Cooking Together
If your family is like mine, a common question you might hear each day is, “What is for dinner?” This year I didn’t want that question to catch me off guard, so I came up with a plan. Let the children do a lot of the cooking! Sometimes it is hard to release control or to take the time to teach them how to prepare dinner. However, as I was once told, “We are trying to work ourselves out of a job!” In the book Chores Without Wars (a book suggested by the Alveary) by Lynn Lott and Riki Inter they state, “Fun is the key word!” We want to think of ways to make cooking an enjoyable experience. It is also a great way to have casual discussions about what they are learning and to provide ways to visualize many math and science concepts. The authors suggest the following three activities for getting kids involved: 1) Let them choose the menu one night a week and be the assistant chef on those nights, 2) Find a kids’ cookbook so they can find recipes that look good to them. Help them cook it but then let them do it on their own as they become more skilled in the kitchen, 3) Involve the kids in making their lunches. One idea that I am implementing this year is sheet pan recipes. The meat and veggies are cooked on one sheet and, voila, dinner is done! If you are a classroom teacher, you can try to send some recipes home and encourage your students to share their favorite recipes. How do you involve your students with cooking? What ideas and tips can you share with others? Head to the Hive and leave your comments.
Notes
1. Office Hours: Here is the recording from last week’s Office Hours:
- Overview of MCT Grammar Program and How to Place Your Students
Our next session will be Wednesday, August 10 at 3:30 p.m. EDT when we will discuss science with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri. If you have questions you would like to have answered, please submit them at least 24 hours in advance by commenting on the event in The Hive.
2. Science survey: We’re always evaluating our curriculum and would appreciate your feedback on our science lessons. If you’re using any or all of the Science lessons for any grade, we’d be grateful if you took a moment to fill out this brief survey about your experience.
Queries
1. Do you have an overview of the school year for each grade–something that gives an idea of the historical periods, arts, composers, and science topics for the year?
Yes! Have you seen the Year-at-a-Glance pages listed at the end of each program? You’ll find all the programs under Step 1 of the Alveary dashboard. Just scroll to the end of any grade’s program to find the year overview.
2. Science (Grade 4): I’m concerned about the extra helping instruction to keep box turtles as pets. In many states, it is illegal to have a native wild animal in captivity unless you are a wildlife rehabber.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! We want students to be out in nature and to observe nature up close. Many scientists kept pets as children which fueled their interest in a specific field. However, we also want to be informed specifically about conservation efforts locally and any current laws protecting certain animals. As you note, there are concerns currently about the turtle population, so we removed the suggestion from the lesson plans. Here are some articles that explain the situation and how to help:
- Stop buying box turtles as pets
