Christmas Recipes part 3

Christmas Eve.. and if you still don't know what to cook, here's some help from the 3rd section of Grade 3.

My Corned Beef (my style)
What you need
whole beef (1kg)
spice (16 g)
cutting board (big)
potatoes (400g)
knife (big)
oven (small)

How you make it
1. cut the beef
2. pour the spice and the potatoes
3. heat it in the oven 62C
4. mix it.

Lasagnia
-First boil the pasta.
-Next put one layer of pasta. (Put it in a glass pan)
-Then a layer of sauce. (spaghetti) Repeat the procese.
-After you fill the glass pan put how much cheese you like.
-Last bake it.
-After baking enjoy

Pizza
ingridients
cheese
peperoni
bread
crust
sauce

how to make
First flatten the breadm then place the sauce next add as much cheese as you want, then put your favorite toppings Finally heat it up, now eat your delicious pizza

Christmas cookies
mix flour with water to make dough put dough in the oven then add sprinkles
[yummy.....]

Cakes
-First put the butter in a bowl
-Next put sugar in the bowl
-Then mixed them in the bowl
-After you mixed them baked it
-Finally you eat it

[I think we need to work on verb tense...]

I would like to eat pecking duck [alive??]
How to make
first buy a duck from the marcket then you put it in the oven for I don't now seconds the bring it out last you cut the duck in any kind of shape you want then enjoy
[cookie cutter duck??]

Lazanya
Fry the lazanya strips?
Put in container
Put spageti sause
Put ? (kind of milk)
Put another layer of lazanya strips
and repeat the process until full

Ham imported
Put in oven
remove plastic

[hahahaha...]

Ham with bacon and cheese
At first, I'll shop for Eden Cheese, Meceni Bacon and any brand of Ham. [nax...] First, I will put the ham on the left and right, [huh?], Next I'll put the bacon at the middle, After I'll put cheese all over, then I'll put it in to cooker for to 30C. Finally I'll eat.

Cake
matereals to make a springculs cake
1. flour
2. icing
3. egg
4. sugar
5. milk
6. water
7. butter
8. marshmallows

Coking materials
Oven
knife
baking pan
measuring cup
bowl
plate

Steps
1. Firts you get flour ana bowl then place some water.
2. Secound you crack some eggs the put it with the flour.
3. Next place some sugar on the bowl.
4. Then put butter on the bowl
5. Then mix it.
6. Pour the liquid stuff that you did on the baking pan then place it in the oven.
7. In a few minite take it out then place it on the plate.

[what happened to the "springculs"?]

Chocolate brownies
Thing you need:
chocolate
powder
peanuts
choco syrup
shaper
cherry
sugar
tiny chocolate
egg

First you need to prepare everything that you need then mix the baking powder with the eggs thirrd put some chocolate after that you need to shape it up, soon you coudl put some peanut around and put syrup then put some more tiny chocolate then you can put the cherry. Finally you could eat it! [or you could not..]

I want to eat chicken and rice in christmas
Steps
1) Put vegatables in chicken
2) Put some salt on chicken
3) Put a knife with butter then spread it on the chicken

Materials
1) Chicken
2) salt
3) rice
4) vegetable
5) butter
6) knife
7) oven
8) plate
9) rice cooker
10) water
11) bowl

Pizza
How to make it:
Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
1500 ml of pizza sauce
grated chese
toppings (anything you want) like mushroom, peporoni, tomato, greenbelt peper, etc.

Steps
1. Add ALL the pizza sauce to the pizza sauce [brilliant..]
2. Add toppings on top of the pizza
3. Put it in the pizza oven. Set it for 5 mins.
4. After that slice it into 10 pieces

Tools Needed:
Knife
Chese Grater (for grated chese) [no kidding..]
Pizza Oven
Tray
Gloves for holding tray

Pizza
first make dough
Flour and water --> dough --> after that toast the dough --> then spread tomato sause on dough 00> put cheese on dough (grated) after that --> add mushrooms (optional) you may do this or skip to the last step --> finally PIZZA

[yes, he designed it as a flow chart]

I like to eat Tacos :)
First you get a Taco shell next you chop the toppings third you great the cheese then put the toppings and --> [picture of taco]

Spaghetti taco
Ingredients
-noodles
-meatballs
-sausage
-sauce
-taco shell
-meat
-vegies
-cheese

first cook the noodles with the sause.
next add the vegies, meat and the sausage.
then add the meatballs and put the spaghetti in the taco shell and put cheese.

[interesting...]

How do you make ham?
1.) first Buy from the market.
2.) Second put it in the refrigirator.
3.) third put oil in the pan.
4.) Then cook it.
5.) Then you can eat.

I like to eat for Christmas ham.
First put out the ham out of the freezer. Second deprost the ham. If its not hard put it on a plate. After that slice the ham into how many pieces you want. Next put oil on the pan. Then put the ham on the pan. Later flip it or fry it. Finally you can eat it.

