.

Yes, I have a thing or two to learn about how to write up a recipe to help things run smoothly, and that edit will take place very soon, but I like this recipe enough to try it again next term.

p.s. here's a link to the recipe I used. It lends itself well to adaptations. To use it in Home Ec I converted it to metric and then cut the recipe for the groups. If you want my version, just contact me.

http://www.canada.com/life/Crazy+about+quinoa/2961804/story.html

Hey! You got your quinoa in my chocolate!

The end of the Grade 8 term is rapidly descending and our final cooking lab is upon us. The Pièce de résistance is Chocolate Quinoa Cake (cupcakes, rather). Just to keep things confusing: the recipe is a "cake", I've described it as more like "brownies", but we're making individual portions. This has upset some students who haven't quite caught onto my somewhat random nature.


I literally lost sleep over this one. Last night, after finally falling asleep through the Halloween fireworks and accompanying sirens, I awoke around 2 a. m. Quite seriously awoke. Awoke enough that getting out of bed was the only cure. The main problem? How in the heck was I going to get through a full demo of this lab in 35 minutes, when the product had an estimated bake time of 20 - 25 minutes? (It's an estimate because when I tried the recipe I made a batch in a cake pan, and not in a cupcake pan. Silly me.) Not to mention the quinoa needed a cooking and setting time of 20 minutes, plus a spin in the blender - and I wasn't quite convinced that I have working blenders.


By morning, with a few more hours of sleep behind me, I came to a sensible solution. Precook the quinoa before class. And choose a VERY sensible assistant chef.


The results of the demo were encouraging - the two day lab should be well timed, and the product will definitely need between 15 and 20 minutes to bake (depending on the peculiarities of the ovens). BUT... by Thursday, each unit should be able to walk out munching on something chocolatey and yummy. Clean up will probably be our major stumbling block... but then the popcorn ball lab proved that you can't predict where your challenges will occur - just that you may as well be prepared for anything ;-)

Popcorn and 10,000 shards of glass

Well... this morning I had six functioning ovens. By the end of the day I had five... and an empty space where one had been.

We're making popcorn balls! Day One was a demo of popcorn on the stovetop, which most students had never done, and led to one heckler in each crowd reminding me of the existence of microwaves.

The second part of Day One was to make the popcorn. And no, the caretaker is not happy with me, thanks for asking.

The demonstrations all went well. Out of 4 classes of students only one pair burned their popcorn, but I had my demo material left over, so I swapped with them. After two days of popcorn popping, not only does the room and hallway smell of it, but so do all the clothes I'm wearing - even my shoes!

In block 6, the third home ec class of the day, with one left to go, something happened. I finished the popcorn demo, waited for questions, and seeing none, sent the students back to their units to make popcorn. In the first wave of movement there was a "smack" and a "whoosh/crumble" (maybe someone can help me with my onomatopoeia?)

Of course, the commotion was right in the centre of the crowd, and I could not see WHAT had broken. Because with those sounds, SOMETHING must be broken.

I asked, and they replied - the stove. What? What do you mean "The stove is broken?"

I could only imagine that the door had fallen off. I was completely stunned by what I saw as I moved through the crowd.

The glass front of the oven door was completely shattered. Completely. Shattered.

Yeah... it was a lot like that. I didn't have my camera that day and I doubt that I would have found time to take a picture anyway. But this is pretty accurate. It's scary how easy it was to find this photo - things like this shouldn't happen often.

It seems that a student had hit the door when moving his chair, and like Corelle dishware, it fractured into thousands of pieces.

Now, this is halfway through the class and we still have popcorn to make, and I have a group with a broken stove, not to mention one heckuva pile of glass to deal with.

The caretaker was summoned. Other teachers emerged in response to my not entirely calm phone call to the office. Okay phone callS. The students settled into making their popcorn, while the adults tried to piece together just WHAT had happened.

Happily, no one was hurt. They made their popcorn, and will finish their popcorn balls tomorrow, as promised. I sure wished that block 6 was the final block of the day, but I still had one more to go.

Enter block 7, to complete their popcorn balls. I began to debrief them, and make it very clear that I had used up all of my patience and if they were going to get me to smile before the end of the day, it was going to take some effort on their part. The caretaker returned at that point to remove the wounded oven.

The new group of students in that unit were stunned as they watched their oven walk out of the room.

Instructions for completing the lab under our new and trying circumstances were issued. Popcorn balls were made and soon enough the confusion and worry was lost in the fun of pouring melted marshmallows over popcorn, and playing with the sticky threads.

Now, I just have to figure out how we're going to make our Chocolate Quinoa Cake next week, when I'm short one oven.

But tomorrow is a popcorn ball day...

Sticks and Stones...

... may break my bones, but teaching children to knit is exhausting!

