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.