Raspberry cake.
Recipes
1/4 Raspberry's
1/2 white chocolate
1/16 salt
1/8 baking powder
1/16 baking soda
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
oven
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
bowl

1. Mix 3 eggs in the bowl then add 1 cup of sugar.
2. Mix Raspberry, chocolate baking powder and soda [chocolate baking powder?]
3. Mix the salt together and put it in the oven.

Christmas Recipes part 2

Let's hear it from a different 3rd grade class!

STEAK w/ zuchinies in mash potato


Ingredients: potato, fire wood (for camping), bug chunk of beef, salt, pepper, seasoners, zuchinni (if desired), butter
Steak
First: get a pan and put butter on it
2nd: season w/ salt, pepper and seasoners (on the beef)
3rd: cook it for 15 min (rare)/26 (normal)
mash potato
1st: grill zuchinies
2nd: slice diagonaly
3rd: mash the potato
4th: put the zuichinies in the mash potato

FINALY: put mash potato in bowl. Take steak out of pan then put in plate. FINISH! P.S. Enjoy. [I hope...]

Mango Mousse
Ingredients: Mangoes (Diced) cream, Mango Syrup and Shredded Chocolate (if desired)
Instructions: First, pour the cream in a swirling form over the cup. Next, add the Mango Syrup around the cup. After that, add the diced mangoes on top. If desired, sprinkle the shredded chocolate to top it off.
And Voila! You have Mango Mousse.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake
Ingridients:
Chocolate (dark)
Truffles
Icing
Melted Chocolate
Fruits (any)
Things:
Spoon
Mixer
Bowls

First, get the bowl and melt the chocolate.
Then, melt the truffles and pour the chocolate and truffles (melted) and pour into 1 bowl.
Next, mix well and let it cool of.
After, bake it
finally, put icing and fruits.

Pizza
Ingredients
Flour, water, tomato sauce, grated cheese, mushrooms, egg, pineapple, olives, bacon, salt,

First crack the egg, then mix it with the flour, after that we roll the dough, then we decorate it with any toppings that you like, you can put many sauce and cheese, then you put it in the oven and then your ready to eat.
[She won't be ready to eat after she discovers that egg and flour alone do not make pizza dough...]

Pizza
Ingridients
flour
tomato sauce
motsarella cheese
parmesan cheese
water
egg
pineapple
mushroom
bacon
salt

First crack the egg, then mix it with the flour [well someone is a copycat...], after that we roll the dough, after spread the tomato sauce then sprinkle the motsarella cheese and the parmesan, put the pineapple, mushroom, bacon and salt.

Sans Rival


Ingredients:
mixed nuts 1 cup
cream
mango
strawberry
orange
butter
sugar

Plating:
place sansrival on plate. Next, top w/ mango, third, decorate with couscous like below [insert drawing that looks like a dust bunny]

How:
place nuts in food processor
beat the cream w/butter
bake sugar in oven [huh?]
shape sugar to rectangle
place nuts in shaper w/ sugar
so on for 3 layers
chill for 5 mins
place cream
and put mango

[I don't even know what this stuff is...]

How to cook STEAK
First, season it with salt and pepper. Marinate it in kikkoman sauce, then put butter on a pan that is already hot until the butter is melted. Put the steak in the pan and wait until you see that the blood is completely out. Flip the steak, and repeat.

["I make this for my family every Christmas." - smug 3rd grader]

Instant noodles
First pour hot water in the instant noodles Then Done
[Congrats, lazy boy]

instant noodles
I like to cook instant noodles, first step put corn noodles beef sugar and water then wait then eat.
[Someone missed the lesson on commas...]

Instant noodles
Firs buy from the mall then go home pour boiling water then eat

noodles (instant noodles)
pour hot water wait for three to four minuits and then eat

instant noodles
First you buy the noodle. Next you boil water. After that you put the noodle in the boiling water. Before you eat put a bit soysauce. Finally you eat it.

instant noodles
first put hot water next, wait 3 to 5 minuts then eat it in the cup

[Applause for the lazy copycat boys of Jericho B]

Yakiniku
First buy some beef Then decorat it on a stick next you put it on the griller for 30 mins. Then after that you make ssauce with toyo and some salt.

[Decorate?]

Spagetti
Ingredients:
1/2 pack uncooked pasta
tomato sauce (1/2 cup)
cheese (any cheese)

First, cook the pasta in boiling water.
Then, when it is cooked, open a pack of tomato sauce and measure 1/2 cup.
Next, pour the tomato sauce over the pasta (now in a plate)
Finally, sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce.

Spaghetti
How to make it:
1. Boil the noodles
2. Make the sauce
3. Put the noodles in a plat
4. Pour the sauce into the noodles
5. put cheese on it

[Conclusion: 4th quarter we need to learn how to use prepositions properly...]

