Having a Ball...

WHOA! this whole student teaching and working right after thing is exhausting... and time consuming (proven by my lack of blog posts!)  Since it's student teaching taking up so much of my time, I figured I'd write about my placements especially because I have a lovely four day weekend! GOBBLE, GOBBLE!

For those of you who don't know the craziness that is student teaching, let me break it down for you.  For one whole semester (end of August to mid-December) I work with a cooperating teacher in an actual public school... unpaid :/ and have an advisor that comes and observes my teaching (don't even get me started on these advisors... let's just say they aren't so great at being on time... or even showing up in some cases).  Half of the semester is at one school, usually urban, and the other half is at another school, usually suburban.  My first placement was with fourth grade.  My second, and current, placement is in fifth grade... (usually one is placed in a grade 1-3 class and then a grade 4-6 class, however, I think it can be based on who has openings so I ended up with 4 & 5).  My background is working with younger kids because I have worked in daycares/preschools since highschool... a total of ten years!  I was a pre-k teacher for two years, and then I was a reading specialist working with 3-6 year olds.

Let me tell you, I was terrified to go to fourth grade...  I imagined fourth graders to be evil, unruly, disrespectful demons... haha, I'm exaggerating... kinda.  Well, what do ya know, I LOVED my fourth grade placement.  I could totally see myself working with fourth graders.  They are still mostly innocent kids, but they also have a level of independence that the younger kids don't always have (although, I did have a few pre-kindergarteners that I could say, "hey, can you get me that thing on the thing over there and they'd know exactly what I was talking about).  I really got along with my cooperating teacher too.  Every other week, I'd go to class with my fellow student teachers and I'd hear horror stories about their placements, but I was loving life.  My cooperating teacher and I have the same strict, but fun discipline mentality and because of that, the classroom ran really well.  I really miss those guys!  If we could have co-taught, it would have been awesome!

Now I am in fifth grade... hmm, what's that saying? "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"... cricket cricket...

Haha... just kidding... again... kinda.  Fifth grade is a lot different from fourth grade.  The students are very chatty, and not always as respectful as I'd like.  I understand that I have come into their classroom after most of the classroom management rules have been established... and I know it is a different school, but I can't really see myself teaching fifth grade... so, I suppose I am thankful for figuring that out now.  I am not saying that if I am offered the opportunity to teach fifth grade I won't, but if I ever have a chance to choose (ba haha), fifth grade would not be my first choice.   If I do ever end up teaching fifth grade, a big chunk of the beginning of the year will be spent on classroom management!

So, what have I learned from student teaching so far?

• Classroom management is SO IMPORTANT... spend a lot of time on it!
• Be firm, but fun... right from the beginning.
• I secretly want a pair of hot pink & black Jordans... but I totally can't rock them.
• Kids can dance better than me.
• I'm obsessed with making worksheets & EVERYTHING on Microsoft Word! (who am I kidding I have always loved this, but lessons give me a purpose).
• Take advantage of the teachable moments.
• Fist fights happen... (between students, not teachers and students!)
• Some lessons will be longer than you think... and others will be a lot shorter.
• I suck at time management!
• Be prepared & organized.
• Other people are a little OCD about cute organizational things, just like me!
• Laugh at yourself.
• Breathe...
• Not everything is a big deal, you've got to let some things go.  
• I am going to kick ass as a teacher... it's definitely what I want to do (phew, I don't have to rob a bank and start working on another degree).  

Okay enough words, how about some pictures?!

Get it?! Having a BALL...

Chocolate covered Oreo basketballs and baseballs and chocolate covered strawberry footballs. 

What do these things have to do with student teaching?! I made these little gift bags and chocolate goodies for my fourth grade students and cooperating teacher.  The classroom had a sports theme, so I went along with that.  I think the corny sayings give it that extra oomph!

I already have my idea for my fifth graders (who, I must admit, are growing on me a little more each day), but that will be for another post... after I actually make them!

I'm feeling generous... here are the sports gift bag labels fo' free!  Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Fruit of the Month: July & August

The time has come to talk about my "Fruit of the Month" arrivals that I mentioned in my farmer's market post!  I told you about all the fun things I did for Greg's birthday, but he got me some great gifts as well.  The main gift being a monthly shipment of fruit from Harry & David for a year... the original "Fruit of the Month" club.  At first I was like "aw man, fruit for my birthday... the most important day of the year (haha) and I got something healthy?"... and then I thought, "yes! fruit for my birthday... and for so long... oh, the things I can make... oh, the things I can blog" because coincidentally I started this blog right around my birthday... and sometimes I think like Dr. Seuss!

My first fruit, Cherry-Oh! cherries, arrived on July 19th... right around the time I had a ton of things going on.  Although I had hoped to make some amazing cherry things, I did not make anything super exciting.