Day 3. I have 2 6/7 classes learning to knit, a 6/7 class miffed that they haven't started, and some 8s that are downright annoyed that their term isn't long enough for me to squeeze it in.

I may have to hide the amigurumi apples on my desk, since one boy keeps begging to buy one off me.

It took the better part of two classes to get everyone casting on, and today was the day that the newbies started to achieve a knit stitch! They were so excited, some actually Whooped when they realized that they did it!

Most are persevering... some have simply walked away. I told them that their mark is in the attempt. If they actually make something it's bonus marks (as many as they want!) But as long as they give it a good try, they will get a good mark, even if they don't complete the project.

I've acquired another dozen pairs of needles, thanks to a donation and a Value Village spotting. I might still try out the chopsticks. I found some nice ones in the mall - nice enough I wouldn't even have to sand them, and they were cheap, 10 pairs for 3 bucks or something? There are bulk ones that could use a sanding for even less.

I'd like to try making needles as an upcycling project. Don't tell the grade 8s, but I do have a project for them too, but since our timeline is so tight, it's going to be quick and easy... and made from paper. And then they get to make popcorn balls... but that's going to make an interesting post next week.

Let's Try Knitting!

Yesterday, I passed around a sample project - a Mug Rug, aka a Coaster, to the students. Almost everyone who touched it lingered, a few begged to keep it, and I was surprised that so many asked to learn to knit. To be fair, many of them know that my Core Class learned to knit last year, and a lot of kids also wanted in.

Today, I passed small balls of yarn around, and it took a good ten minutes for the class to settle down. Amidst the cacophony, many students demanded to know if we were going to knit. Eventually, they settled down enough to witness the magic of the slip knot. It took another good chunk of time before most of them had mastered it.

They did catch onto the slip knot fast enough that we started to cast on (thumb method, in case you're wondering - thank you, Connor, for teaching me that!) Many of them are already quite territorial over the ball of yarn they were assigned, and plan to keep it for further work. Some might ask to trade colours tomorrow.

A second class was also introduced with very similar results, but I'm running really low on knitting needles. It's pushing it to say I have two class sets even if I use different, but similar sizes, and I certainly don't have 3 class sets. I priced needles, but at 5, 6 and 7 dollars a pair, I'm not blowing my budget on 25 additional needles.

If I'd been smarter, or at least less reckless (Ha!) I'd have spread it out, and started one class, let them work for a couple of weeks and wrap it up. Although... even if I do approach it that way, I'd still have some overlap.

I thought we could make some surplus needles, so I went out to the craft store to look at dowels. The 3/16 size is certainly compatible, but I think they'd break too easily. Middle-schoolers are very aggressive knitters. I'm looking into round, bamboo chopsticks. Hopefully someone in one of my circles has some, or maybe they can be bought bulk for a good price.

On another note, I really want an upcycling project for my Grade 8s, but it has to be fairly simple since their shortened term will end in about 2 weeks. We still have 2 cooking labs to squeeze in. They're pretty happy when they're cooking (and eating).

ps: Note to Self. This would be simpler if you just assigned every the SAME COLOUR.

Dear Self: that would be boring. Stop being so practical.

What's in a Name?

I want to change my course name.

There's nothing wrong with "Home Ec". It's an appropriate name for the course, but it really doesn't give the middle schoolers much information about what the course IS. Despite the lack of sewing this year (and possibly the next few years), it's not "Foods" either, although many of them call it that.

A student said, this week, "This is like an extra science class!" I don't think he was displeased.

It IS a science class.

After the applesauce labs we discussed the ingredients. I have a pretty good video on apples that's more or less local. We talked about where sugar comes from, and looked at the website for a local sugar refinery. Cinnamon was next - and that surprised most of them! But the one that generated the most discussion was WATER.

Water - where does it come from, where does it go? Water safety. Bottled water. Storm drains. Watersheds. Sewers.

So much to think about with such simple ingredients.

So what to call the course? I'd like to call it "Life Skills" but that has another meaning locally, which would confuse people. I don't know yet. We cook and learn about food and nutrition, but also about the cycle that provides that food, and about closing the cycle with our food waste.

Let me know if you have a suggestion!

PS: Food Science and Sustainability came out while talking to some student teachers.

The second round of Home Ec labs

While the Quesadilla Lab didn't give me much blog material (that's a good thing, by the way) the Grade 8 Apple Crisp lab is another story. Being a short week, interrupted by an afternoon meeting, and a shortened term for the eighth graders, I decided to forge ahead without a demo. The horror of it all! A cooking lab without a demo! Heresy!