Steak
First you need Steak, peper and gravy. Then cook the steak. Next you put rice. After that put in a plate put gravy. Finally eat it.

Barbecue
1. First you buy frozen Barbecue [eww!]
2. Next you heat in on grill
3. Last You serve it

Cake
First you get buscuits, then you put cream all around, Next you put fruits, Finally you freeze it.

Steak
First you buy it at the supermarket Next you cut then you put it in the stove then your done.
[And then you have a burning mess...]

Pizza
Buy pizza bread then put tomato sauce then put meat, mushroom, ham and cheese, then baked it into a oven for 30 m.

Steak
Put in the cooker the get a beet put it into the cooker then wait for 2 hours and bring it out and put it on a plate then put gravy then ready to serve.
[Huh?]

I do not know how to cook anything.
[insert temper tantrum]

Since tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I will give you some more recipes by the 3rd section of Grade 3 for all those procrastinators who do last minute cooking.

Christmas Recipes

Did you miss me? Anyway, since Christmas is right around the corner, I thought you might like some recipe ideas. Here are some Christmas recipes courtesy of one of my 3rd grade classes.

Victory Cookies
Ingredients:
Sugar (brown and white)
Chocolate Chips (brown and white)
Butter
Flour
Vanilla
Baking Soda
Milk
Eggs (6)

1. First, mix the flour and sugar
2. Next, you add the eggs
3. Then, you put it in the mixer and add chips
4. You mold it in all sorts of shapes
5. You put it in the oven and set it at 10-20 min.
6. Come out cookies...... and the sweet smell of success!

Traditional Tempura
First, you need shrimp, vegtables, flour and water. You first peel the shrimp then you get a toothpick and remove the vein of the shrimp. You always see that tempura is strait by using your index finger and your big finger and push then put it in the fryer with the vegtables then wait for a while then put it in the plate with the vegtables and you have Traditional tempura.

I love pancake
First get sugar and pancake flour and chocolate milk. Then mix it then, cook it then slice it and put your favorite ice cream inside and the close with sticky candy

Hamburger
Beef
Bread
Ketchup
Mayonaise

First get 2 Breads.
Next put mayonaise, ketchup on the Beef
And put Cheese and vegetables on the beef
lastly put the Beef between the two breads.

[Um... yum?]

Noodles
First, buy cooked noodles, pasta or spaghetti.
Second, get a huge pot.
Third, fill the pot with water.
Fourth, put the pot on the stove.
Fifth, put the uncooked pasta in the pot.
Sixed, cook or boil it.
Seventh, wait for it to be done.
Eighth, eat it.

Gingerbread cookies with toppings of mn'm and marshmallow
Directions:
First: We wash our hands and prepare the ingredients.
Second: We put chocolate in the tray.
Then: We mix it with sugar.
Fourth: We shape it into a gingerbread.
Next: We put it in the oven.
Then: We bake it for 10 minutes.
Next: We springcle marshmallows and mn'm.
Lastly: We put it in the oven again for 1 minute.
And we have Gingerbread cookies with marshmallows and mn'm.
DELICIOUS

[We do, do we?]

Hotdog
First, put cheese in the hotdog bun. Put bread in the bun. [oh really?] Cook in the oven. After, your done cooking. Finally, eat it.

Ice Cream
first you put your fruit then ice then cream then sugar the put it in a refrigerator

Lasagna
1. Get the lasagna and boil it.
2. When you're done put suace on it.
3. Then you put cheese on top.
4. Put it in the oven.
5. Take it out.
6. You're done!

Sushie
1 first get a ball of rice
2 Next rap it with sushie
3 after put any thing in the sushie

Cookies n' Creme Shake
First put cookies, (oreo), milk, ice, vanilla and icecream
and
Second: blend it
Last: Put in the cup and put whip cream.

Cookies
First melt the butter
Second add 3 eggs.
Next add 2 cups of sugar.
Then add 4 cups of chocolate
And lastly put it in the oven until golden brown

[what an oven catastrophe waiting to happen...]

Chicken
first get a chicken in the store then get crispy then put it in a pot and roast it the you have it

Chicken joy from KFC
First take a killed chicken in a grocery, Then Fry it and put some crispy sauce, Second cook it until it's time, Next put it in a plate and decorate the plATE Then it is served.

[Make sure the chicken is killed...]

Steak
First make the steak warm up. [push-ups? jumping jacks?]
2nd put pepper, garlic, rose mary leaves and soysauce
3rd when the steak is done miks the ingreadiance with the steak
4th cook one side of the steak
5th After 5 min. flip it
You made your steak!

Eggs
First get an egg put the egg yoke and white in the pan don't let the shell go in the pan
Last after five minutes get the egg and put it in the plate.

Dumpling
First you buy Dumplings. After that you cook it and you can eat it.

Beef
Put it in the pan cook it salt, peper, soysauce and butter.

