Year Six...Guinea pigging, can you dig it?

I’ve changed recipes and textiles projects frequently since I took this assignment and EVERY TIME I ask myself why I insist on this torture. Why can’t I just stick to something that works? But no, I always want new recipes, back up recipes, things that work better in my space, with my students. It’s great once we’re settled, but it’s really a painful way to start up the new year.

Today my first group of guinea pigs tested the breakfast burritos. We learned: Easy Breakfast Roll ups are not “easy”. That will be the “challenge” project. They may feel vindicated if I introduce them to the concept of “Pinterest Fails”.

I assured them that the Guinea Pigs class is promised a good mark, since I’m not marking the end result but the design and trouble-shooting process. Happily, that’s embedded in the new curriculum now, so I’m not just making stuff up (I may or may not make stuff up).

Pro Tip - search for "guinea pig chef" not "guinea pig cooking". 

The textiles project is still in flux, though. Every year, my senior classes have made a very specific sewing project, which I love. It’s a great skill builder project that the students really like. I’ve always had tremendous support from another department, and I made my booking back in May. I confirmed with my usual contact person that I wanted to expand my senior project to a school-wide project, but just once every three years.

With three weeks before textiles starts, I’m told – my contact  person is unavailable and I should probably look for a new project. Happily, we’re still working on a solution and I’m hoping the project can continue more or less as usual.

If I have to change projects, then crocheting has just been bumped up on the schedule.

Now I want to make crochet guinea pigs. 

Knife Safety - You're Doing it Wrong

As the new classes are invited to explore the home ec classroom with a scavenger hunt worksheet, I can usually anticipate and head off any problems. They have free rein to explore, under supervision, and there are relatively few monkeyshines.

The chef’s knives are sometimes removed to a more secure location, depending on the class. Sometimes it’s so secure, even the teacher doesn’t know where the knives are! I like to have a couple reliable helpers who know my best hiding spots, so if I forget, or have a teacher on call in class, cooking labs can proceed.

During kitchen orientation with one of the new classes, I asked two students to find the knives, one of the few items whose location is not labeled. I didn’t expect one child to grab up all the chef’s knives like a bouquet of flowers and then bestow them upon the students nearest him.

Within seconds, I had six children (eleven years old) brandishing knives like Samurai swords, blades up to their noses, gearing up to dart through their classmates. 

They were swiftly disarmed, which was something I had always wondered/worried about. Would I be able to disarm a knife-wielding child? Yes, apparently I can, but it helps when you take them by surprise. If I had to actually confront a larger or hostile child with a knife, it might not be so easy.

It might be time for some chain mail.