Once they recovered from the shock, the 8s settled in peeling, cutting and coring their apples. They had as much trouble with the task as the 6/7s did, and were repulsed by little imperfections in their apples. There were two minor cuts to deal with in the course of the knife handling (while there was only one boo-boo out of all three junior classes). A glass dish was also broken. They're starting to understand why they need to wear closed shoes in the lab.

The face-palm moment of the day was the student who slouched on the supply table and said that he needed some stuff. He didn't know what, or how much, nor did he have anything to carry his "stuff" back to his unit. The Unit Manager is away, he announces. And refused to understand that you cannot assign a lab job to a person who is not physically present. Utterly refused. Needless to say his unit was a tad late in finishing up.

We baked the apple crisp the next day (today), and the results were quite good. Clean up was much improved, and many As were awarded for a successful lab. One boy was given the unwanted portions of food by his lab partners, and he left with a huge bowlful, looking very pleased.

I'm planning ahead for next term, and thinking of how I want to re-play the food labs and lessons... but then again, I'm not looking forward to starting the learning curve over and over again as the year progresses.

The apple peelings and bits were saved for a pet guinea pig :-)

Working our way towards Applesauce

I have 3 grade 6/7 foods classes. Two of them will be cooking applesauce tomorrow, the last class will have their lab next week. I managed to make the same mistake AGAIN in the demo, of not halving the water and sugar. Tasted good anyway. Must have been my assistant chef... she was very careful and competent.

Today's obstacle: saucepans. Not enough saucepans. Each unit in the foods room should have two. With lids. Lids that fit. Stainless steel would be nice. You see how the devil is in the details here?

(Those are CLEAN pots, by the way)

So, not enough saucepans to go around, because they're too small to cook up a 4-apple batch of sauce. Plus, a lot of them are aluminum. The "extras" in the cupboard - um... turns out they're the top part of double boilers. Some of them might do... but others are far too thin... and aluminum.

Looks like we're missing the pyrex liquid measures too. And wooden spoons... Don't get me started on the condition of the aprons. No wonder the kids are fighting over the green one.

Stay tuned for the first cooking sessions of the younger students.

Applesauce - Part 2

Okay! Two classes down, and one to go. Maybe applesauce should be a two day lab. Both classes ran late; one into lunch and one after school. The remaining class is sandwiched in the middle of the day, and cannot run overtime.

I'm thinking that they could peel, core and chop, then store the apples until the next day, then cook, consume and clean again. Today's classes were pretty wiped out after washing their cooking dishes, then washing their eating dishes.

I had no idea that so many children could not use a vegetable peeler. One lad used the chef's knife to remove a small bruise from his apple... and had to go to the office for a couple of bandages.

I'm pretty happy that I had six boiling pots of sugary apples going in a room of 25 preteens without any burns, and the way they handle knives it's amazing that there was only one self-inflicted wound.

Applesauce - Part 3


The third and final applesauce lab for this term was broken into two days. One day to peel, and cut the apples; the next to cook and eat. There was more awkward down time over the two days, but it was a huge improvement over trying to rush and do everything. Unit 2 still didn't get cleaned up before the end of the class, so I shudder to think what the results would have been if I'd tried to condense.

The hidden benefit is that the students perceive that they're cooking more in a two day lab. And they WANT to be cooking more! A few ask each time they enter the room - "Are we cooking today?" "Do we have a demo today?" and the slightly more surly, "Why is this a cooking class if we don't cook more often?" (I have GOT to come up with a new name for the course)

The challenge this weekend is to find more recipes that I can use, and to plan a more challenging curriculum for the next terms.

Today's Lessons: Applesauce and Potato Skins

My first mistake: writing out a recipe in Imperial instead of Metric measurements... and not noticing until AFTER I'd photocopied not one, but THREE class sets. I owe Mother Nature a tree...

I did a demo for a grade six/seven class, but made applesauce with 2 apples instead of the 4 in the recipe, then forgot to reduce the water and sugar. My seventh grade assistant chef, sporting the highly coveted green coffee shop apron, was genuinely helpful and competent. Kudos to his family!

Today was the first cooking lab for the eighth grade students - it was Potato Skin Day! We learned that potato skins are a TWO day lab.

While one potato bakes in a microwave in 8 minutes, four of them certainly do not. And when you use all the microwaves in the home ec room at the same time, you trip the breaker, and none of them work until the caretaker comes to your rescue. (Okay, fine. Yes, I could have fixed them myself. But sometimes you just need another grown-up in the room)

In a 41 minute block - that adds up to a lot of valuable time lost and a lot of frantic pre-teens.

As the clock ticked down I realized the only way out of this was to finish the lab next class - so my fridge is full of half-made potato skins.

Still, the lesson has potential. I'll revise it for next term, and maybe try something else in the other terms. This term, I really need my recipes to be gluten-free. Maybe in another term I'll try some baking. With 7 week terms for the eighth graders, time will fly. Hopefully that means we're having fun!