Jam sandwich:
Spread Jam on the bread. Then squish it together then eat it.

Ham
First buy frozen ham. Then defrost the day before you plan to cook.
Last Pan fry it

Pizza
First bake the Pizza curst [curst?!] for 10 minutes then put the pizza sause then the cheese and then put it for the oven for 20 minutes then you have your pizza

I hope that gave you some ideas!

True Stuff

1. My brother's handwriting never looked like this in 3rd grade. 

2. My brother's handwriting still doesn't look like this.

3. My handwriting never looked like this in 3rd grade.

4. My handwriting can sometimes look like this now.

5. My brother's and my handwriting never looked alike.

6. I didn't think a 3rd grade boy could ever have handwriting that was as neat as a girl's handwriting.

That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...

Some people have asked me in the course of the past half a year (yes, it has been 7 months, going on 8) since I moved back home, "Do you miss the States?" Naturally, my grumpy answer is, "Of course not!" just because it's like those questions that innocent people ask an MK like, "Where is home?" or even, "Do you have beaches in the Philippines?" (yes, I was asked that). Wherever you go, whatever place you leave, wherever you arrive, you will most always miss just something about the place you left. Even if you had a horrible experience, there's probably some moment that you just might miss because you learned something through it. Or maybe it's not true all the time, but for the sake of generalization, imagine that it's true. 

Where was I? Oh yes, the States. Do I miss it? No. I miss parts of it, though. Sometimes you don't realize that you appreciate something until it's gone. No, wait, scratch that. Quite often you don't realize that you appreciate something until it's gone. When I was in college, people would ask me over and over again (it must be like the ice breaker question that you ask all MK's), "So do you miss the Philippines?" Duh. I could list all the things I missed! The Philippines is a part of me, and I missed everything from the food to the invisible but very real feel of just being in the country. I knew the country by the culture, by the smells, by the climate changes -- I could miss the Philippines. The States isn't like that to me. I lived and breathed it for a small period of my life, so I did not learn to love it deeply, but I loved and liked some things on the surface. 

Bored yet? Ok. Here's a list, in no particular order, of things that I do indeed miss about the United States of America:

1. Family and Trinity (That includes everything from the preaching to the people... and in a materialistic sense, their piano... True story.) 

2. PBU (and of course that includes my lovely roommates, my classes (don't judge), and my many and random campus jobs)

• Let's get more specific... WAWA late night runs, H-Mart, Business Rt 1 where every store you could possibly need was on the same road, all the fabulous parks not very far from each other, the picnic bench overlooking the carp-filled pond, the geese that I tormented, the shuttle (I love driving big vans), the Steinway pianos in the music building, cheese quesadilla day in the cafeteria, and ham supreme day in the cafeteria.

3. Walmart. (It's like the SM of the States, but it's not as crowded and the salesladies don't stalk you while you're shopping.)

4. The Public Library. I don't know why this isn't closer to the top. I miss it so, so, so, so much. 

5. I-95. (Try driving here, and you will no longer think driving on I-95 is a nightmare. I'll give you a hint -- I-95 has lane markings! How innovative!) 

6. Fall and Spring and part of Winter. (I love watching the leaves change color and the flowers bursting into bloom, but the only part about winter I like is playing in the snow. I don't like it when it's freezing cold and there's no snow to show for it. Oh, and I also enjoy snow days.)

7. Coffee dates with the girls at the Langhorne Coffee House.

8. Cafe Buono -- is it still alive?! 

9. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Cheez-its, and Guenardi's weekend $5 pizza (junk food love much?!) 

10. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

11. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

12. Did I mention I like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? The funny thing is, I rarely bought them because I refused to pay that much for a bag of chocolate. I wanted to make my own, but I never actually got around to it. Seize the day. 

13. Thrift stores. (98% of my wardrobe is thanks to thrift stores.)

14. Road trips with my roomies, particularly Jessi. 

15. Garage sales. One man's junk, another man's other junk... :P I actually only go to them for the books.

16. Library booksales. WOW. I miss this, especially the children's booksale every semester at PBU.

17. Bacon. BLT in the summer. Enough said. 

18. Parks. 

19. NYC. I only just got fascinated with NYC at the beginning of this year because I had to go there so many times to get stuff related to my citizenship and it's a cultural melting pot of amazingness and intrigue. 

20. Unlimited texting. Hahahaha. 

I'm sure there are more things. Oh yeah, Barnes and Noble where I could never afford to buy anything full-price but the bargains can be very good, and the store Five Below where I went when all I had in the budget to get a birthday gift for a friend was below $5. Hahahaha. :P

And oh yes, CHICK-FIL-A and it's not because I worked there. They need to go international, to the Philippines in particular.

So wherever you are, if you want to appreciate the little things in life, go! Move halfway around the world, and you will miss things you didn't think you'd miss and you will learn to love things you never knew you'd love (like cockroaches... only if you're a weirdo and I don't like cockroaches, so I'm not a weirdo. Do not question my logic.)  

