Demonstration project
Who knew showing 24 fourth graders how to make Dirt Cups was going to be such a big hit? Maybe it had something to do with snack time. Or the chocolate. Or the gummy worms. Either way Leah's demonstration speech was a crowd pleaser. We had been thinking of all sorts of things for her to work on for this that would be easy to explain. She initially wanted to make a mango smoothie. That was a great idea except that she needs her choice to be about 5 steps and she has to be able to do it herself. Cutting up the mango would be a problem for her so I suggested she search for another idea. As she looked through her cookbook she became very distracted with all the other delicious things to eat. Meanwhile I was trying to think of something for her to do that would involve little cooking and would be so easy she'd be able to describe the process with a few steps. Also the idea had to be yummy. I don't know how Dirt Cups popped into my head but it did and right away I knew it was perfect. After she was through doing her cheering and hooting we got to putting this idea to paper. Her written portion of the project was to write the steps, not unlike a recipe. Since she had to use her own words she needed to write the procedure in a way she would understand. We reviewed the process and there was much excitement.
Then came today the presentation day. Which we totally forgot about. As in it's 745am and I just noticed the big reminder on the calender. I was able to arrange for her to present in the afternoon which gave me time to pick up the extra ingredients we needed for her classroom batch of Dirt Cups. Over breakfast we pantomimed the speech practicing the steps. She was confident and pleased. I was frantic in my thoughts. How could I have forgotten? Oh yeah. The library catalog has been down for 3 days and I've got all those fires to put out. See what happens when panic takes over your brain. Despite my near total neglect Leah's speech went well. She was very nervous and forgetful. I'm not sure if my being there was better or worse. She kept looking to me for approval and I may have sucked out some of her confidence by being next to her. Sometimes being able to be invisible would be handy. I am proud she did this because I could see how she enjoyed making the dessert. I must admit that her classmates were very impressed and polite. They watched eagerly and were so pleased to get a sample. It was almost like a little cooking show of her own. Now that she is a skilled dirt cups maker she wants to make it for dessert for everyone. To begin with we'll have her pass out the recipe to her new fans (classmates) and let them make it for their own families. I suspect that this might make an appearance at the supper table for Christmas. It could be a new tradition.
Then came today the presentation day. Which we totally forgot about. As in it's 745am and I just noticed the big reminder on the calender. I was able to arrange for her to present in the afternoon which gave me time to pick up the extra ingredients we needed for her classroom batch of Dirt Cups. Over breakfast we pantomimed the speech practicing the steps. She was confident and pleased. I was frantic in my thoughts. How could I have forgotten? Oh yeah. The library catalog has been down for 3 days and I've got all those fires to put out. See what happens when panic takes over your brain. Despite my near total neglect Leah's speech went well. She was very nervous and forgetful. I'm not sure if my being there was better or worse. She kept looking to me for approval and I may have sucked out some of her confidence by being next to her. Sometimes being able to be invisible would be handy. I am proud she did this because I could see how she enjoyed making the dessert. I must admit that her classmates were very impressed and polite. They watched eagerly and were so pleased to get a sample. It was almost like a little cooking show of her own. Now that she is a skilled dirt cups maker she wants to make it for dessert for everyone. To begin with we'll have her pass out the recipe to her new fans (classmates) and let them make it for their own families. I suspect that this might make an appearance at the supper table for Christmas. It could be a new tradition.
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