Faced with a 2 day week, just before a 2 week Spring Break (if you don't know, don't ask - things have been difficult around these parts), I promised the Grade 8s that we would cook before the break, and I was determined to get the 6/7s started on their knitting.
The 8s made it through their Apple Crisp lab, some better than others, and the 6/7s are well on their way to becoming knitters, some more than others. Pretty good for 2 days work.
Block 7. Last block of the day. Friday. The 8s have finished their cooking lab, and the last batch of 6/7s settle in to learn to knit. About 2:30, someone says "It smells funny... like gas". And I realize that she's right, and I can smell it too. So can the rest of that group. So can the group closest to them. And the group further away who weren't paying attention to the rest of us.
Dig out my cell phone and call the office. Vice Principal is teaching and Principal has "stepped away from his office" (which could mean anything). I let out a Bad Word. I explain the problem and ask the secretary to send me a Caretaker a.s.a.p., which she does.
I move the students away from the odour while the Caretaker investigates. Noticing that it's nearly the end of class makes it easy to wrap things up without upsetting the kids. They gather their things and move into the hallway to wait for the end of the block.
Turns out that some gas was being purged nearby. I honestly don't know what that means, or looks like. I'm going to look it up.
Do you think that if you're going to perform a procedure near a school that smells like a gas leak, you'd call the Principal and let someone know? Jeez.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Cheese!
Close call with the phobia today - I'm going to have to be more careful.
The grade 8s are making pizza. This, of course, includes, cheese. Yes, yes, phobias and cheese. Try to keep up with me here. See the last entry. The phobia victim is not in the grade 8 class, but the class right after.
So. The 8s are scrambling to finish up and get to their next class. I'm scrambling to tidy up and prepare for my next class which is trickling in around the edges. I lead them along with my preamble about our food based science experiment, and if we put cream into a jar and shake it, what do you think we'll get? (Um. Not very many kids guess correctly, in case you're wondering. Maybe 10 percent) Since one of the guesses was cheese (a very common answer, that and ice cream), one boy perked up in alarm.
As he rapidly scanned my work station for clues, I noticed that the mozzarella block was still out and quickly threw a towel over it. I'm sure he saw... but he didn't flee. Any predictions to make about the upcoming term? I'd love to hear them. Just remember, truth is stranger than fiction.
The grade 8s are making pizza. This, of course, includes, cheese. Yes, yes, phobias and cheese. Try to keep up with me here. See the last entry. The phobia victim is not in the grade 8 class, but the class right after.
So. The 8s are scrambling to finish up and get to their next class. I'm scrambling to tidy up and prepare for my next class which is trickling in around the edges. I lead them along with my preamble about our food based science experiment, and if we put cream into a jar and shake it, what do you think we'll get? (Um. Not very many kids guess correctly, in case you're wondering. Maybe 10 percent) Since one of the guesses was cheese (a very common answer, that and ice cream), one boy perked up in alarm.
As he rapidly scanned my work station for clues, I noticed that the mozzarella block was still out and quickly threw a towel over it. I'm sure he saw... but he didn't flee. Any predictions to make about the upcoming term? I'd love to hear them. Just remember, truth is stranger than fiction.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Food Allergies and Phobias
I had wondered if I would run out of material after a term or two. No fear! Looks like bloggable items will never be in short supply.
The new term of 6/7s started this week, and the first order of business is the allergy/food sensitivity sheet. A few children asked questions to clarify what they wanted to write so I had a general sense of what the concerns were, but I was still surprised.
So it looks like I'm reviewing my recipe ideas this weekend. Nothing with plums, that's for sure. But I might want to keep some cheese strings on hand for self-defense.
The new term of 6/7s started this week, and the first order of business is the allergy/food sensitivity sheet. A few children asked questions to clarify what they wanted to write so I had a general sense of what the concerns were, but I was still surprised.
- A child with an anaphylactic allergy to plums. This is my first encounter with severe fruit allergy.
- A child with lactose intolerance, who can eat small amounts of milk but cannot eat a giant ball of cheese. Well, who can, really?
