i am feeling domestic today it seems.
i have organized the laundry room,
doing laundry.
baked a pumpkin,
roasted pumpkin seeds,
and...
making a veggie lasagna.
brown-eyed-handsome-man
is working today,
so i've got the music cranked up
and i've been moving and grooving.
ya wanna know what the music is?
several years ago a mixed cd
of eye-talian music was made
to be used at my nephews
wedding rehearsal supper.
and when i knew i wanted to try a new
lasagna recipe, i knew it called
for eye-talian music.
fyi, brown-eyed-h.m. pronounces it that way.
and HE is on my mind.
see he is a meat man.
he will tolerate veggies...
as long as he has a meat chaser!
veggie lasagna has NO meat.
i can bet money he will NOT
even try it.
***
this morning i read a recipe using butternut squash
it sounded very tasty.
but...
butternut squash i do not have.
however i do have pumpkins we grew on the farm,
and they are technically squash...
so why not?
often with me, one thing leads to another..
bake the pumpkin, might as well roast the seeds.
then i needed to make a run to our local
mini-mart for mozzarella cheese.
well they had portabella mushrooms
and fresh zucchini.
tasty idea.
and then i've had these beets for awhile,
so...
one veggie led to another.
and i knew i had lost the chance
b.e.h.m would even get close to this dish.
his loss i'm certain.
not to mention i was no longer following the recipe.
***
all this wandering got me to wondering...
do YOU follow the recipes?
***
in the mean time the veggie lasagna is baking
and Mack the Knife has kept
me company and kitchen dancin'.
i think i'll take a nap...
unless i make a pie with the
rest of the baked pumkin.
wonder if i have the ingredients?
p.s.
look what just came out of the oven.
i have been visiting our youngest,
the new second grade teacher.
lucky lucky me even got to go to class
with her and help a bit.
she had told them a surprise visitor was coming.
someone guessed Batman.
someone was wrong.
since i came with gifts,
i was warmly welcomed
and Batman was forgotten.
***
she has 20 students.
40 eyes of wonder,
20 mouths of chattering questions.
and one teacher who keeps them...
on task,
learning,
and having fun.
she says to them
"friends. i need your voice
to be on level 0. "
or
"friends. it's time for reading centers."
or a hundred other different commands/suggestions.
and they do it!
and boy howdy does she have the eagle eyes!!!
i thought as a seasoned mom of 30 + years
i was good at noticing things.
not as good as she is!
she was teaching along one time
then quietly picks up some small piece of paper
and while still teaching lays this paper on the
desk of a few "friends."
what?
why did they get something?
what is it?
later i had a chance to discover what it was.
they had gotten a stop sign that said
"stop. think about what you are doing."
so basically the "friend" was not paying
attention and this was her quiet way
to bring them in line.
it was effective.
***
sadly enough this class of unending energy
has only one 10 minute recess a day.
yes, only 1.
personally i think that is criminal
because kids have energy that needs to be expressed.
and brains need a break.
well they get it.
when she sees the wigglys taking over
they stop
and stand up.
and then they will do
some yoga stretches,
but usually they will dance.
yes.
DANCE!!!
they started the year doing the
cha cha slide.
and now have added
"penguin attention,
penguin salute!"
a verbal and action thing.
yesterday we did the macarena.
one little girl was doing great
until it came time for the hip wiggle.
then she hunches her shoulders,
ducks her head,
covers her face
and giggles.
she was too embarrassed to
hip wiggle.
(ahhh.. i know.)
regardless of what physical song or
dance routine they do,
it accomplishes what it needs to.
and the students can go back
to focusing and learning.
they really like her.
even students not in her class greet her.
(she said she didn't know them.)
***
the adjustment of learning a new job,
in a totally new place
has sometimes been a bit challenging.
but she's getting it nailed down.
she leaves at 7:15 in the morning,
has students by 8:50 until 2:30 with
only 25 minutes to grab a bite to eat
and bathroom break.
at 3:30 she has another batch of kids
to tutor,
and then she teaches a small cooking class with
a few more different kids.
we didn't leave the school grounds
until 5:45.
whew!
and she mentioned she is tired!
often.
like ALL educators she works hard.
but she's making a difference.
and it's worth it.
yes daughter-roo, it is.
otherwise you wouldn't
be doing it.
***
she told the kids
"put your name on the paper
and the date at the top."
and has turned it into a chant.
they love it.
and were repeating it often,
sometimes randomly.
you know like when you
sometimes burst into song
for no apparent reason.
you don't?
well try it.
it's good for the soul.
anyway....
we are PROUD of this new teacher.
all the staff told me how much they like
her.
it's a wonder i'll be able to get/fit my swollen
head and heart on the plane today to go home.