Potato Skins Afterthoughts:

It didn't take long for the potatoes in the fridge to develop big, black spots on them. I was quite horrified, but realized it was probably just a chemical reaction - I thought maybe the metal of the spoons we used to scoop them out.

When the grade 8s returned to salvage their lab, they were even more horrified. A few students asked to start over. Remembering the initial fiasco, I hesitated. Then I realized with only a few do-overs we probably wouldn't pop the fuses this time, and it might just work out. We still managed to pop the fuses, but I fixed it myself this time. One group was too disgusted by the black spots to try again, so while 2 or 3 groups commenced damage control, the rest of them read through a recent news item on Killer Cantaloupes (a listeria outbreak).

Two applesauce labs and a potato skin salvage operation in one day... things should improve from here!

My First Demo

I don't object to laughter in my classroom. I like it better when they're laughing with me, but sometimes it's not so bad if they're laughing at me.

I attempted my first cooking demonstration today. The grade 8s are making potato skins. (I needed gluten-free recipes). I had planned to take one of the more challenging kids as my assistant chef, but changed my mind almost immediately after that student entered the room.

My newly conscripted assistant chef (previously a sixth grader and seventh grader in my classroom) was clearly unhappy with the school aprons, which are a bit grungy. Flash! I had found 2 nice aprons early in the summer. The blue one I was wearing, and a barista apron with a recognizable brand-name. He was happier in his green apron.

It was a comedy of errors: we missed steps, couldn't find equipment, my helper idly combed his hair with the chef's knife... and the skins were still under the broiler when the bell went and my class escaped. I sent my slightly bemused assistant to PE eating his hot, gooey potato skins.

I'm not even cautiously optimistic about the Lab tomorrow. But I'm glad that I planned to show a video in the block following the first cook of the year. If nothing else, Bill Nye the Home Ec Guy, will buy me some time to tidy up the debris.

I'm thankful the Tech Ed. teacher pops after the bell to see if I survived. I might need someone to laugh with at the end of the day.

Making Butter

It was a brilliant idea! The younger classes could make butter. It would be quick and easy - a bonus foods lab. Generally, I come to regret those "brilliant" ideas. You'd think I'd learn. I never do.

It's not that I couldn't imagine the challenges. I could, and did! Yet, the students still manage to surprise me.

I rounded up some baby food jars, thanks to my kind colleagues. More than enough to have 3 classes work with a partner. Did some after-school math (I try to avoid that) to calculate how much cream I needed for 3 classes to make butter. (It took just less than 1 litre. Half of what I expected).

With jars, cream, and gluten-free rice crackers (that's a story for another time), our adventures in butter-churning began.

I don't like to do a lot of front end loading. I like to see what the students know and what they can predict. I gave the 3 different classes various amounts of information. Mostly, I just gave them their cream filled bottle and told them to shake.

How long do we have to shake for?
What's supposed to happen?
What are we making?
(We're making butter. I did this in grade one)
Oh.
Why is mine lumpy?
(That's the butter)
Teacher! Why did you put butter in mine? I thought we were making it from scratch!

At the end of three classes over two different days, I would call it a success. They took their little glob of white butter and happily ate their crackers. Some left declaring that they were going to try it at home. (Yay!) Only one set of partners broke their jar. Some daringly drank the buttermilk.

I'm not sure yet if I'll repeat the lab next term. I learned that I should really have identical jars with identical lids, not similar jars with similar lids. I'd like something that fastens on better than baby food jar lids. It was less expensive than I feared since we only used half the crackers and half the cream (you'll probably notice that I'm quite obsessed with this budget business). We'll see what other "brilliant" ideas I come up with as the year progresses.

Next projects: applesauce for the 6/7s and potato skins for the 8s.

How I Found Myself in the Foods Room...

Home Ec is becoming Healthy Living. Once we move into our new school in a year, or two, we'll have gardens and dedicated recycling and waste management areas. Home Ec will be really Green... "and wouldn't you like to teach that?" she asked. I did want to teach that. And thus I became a Home Ec Teacher.

It was after the proverbial ink dried that I heard the stories that scared me. Stories that made me wonder just WHAT I had gotten myself into...

Now, I'm not a new teacher. I've been at this for ten years, and quite a few of those years are at this school. It makes sense to try something new where people know you and have forgiven you. It would be harder, I think, to change schools and try such a dramatic change.

At least my staff knows me well enough not to take my dramatics too seriously, and they KNOW it's not as bad as I say it is... and if it really is that bad, I usually settle down with a cup of tea and a big chunk of dark chocolate.

So, as I attempt to teach middle school home ec, go green and stay reasonably sane, it just made sense to start another blog. The other ones are on the back burner, so to speak.