Two quarters to go

Apparently, I'm not a good blogger. I also tend to think that blogging about everyday life is boring unless you're a really good writer and can turn an ordinary experience into an extraordinary experience. If I thought long and hard enough and used my imagination, I might be able to pull something out that would be admired by my 3rd graders, but beyond that... yeah. So here is my gift to you -- the boring.

Second quarter ended on October 25th. On the 21st and 22nd, we all went to an ACSI Conference which was an interesting experience to say the least. The plenary speakers were outside of ACSI and they spent about 6 hours of both days preaching a drama-filled health/wealth gospel in either the style of a raucous game show or the style of a Philippine telenovela. It was the talk of the town... or at least the school... and the source of many jokes in days following. We also went out to eat as a department and threw a surprise baby shower for the art teacher. The baby was due Nov. 11th, but she was born on Oct. 27th I think.

Survivor came to an end and I gave the surviving kids a brownies and ice cream party. Only 7 out of the 15 were able to come, so that meant more brownies and ice cream for the teachers. :)

October 26th to November 1st was the much-anticipated visit from the tunafish herself, Keena! We got to see "The Sound of Music" stage musical, courtesy of my parents, did a whole lot of nothing, pretended to do schoolwork (we did do some), and went to Lucena.

Lucena -- initially we had planned to do dinner here on Monday night (Nov. 31st), but then the newlywed lovebirds decided it would be fun to go to Lucena and swim at Manasa Farm (a spring water resort in the provinces). We were able to rent a van from DJ's family and all left together Sunday night after church. We arrived at a house that belongs to Kemi's mom's side of the family around 10pm. Some of the girls had brought donuts as part of their food contribution but the donuts got squashed en route, so rather than leave the poor things squashed... we ate them. :)

Family Devotions

More pics can be found on FB or Google+

Monday morning, our daddy on the trip, Gian, led family devotions on Ecclesiastes 1. It was very good and a good start to our day. Manasa was only about 30 minutes away, but people were already taking naps in the van on the way. I have reached the conclusion that we are all old and boring because we swam for a few hours and then ate a lot and swam a bit more, but mostly just took pictures. The boys wanted a photoshoot of all their jumping-into-the-pool poses. (See FB or Google+ for some of the pics.) They also wanted me to take a video of themselves trying to swim like mermaids. Yes, in some ways we are mature, but in many ways, not all of us are that grown up after all. :) We even left earlier than scheduled because everyone wanted to take a nap. :) We took about an hour nap at the house and then left and most people slept for about another hour a half. I noticed on Facebook that some of the teens from church had their own swimming outing and went wild playing water games. Conclusion: don't get old and boring.

I was convinced that the faculty and staff retreat was Friday-Saturday, but thankfully, in God's providence, a teacher texted me on Wednesday night asking me to get her Bible at school when I go by to get my ride to the retreat. I was like... wait.. WHAT?!?!? I knew the dates, but forgot to look at a calendar. Whew!

We had our retreat in Tagaytay at the CCT Retreat Center. It was very, very nice. I think we should have a REBAP Camp there. :) The retreat was very... wet. It was cold and wet the whole time. The retreat itself was very good. World Vision were the facilitators of all the sessions and we studied the Lord's Prayer. We had also extended times of "solitude" where we got away from everyone else and just had peace and quiet to commune with God. It was very refreshing and "retreat-y". :)

Each set of houses has a little conference room as well. There is another whole set of houses on the other side.

Teacher picking on teacher.

Dining hall. On the left side of the dining hall was yet another large function room.

Jumping teachers.

We tried to leave a bit earlier because we heard the weather in Manila wasn't all that great, but we still left at 6, which was the original schedule. I had driven to school on Thursday and left the car at school, which was both good and bad for coming home. It was good because it would have been a nightmare to commute home on a Friday night in the rain. It was bad because it's very hard to drive at night in the rain on poorly lit streets and with motorcycles driving towards you in between the lanes like maniacs. Ridiculous.

And that, my friends, is the conclusion to my lovely stories.

Heaven

I did a different kind of writing blitz. They were given 10 minutes and a 6 sentence minimum. They had to answer the question, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?" Their paragraph had to have a topic sentence and all the other sentences had to support. Most of the kids picked France because that's what they're learning in Makabayan. One child wrote this:

I want to go to Heaven. I want to go to Heaven because it is very precious. I want to go there because it is made out of gold. I would love to go there because I could live there forever. I want to go there because there are no bad people. I want to go there because God lives there.


"And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them...' And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb... and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:3, 22, 27

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Homestretch

Things to Do:

• Parent Observation Week
• Quiz #2
• Long Test #2

That's it! October 18th begins exam week and then sem break!!! 

Non-school related:

Time, like an ever rolling stream...