- A child who reportedly eats only organic food. Staggering to think about, honestly, in terms of cost and effort.
- Another one with allergies who reacts to raw, unpeeled, fruits and veggies.
- A hard-core vegan.
- The usual peanut and nut allergies, a latex allergy and two who revealed medicine allergies - not that I plan to dispense codeine or penicillin in class. But good to know about!
- And the child who reported he's phobic about cheese. That one looked like a hoax, but we spoke, and his teacher checked and it seems on the level. The kid has a cheese phobia. Now there's some kryptonite that you don't want to reveal to your teenage friends!
So it looks like I'm reviewing my recipe ideas this weekend. Nothing with plums, that's for sure. But I might want to keep some cheese strings on hand for self-defense.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Mid Point
Funny thing... we're about at the mid-point of the year. I've definitely recovered from the initial stage-fright I had at the beginning of the first term, and I'm willing to try almost anything in Home Ec now, as long as it can be compressed into my time-frame of 41 minutes. And I'm bored. Not during class...no, class is far too busy for me to consider the luxury of boredom. I'm bored in theory. Now that I'm approaching some recipes for the third time this year, or I do the same recipe three times a week (like I do with the 6/7 classes), I'm getting kind of antsy.
A new group of 8s is in the midst of their first cooking lab. I'm ready to pick up the pace - but they're not. I don't think it's a coincidence that I come home on Apple Crisp lab day, and make a batch of apple crisp - something I rarely made before this school year. Partly, the lab proved how easy it is, so, why not? And partly, it smells so darned good ;-)
The 8s get more restless each term, and I keep trying to move things along a little faster to hold their interest, or at least to tear them away from their iPhones. Today's demo was just an introduction - here's how to prepare the apples, so go to it. They were, as I mentioned, restless. Until they tried it. Payback time. "This is harder than it looks!" Yes, it is. I've peeled a lot of apples this year. I make it look easy.
Some students, not content with the challenge of the task at hand, decided to further challenge themselves... or rather, a classmate. The Cinnamon Challenge, it's called. I guess he succeeded... although I certainly don't advise trying it. Most of the class was too busy to notice, but I decided that cinnamon is now a controlled substance. When one 8th grade boy tries something on a dare, others are sure to follow.
Regardless, they managed to get their apple crisps into the fridge, ready for baking tomorrow, although clean up didn't go too well. We'll debrief. Whether they like it or not.
A new group of 8s is in the midst of their first cooking lab. I'm ready to pick up the pace - but they're not. I don't think it's a coincidence that I come home on Apple Crisp lab day, and make a batch of apple crisp - something I rarely made before this school year. Partly, the lab proved how easy it is, so, why not? And partly, it smells so darned good ;-)
The 8s get more restless each term, and I keep trying to move things along a little faster to hold their interest, or at least to tear them away from their iPhones. Today's demo was just an introduction - here's how to prepare the apples, so go to it. They were, as I mentioned, restless. Until they tried it. Payback time. "This is harder than it looks!" Yes, it is. I've peeled a lot of apples this year. I make it look easy.
Some students, not content with the challenge of the task at hand, decided to further challenge themselves... or rather, a classmate. The Cinnamon Challenge, it's called. I guess he succeeded... although I certainly don't advise trying it. Most of the class was too busy to notice, but I decided that cinnamon is now a controlled substance. When one 8th grade boy tries something on a dare, others are sure to follow.
Regardless, they managed to get their apple crisps into the fridge, ready for baking tomorrow, although clean up didn't go too well. We'll debrief. Whether they like it or not.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Quinoa Brownies 2.0
I still haven't figured out why there was such a difference in this term's QBs and last terms. Granted, the grade 8s were woefully inattentive during the demo - so much so, that I'm wondering if I should have just cancelled the demo in progress, or the cooking lesson. I think making them struggle on was probably for the greater good.
Because they were so inattentive, all the "improvements" I made to the recipe instructions were for naught. Like good little automatons, they brought up their trays with bowls and measuring cups - even though I'd been VERY CLEAR that I wanted: someone to bring up their saucepan to start the quinoa; someone else to bring up a glass bowl to get the butter melting, another to start on their dry ingredients... face-palm...
