Daddy's Birthday Dinner

Tonight, Kaylea was finally able to make a birthday dinner for her Daddy. She had studied the latest edition of Taste of Home's Fun Food Magazine, and dog eared numerous pages, just trying to find the perfect meal. There were so many choices and she really had trouble deciding. She even gave the magazine to Bub, and had him look through it. After all, it was his birthday and she was going to allow him to have some say in his meal. After much contemplation, she decided to prepare the Meatball Pizza and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cup S'mores.

Of course, I had to lend a hand with the oven, but other than that she made the entire meal all by herself. It was very tasty and she and I had a nice time in the kitchen. When I was growing up, these were the things I had always imagined doing with my daughter. So, I guess Bub wasn't the only one that received a gift from Kaylea this evening.

I have a gripe

I know that I am not a teacher; I never have been. But, I went to college and got the degree needed to be a teacher; therefore, I feel a kinship with the educators I encounter in my day to day life. Due in part to my educational background, I have always supported Kaylea's teachers and tried to back them in their efforts to educate my daughter. I have always been a very "involved" parent. You know the kind. I was a full-time volunteer in Kaylea's classroom; the first to put my name on the party sign-up sheet (heck, most of the time I was the one that made the party sign-up sheet); always present at class parties; never missed an opportunity to chaperon a field trip; and basically, rallied all the other parents together for various classroom projects and causes.

This year, however, things have been different. Basically, I am a lot less involved than in years past. I began the year by volunteering one afternoon a week, but I just got the feeling that I was not wanted/needed/welcome. For whatever reason, Kaylea's teacher and I just haven't warmed up to each other.

Now that you know a little history, I will explain my gripe. And yes, I felt giving a little history lesson was important so that you wouldn't think I was "one of THOSE parents." (The kind of parent that is never happy with their child's teacher.)

First, all of the students in 4th grade are required to become 4-H members. I don't have anything against 4-H as a club. But I think it should be treated as that, "a club" and all participation should be voluntary. I don't understand, however, how membership and participation in a club can be mandatory. If participation is mandatory, it is no longer a club; it is a class. Which brings me to my second gripe, there are many 4-H activities that Kaylea has been required to do, for which she was graded on. The most current activity (assignment) from 4-H is to write a 200-400 word essay on the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. When this activity (assignment) was sent home, Kaylea's teacher notified us that the students would be graded on their essay. Then she asked us to help them with this paper. Well, naturally, I asked Kaylea if she had been told how to write an essay? Guess what? NO! The kids had not been given any direction on how to even begin to write an essay. Oh, and let me remind you, these are 4TH GRADERS. (I don't think I learned how to write an essay until I was in 8th or 9th grade.) So, here I sat trying to explain the mere basics of essay writing to my daughter and "helping" her organize her thoughts so that she can turn them into a somewhat coherent 200-400 word essay. Well, we Kaylea finished the thing today, and I must say I am proud of her for the effort she put into the assignment. But, if Kaylea's teacher thinks that all of these children produced these great literary pieces as a result of what they have learned in school, then she is sadly mistaken. I just hope that we she gets a good grade on the damn thing!

Don't get me wrong; I expect to help my child with various assignments. I am very involved in her education. I just feel that I should not be expected to teach my child how to complete a task for which she is receiving a grade. That is the teachers' responsibility. What if I were a parent that didn't go to college, or didn't even finish high school. Odds are I probably couldn't give the best guidance to my child when it comes to constructing an essay. Should the child be punished for that? I think not!

Summer Project #1

I love to cook. Of course, I suppose I come by it quite naturally. Both of my grandmothers were fabulous cooks and my mom is a great cook, also. Now, none of my cooking role models were 5 star chefs. Oh no, they were/are just good ole down home country cooks. So, naturally, I don't make fancy schmancy kinds of dishes. I am more into dishes that are easy to make and taste great, too. I make a lot of casseroles, one-dish meals and slow-cooker meals. If I had to define my cooking style by comparing it to Food Network shows, I guess it would be a cross between Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee and Paula's (Deen) Home Cooking.

Luckily, Kaylea and Bub are really good about trying new things and generally like whatever is put down in front of them. Most of the time, I don't have a recipe to go by when I am preparing a dish; I tend to make it up as I go. Just like my grandmother passed her love of cooking to my mom and my mom passed it to me, I guess I have successfully passed my love of cooking on to Kaylea. Almost daily she asks if he can help me cook and is always wanting to chop, stir, mix and prepare. Because she has this interest and often will request that we make certain dishes, I decided it would be a good idea for us to make a cookbook for her with all of her favorite dishes. Originally, I thought about typing the recipes on the computer, but I really wanted to personalize this project a little more.

Then, one day, I found this:

It is a blank cookbook that you fill in yourself. It is divided into standard cookbook chapters like Breakfasts; Appetizers; Soups & Breads; Sides & Salads; Main Dishes; and Desserts. Then each page has a place for the Recipe Name; Ingredients; and Directions.

Now, Kaylea and I have a big summer project. We are going to be cooking up all kinds of items and she will decide which are "keepers" for her cookbook. Then, I will write the recipes in her cookbook and give her my own little helpful tips and serving / meal suggestions.

I know after my Nana died and I started looking through her cookbooks, I found several handwritten notes on the pages giving tips and suggestions for the recipes. These notes were a treasure to find and I wouldn't trade the cookbooks for anything. It is almost as if Nana knew that one of her grandchildren would be reading her recipes after she was gone and she didn't want us to mess them up.

Hopefully, when Kaylea moves out and begins cooking meals in her own kitchen she will enjoy reading all of the notes that I am leaving for her..