We're more than halfway through the 2nd quarter already. Parent Observation Week looms before me and after that, we only have one more full week of school before quarter exams begin. The year is starting to fly by.

Speaking of time flying, my childhood friend, Sunday School buddy, churchmate got married on Saturday! It didn't seem real when her brand new husband stood up and said, "I will serenade my wife" at the reception before he sang. I'm used to all my college friends getting married, but this is weird since she's the first of the MCBC kids to get married.

The wedding was quite the affair, but hours before that, I was busy running at 3k for our school Fun Run. Sneakers in the morning... dress in the evening. What a full day. :P

And now to stop procrastinating and do something. I don't have school today because it's Teachers' Day. I wouldn't have had school anyway because there's a typhoon. What a waste of a perfectly good rain day!

PS -- Dresses, heels, suits, barongs might make us look grown up... but we're  not! (First picture credit: Joash)

Let's hear from the corndog lover again...

If I brought a dragon to school…

I would slide down its tail and I could also play tag with it. Make sure he’s in your team so It’s super fast speed. But it may be to excited it might burn fire from it’s mouth. I could have fun by playing rough with It and so the teacher will be so scared she/he will ignore us.

We could be a little creeped out of the dragon’s teeth. But we could train it how to dance. We can also get food for free in the canteen for the scariest face. But it might eat all my classmates and mistaken me as a corndog so I will run, run, run all around the school. It also might not even fit the door. And there is no sit that can fit his size anyway.

We can have a restling mach with it. The dragon defently win. He will go out of control for winning 1^st prize and squesh everyone. And plus where in the world am I ever gonna get a dragon? Howell where was I ho ya.

If I brought one It could defenetly fly around the classroom and crash through everything. It might turn green and get sick because of bumping it’s head on the wall. And theirs on doctor to qier him. but still I would love to bring one to school.

I would like to bring...

This is the final copy of an in-class report on bringing an animal to school.

I would like to bring a blue whale that can breathe on land to school.


I think it's a great idea because he can crush the bully. I hope it'll happen, but how will I do it? Another problem is there's no bully. So no bully-crushing for Mr. Blue Whale.


More problems -- he can squish me. I won't let him. I'll tell him not to squish me.


There's more. He's too big for any chair. If he had a chair, the chair will break. That means he can't have a seat.


He also might eat us. Me, I., G., J., J., I.... anyone! I said (or "I wrote"...) 
ANYONE!


I hope it won't happen. 


But I'll bring him!

More on Kid Writing

Jericho reflected on blessings for which they do not usually thank God.

Our cockroach-lover friend from last time has a thankful heart. Here is his list of blessings and reasons.

Blessings

Hands

1.)    Some people’s hands got cut of. Some people got no hands at all.

2.)    Some people are born without hands or fingers. I if had no hands I would be dead by now.

3.)    I will be crying buckets of tears right now. I even might be dead by now.

Breath

1)      If not we will be dead by now. Some people have a hard time.

2)      So we will have life in us. Some people are running out of oxygen.

3)      It is very important to us. Or scientists would not do anything.

Food

1)      If not we will be dead by now. It is very important to us.

2)      It gives us life. Helps us stay alive. Supports the body posture.

Writing Growth

Sometimes the kids are pretty frustrating. At the start of the first quarter, most of the kids couldn't write a coherent sentence. I scratched all my beautiful writing projects I had planned for the first quarter and just tried to get them to write. Class C has a lot of readers and writers. Class B is just a nightmare. Class A is not the brightest out of the 3 sections, but it also is the class that shows the most progress. They are becoming my best writers because they are really learning how to write.

I want to share an example of writing growth in one particular student. We began the activity by reading Never Bring Your Elephant To School and discussed pros and cons. Then the students made lists for bringing an animal of their choice to school. They had to pick a total of 6 pros and cons combined. In the next class, I told them to take 4 of the pros and cons and write 4 separate paragraphs. They thought I had given them a death sentence.

This is the first draft of one student: (Spelling is left as it appears in his notebook, minus the ones that auto-correct fixed.)

I would like to bring a cockroach to school.

If I brought a cockroach to school the teacher will get freacket out and dismiss us early. Everybody will thank me for it. And everybody will need to tell me that they need him.

(Describe the teacher using verbs and sound effects.)

And if I  bring a cockroach to school the school bully will totally be freaked out. And he will promise to never bully again. So nobody’s lunch money or life will never get bulied again.

(Why would the bully get freaked out? Would you throw the roach at him? Try to describe the situation.)

I am not sure if I can bring a cockroach to school because somebody might kill him. I will be very x 1,000,000 sad. If they do they will feel my wrath. (except Joshua of course).

(How would it get killed?)

I am also not sure if I should bring it because I will not be appresheated anymore. And my friends will alwas stay away from me and never like me again. And the teacher might give me detention.

(Why would they stay away? How would you feel about detention?)