Two of the girls spent a great deal of time analyzing the vanilla bottle. One of the ingredients was "alcohol". Back in their unit, they announced that they would be unable to eat the product because of the 1 millilitre of alcohol contaminated vanilla... it didn't (seem to) occur to them, that they could just OMIT it. (Someone, please calculate for me, how much of that 1 ml was alcohol) face-palm again. And a big sigh. Oh well, the boys of the unit were under no such restrictions and were happy to eat the extra portions.
Despite the frustrations, we were on task and on time at the end of the block. It was baking day where the oddities came through. Two groups found their quinoa mixture so thick that they couldn't get it out of the blender (I guess it was undercooked and absorbed the rest of the liquid ingredients overnight?) The brownies took longer to bake today... or they got in the oven later. Either way, it was the end of the block and the finished product was barely "done" enough to be removed. One group stayed late. I didn't even get to check to ensure the product was edible! Oh well, I'll get some feedback tomorrow.
The poor 6/7s. In they trickle, to a room that is saturated with the smell of chocolate. "What are we making?" they ask eagerly. "Nothing." is the teacher's heartless reply. "That was the grade 8s. You're cooking next week."
We're doing quesadillas and smoothies next week (not at the same time, although... that would, almost, work.) I think I'll put "Mudpies" forward as a bonus if-you're-good lesson.
P. S. the alcohol content estimate... artificial vanilla is reportedly no more than 25% alcohol, so that 1 ml of vanilla contains 1/4 or 0.25 ml of alcohol. Divided by the six portions then each student is consuming 0.042 ml. Leaving it OUT would have been a workable solution.
(Hmm... Do I still have some leftover rum balls around here somewhere???)
P.P.S the last of the leftover rum balls were gone. Made mudpies. All of the chocolatey goodness, but none of the zing.
Because they were so inattentive, all the "improvements" I made to the recipe instructions were for naught. Like good little automatons, they brought up their trays with bowls and measuring cups - even though I'd been VERY CLEAR that I wanted: someone to bring up their saucepan to start the quinoa; someone else to bring up a glass bowl to get the butter melting, another to start on their dry ingredients... face-palm...
Two of the girls spent a great deal of time analyzing the vanilla bottle. One of the ingredients was "alcohol". Back in their unit, they announced that they would be unable to eat the product because of the 1 millilitre of alcohol contaminated vanilla... it didn't (seem to) occur to them, that they could just OMIT it. (Someone, please calculate for me, how much of that 1 ml was alcohol) face-palm again. And a big sigh. Oh well, the boys of the unit were under no such restrictions and were happy to eat the extra portions.
Despite the frustrations, we were on task and on time at the end of the block. It was baking day where the oddities came through. Two groups found their quinoa mixture so thick that they couldn't get it out of the blender (I guess it was undercooked and absorbed the rest of the liquid ingredients overnight?) The brownies took longer to bake today... or they got in the oven later. Either way, it was the end of the block and the finished product was barely "done" enough to be removed. One group stayed late. I didn't even get to check to ensure the product was edible! Oh well, I'll get some feedback tomorrow.
The poor 6/7s. In they trickle, to a room that is saturated with the smell of chocolate. "What are we making?" they ask eagerly. "Nothing." is the teacher's heartless reply. "That was the grade 8s. You're cooking next week."
We're doing quesadillas and smoothies next week (not at the same time, although... that would, almost, work.) I think I'll put "Mudpies" forward as a bonus if-you're-good lesson.
Not what they're supposed to look like. I think the guys went overboard on the blender step.
P. S. the alcohol content estimate... artificial vanilla is reportedly no more than 25% alcohol, so that 1 ml of vanilla contains 1/4 or 0.25 ml of alcohol. Divided by the six portions then each student is consuming 0.042 ml. Leaving it OUT would have been a workable solution.
(Hmm... Do I still have some leftover rum balls around here somewhere???)
P.P.S the last of the leftover rum balls were gone. Made mudpies. All of the chocolatey goodness, but none of the zing.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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 ;-)
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.
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?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)