First we made a cherry "sangria"...

...with a cherry wine we got from Nashoba Valley Winery in Massachusetts,  black cherry flavored sparkling water, and chopped up Cherry-Oh! cherries... served in Mason jars of course! Delicious summer beverage... that would have been even better with some brandy and other fruits... next time...

Then I made a cherry salmon dish for dinner:

I used a recipe I found quickly online, but I did not have tarragon, so I substituted with anise seed because Google told me it was a good idea.  Anise seed tastes like black licorice... it kind of went well with the cherries (I'm being nice), but I will not make this again.

On August 10th I got my second fruit; mangoes!

did you know mangoes can be spelled with or without an "e"?

I was worried I wouldn't like mangoes because I tried a mango rum runner in college and didn't like the taste (such a good reason to be worried, right?)

Greg just had to cut open a mango right away to taste it (I think he bought this present for himself too).  I wasn't in love with the texture or taste, so the remaining 3 mangoes stayed in the box for a while.  Then, about a week later, I decided to do some mango research and saw a lot of recipes for mango salsa and mango cupcakes.  And so, my mango day started.  I cut, chopped, measured, mixed, melted, sauteed, pureed, baked, piped, blended, and taste tested that day.  And voila! I found a way to like mangoes!

I made mango salsa with fresh veggies from the farmer's market:

The mango salsa was SO GOOD... the saltiness of the chips with the sweetness of the mango and orange juice was delicious... until... I remembered that I forgot (hehe) to add the cilantro.  The cilantro altered the taste of the salsa completely and made it taste soapy, which is why I did not include it in my ingredients... we were so sad :(

Don't worry, the delicious mango cupcakes made up for it.  This is one of my favorite cupcakes that I have ever made.  The sweetness of the butter cream frosting paired so well with the subtle sweetness of the vanilla cupcakes.   I tweaked a recipe I found on Dessarts and made it my own. 

Even Greg loved the cupcakes... and he thinks hes a food and wine critic ;).  I used part of an apple corer to make the holes in the cupcakes, and I piped the filling into the cupcakes and then the frosting right on top... I had fun with 2 different piping tips too.  In the future I'll be writing a post on a super easy way to fill a piping bag that makes swirled frosting a lot easier!

Just don't leave your first batch of cupcakes in the oven for too long!

Now its time for me to start my nectarine research... yesterday I got my September shipment:

Any suggestions on what I should make?!

We Cooked, We Ate, We Laughed...

Hey friends! I have been a bit busy lately... lots of shopping and organizing for student teaching... LOTS of shopping ;) , but I am back to reminisce about mine and Greg's fun date night this summer.  I mentioned that I surprised Greg with a cooking class for his birthday in my post about a DIY ticket shadow box... well we went, we cooked, we ate... and we laughed at the snooty serious people in the class (luckily we found another couple with the same sense of humor as us)! So, what did we cook?

Our Menu:
Appetizer: Grilled Pancetta-Wrapped Shrimp Skewers
Main Course: Rosemary-Stuffed Flank Steak with Shaved Parmesan
Side: Grilled Zucchini with Parsley- Almond Pesto
Dessert: Caramel Apple Grilled Pizza

The class was held at Sur La Table in Canton, CT.  There were about 16 participants and we all worked together in groups of 8 to create the meal... and of course we brought wine (wish they provided the drinks).  If I were to ever do this again I would want to go with friends because, as I said, some of the people were just too serious... I think cooking and date nights should be fun!  The food was really yummy... I will definitely be cooking flank steak, making pesto, and working with skewers again!  Here are the recipes so you can try them at home.

All recipes are courtesy of Sur La Table.

FREEBIE TIME!! Want your own 4x6 recipe cards to fill in?  Download a free printable recipe card template here ... just make sure you let people know where you got them from... ENJOY! :) 

Have you ever been to a cooking class?

Summer Eats

This month has been packed with fun activities and I've been seeing a lot of my best friend Nikki, which has been awesome!  So far I have:

• Eaten a 5.3 pound lobster
• Gone to a 4th of July party
• Gone on a mini shopping spree
• Gone to a surprise birthday party 
• Gone to the beach
• Tried veggie cheese and pepperoni
• Made cupcakes for a baby shower
• Gone to a belated birthday dinner
• Had a BBQ/camp fire party
• Made burger cupcakes
• Made antipasto skewers
• Played "Dream Phone"
• Gone to a winery
• Eaten the best garlic knots EVER

... just to name a few things ;) ... here's a visual of some of my July excitement:

Lots of summer fun and delicious-ness... and although the 5.3lb lobster was my favorite, I had a lot of fun making antipasto skewers and hamburger cupcakes to share with my friends...

Feel free to print these recipe cards so that you can share some delicious food with your friends too!

Now on to the next half of July...

What are your favorite summer eats or activities?