(Your writing is really improving! Your details all support your topic sentences. Try to add some more descriptive words to your details. Avoid starting all your sentences with ‘and’.)

The comments in red were what I added in the margins of his notebook. I gave it back to him and told him to read my comments and see what he could add. Below is his second draft. (I'm sorry to say that in his enthusiasm, his spelling, grammar, and punctuation went out the window.)

I would like to bring a coackroach to school

If I brought a cockroach to school the teacher might get freaked out she’ll scream so loud like AAAAHHHHH! while running around in circles. She might even dismiss us early. Every body might thank me for it and carry me to the Hallway shouting Bryce x5.

Alsow if I brought a coachroach to school. I will freak out the school bully by throwing the coackroach. He will scream to deth like AHHHH (girl scream). I will tell him “He will not stop until you will stop bullying.” He will say “Ok’ Ok Ok I will stop.

Mabby I should not bring a coackroach to school. Somebody might step on him really hard he/she might not notice it is stuck on his/her shoe. I might stay in school finding him.

Maby I should also not bring a cockroach to school because everybody will hate me. They might get grossed out and faint. Alsow when the next teacher comes in she’ll see him and give me 2 hour DETENTION.

Maybe there's hope after all for these kids. :) Maybe they'll be ready for 4th grade after all.

Will you survive?

It's late, so I don't have time to wax eloquent. I put together the materials to begin "English Survivor" on Monday. I divided each class into 5 teams. They will be given tasks on Monday to complete in their free time and submit on Friday. The tasks are activities like tongue twister writing, parts of speech practice, and reading comprehension. Joash made my nifty logo. :)

In the world of Prince Edward, he was absent for two days because he was playing a war game at recess and apparently had "internal injuries" on his leg. He needs an award for most dramatic. Good grief.

Happy Birthday to Me

This post is a few days late, but that's ok! It's exam week at school and I don't have to really teach until Thursday. Our official time is until 12 noon, but today I am staying late to do extra work. I have a review class with the kids on Thursday and I give them their test on Friday and then it's almost time for 2nd quarter to start! Ahhh! I quite enjoy these quiet days of writing lesson plans and not teaching them. Oh wait, I haven't actually written a lesson plan yet for next quarter. Anyway, that's boring stuff...

Last Friday I turned 24. Time flies! I think I need to find another country for next year because I tend to not be consistent about where I spend my birthdays. In 2007, I was on campus. In 2008 I was in Manila and we celebrated my 21st birthday at Jollibee. How cool is that! In 2009, I was beginning student teaching in Davao. In 2010, I was watching the sun set along the Zambezi River in Africa. This year... I was trying to prepare 68 third graders to take their test the following week.

One of my classes knew the day before my birthday that my birthday was Friday. The other two classes found out because the Chinese teacher squealed on me. The class that knew had all made me cards. They're a crazy class because they're all high-energy, talkative, and excitable, but they're also the most loving and the most fun in spite of how hard it is to accomplish anything in that class.

Time for a random funny kid story:
One of my kids in the crazy class is quite a little squirt but he has more energy than the bigger kids. He's always trying to be helpful all the while completely ignoring his own personal responsibilities. He will run from desk to desk opening everyone's books to the right page for them while he doesn't even have his book out of his bag yet.

Oh yeah, story inside a story:

Prince Edward's drama gets worse and worse. I think I mentioned the time he injured his arm and had a bandage the size of Mexico on it and he was moaning while writing? Well earlier last week, he had an ingrown toenail. He was walking around school with a massive bandage the size of one of the Chocolate Hills. Then on Thursday, another kid turned around and grazed his eye with his book. It wasn't anything all that sudden or violent and the Prince didn't actually make any noise. The next thing I knew, the one-eyed prince was demanding to go see the nurse. He wouldn't even open his eye for me so I could see if he really was injured or not. It was English class and not theater class, so I sent him to the nurse to get him to stop acting like his eye was out of its socket. I didn't even see him until the end of the day and he had a massive eye patch. I dismissed the incident because I knew he was just overreacting.

Back to the story about the helpful little squirt. On Friday, the homeroom teacher asked Squirt to go fetch another classmate. Curiosity killed the cat, but Squirt never learned that lesson.

"Why, teacher???" he demanded.
"Just go get him!"

He disappeared and returned a bit later without the kid he was sent to fetch. With him was another boy who I think had actually been hanging around the faculty room before Squirt even showed up. FINALLY the right kid came along and his homeroom teacher wanted to ask him about the eye incident with Prince Edward. Meanwhile, Squirt planted himself right next to the teacher to be in on the conversation. He was quickly informed that it was none of his beeswax and the Squirt turned around and picked the other boy to blame: "I TOLD YOU!!! GO OUT!!!" as if that kid had anything to do with it.

Back to the eye story. Prince Edward's dad called absolutely livid about his son coming home with an eye patch. They had taken him to the hospital and he was absent on Friday because of that. I told my side of the story and even the nurse said that the eye patch wasn't even needed, but the kid kept insisting that his teacher (i.e. me) told him to go get an eye patch. Did not. In spite of lying about the needed eye patch, he refused to name which teacher had "told" him to do that. He also did tell his parents what subject in which the incident happened. Sneaky little drama-boy. In short, the Prince needed eye drops every 4 hours for his virtually non-existent eye injury.

Anyway, on Friday night, the Arcibals came over to help celebrate my birthday. Our families have been close for years and we have many great memories of sleepovers and game nights with them. We had been trying to get together for a while, but scheduling was a problem. My birthday was a good excuse and we were all able to have a good time of sweet fellowship.

Let your heart be broken...

In my not-so-vast teaching experience (time-wise), I have still had a rather vast experience culturally. I randomly taught 2 weeks in a Filipino Christian school when I was still in college. I taught 3 weeks in inner-city Philadelphia for practicum. I taught 7 weeks in a missionary kid school in the Philippines. I taught 6 weeks in a middle-class suburban public school in Pennsylvania. I taught 3 months in a correspondence school for 6 children of hospital staff in the middle of nowhere in Zimbabwe. The majority of the kids that I teach now come from families with more money than most people I've met. Talk about a wide spectrum of kids!

I just went through some of my posts from Urban Seminar and Student Teaching. When I did Urban Seminar, I taught 4th graders who had seen drive-by shootings or who had lost relatives due to gang wars. Some of them were immigrant kids. Most of them lived in broken homes. Most of them came from poor families. I also did a one week practicum in a public school near college and some of the kids in the ESL class were refugees from Liberia who had seen more death and violence in their 9-year-old-life than most people in America have ever seen live. I tutored in the innercity and dealt with a violent 8-year-old who told me he would cut my leg off, and from the tone of his voice, he could have been an 18-year-old and had he had a saw on him, he probably would have cut my leg off.

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see


When I taught in the MK school, I had a boy who came from a missionary family, but his life was pretty chaotic. He had so many emotional needs. He could come to school one day and be happy and cheerful and funny and then he could come to school the very next day sullen, violent, and uncooperative. I fell in love with that child. He responded so well to love. 


When I was in Africa, I held the hands of HIV positive orphans. I spent afternoons with a woman who was the second wife of some guy. She worked her fingers to the bone and still came to cook for the kids of HIV positive orphans and show them attention and love that they needed. I taught beautiful little children who didn't have a lot in life. 


I wanted to teach in a school where kids came from a less-wealthy background. I guess I just always thought that would be the best place to live out "teaching ministry" to the fullest. God had other plans. I got hired in a school made up of kids who have never faced starvation or any physical need. My kids talk about their iPads, cruises, and ski trips in Colorado. My kids bring imported Goldfish to school for snacks. I started the year with the kind of, "Oh brother... what am I doing here with kids that come from another world that I can't even relate to!" 

Let your heart be broken for a world in need

Feed the mouths that hunger,

soothe the wounds that bleed.

Give the cup of water, and the loaf of bread.

Be the hands of Jesus, serving in his stead.

Here on earth applying principles of love.

Visible expression, God still rules above.

Living illustration of the living word,

to the minds of all who've never seen or heard.

Blest to be a blessing, privileged to care,

challenged be the need, apparent everywhere.

Where mankind is wanting, fill the vacant place.

Be the means through which

The Lord reveals His grace.

Add to your believing deeds that prove it true,

knowing Christ as Savior, Make Him Master too.

Follow in His footsteps, go where he has trod;

In the worlds great trouble risk yourself for God.

Let your heart be tender and your vision clear;

See mankind as God sees, serve Him far and near.

Let your heart be broken by a brothers pain;

Share your rich resources, give and give again.

I love that hymn. I always applied that hymn to situations like the inner-city or Africa. My kids don't have wounds that bleed. My kids don't have hungry mouths. (They are well-fed and it's obvious!) But I've come to realize that my heart needs to be broken for their needs. The hands and feet of Jesus take a different form in this school, but I still can be the hands and feet of Jesus. I have kids who have internal wounds that bleed just as much as a physical wound. I have kids who are starving for true love and attention just as much as a hungry kid in Africa. I have kids who ask me questions like, "Will I go to Hell if I don't go to church because my parents don't go to church?" Their spiritual need is just as deep as the spiritual need of a kid in inner-city Philadelphia. I can still be a living illustration of the living word to these kids. I have also learned that contrary to what I thought, many come from non-Christian or nominally Christian backgrounds. 

Service to God does not always take the form that we might think it should take. Service to God is not optional and based on circumstances. It must be constant. Maybe we don't understand why God places us in certain situations, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that we are serving Him to our fullest, letting our hearts be broken for the lost around us, following Christ, and taking great risks for Him.