Dear Immune System,

Anytime you want to kick in, it would be appreciated. Thanks. Bye.

I have been sick for over a week and a half (almost two weeks). Not okay. It is this weird virus going around our school. Starts with nausea, then goes into nasty cold and then finishes up with a delightful cough. In my case, I also lost my voice, which is especially great if you are a teacher. My kids were more than semi-freaked-out by my gravely braying as I sang them transition songs. I was told by more than one child, "Ms. Katie, you look BAAAAD!" and "Ms. Katie, you sound WEIRD!!!" One kid stomped around the room during my absence muttering, "Grrr, I am so mad at Ms. Katie. So, so mad. Grrr." For. Two. Days. Straight. Thanks for the support, muchkins.

One positive thing about me getting sick and my class being resentful of my absence was that I was able to be very dramatic when I got back about how germs got into my body and how I was so, so sick because someone didn't wash their hands or cover their mouth. This was all shocking to them. Hopefully I will get at least one or two to remember to thoroughly scrub up before putting their hands all over me.

One result of being so sick for so long was that I missed several parties that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. This weekend was my friend Julie's wedding shower and my friend Amy's cookie party. Even though I am feeling much better than last week (just a residual cough) I wasn't able to make either because I am staying as stationary as possible trying to encourage and support my immune system to actually work so I can have one week of health before Christmas break. In the case of the cookie party, I had stored up several recipes that I wanted to make, but to no avail. So I thought I would share the recipes here in mournful remembrance of all the fun I missed in the name of teaching.

Oreo Truffles

Shape Magazine's Christmas Rocky Road:

1 1/4 cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped or chips
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup light corn syrup
4 cups small amaretti cookies
1 cup shelled whole Brazil nuts
2 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows
2/3 cup candied cherries
1 tbs. confectioners sugar

Melt chocolate and butter with corn syrup i a heavy-bottomed pan over low heat. Put cookies in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin to get a mix of big crumbs and sandy rubble. Set cookies aside, then crush nuts in same bag. Take pot off heat and add cookies, nuts, marshmallows and cherries. Turn carefully to coat everything with chocolate. Pour mixture into 9 x 12 pan lined with foil, smoothing top with spatula. Refridgerate until firm (up to 2 hours). Transfer block of rocky road from pan to a cutting board. Use a strainer to dust top of block with sugar. Cut block into 48 almost-squares. (These are only 137 calories per piece).

All that work produces THESE:


I am drooling on my sweatshirt just thinking about them! I am blessed to have a husband downstairs making me broccoli cheddar soup from scratch to fill my belly.

In the past, I have hosted my own annual cookie party. Usually I make sugar cookies in Christmas shapes and a fun activity for guests is setting out a variety of frostings and decorating materials for them to decorate their own cookies to take home. I also thought about bringing those to the Christmas party.

Oh cookies, I love you. Any tips for staying well so this NEVER. HAPPENS. AGAIN?

Thanksgiving...

...or, "Why my class will not be making feathered headdresses this week."

As a teacher, I made a commitment early in my graduate studies to teach "nothing that is wrong." This particularly applies to history, as most of what my generation was raised to believe as historical "fact" is nothing more than Anglo-Saxon/Christian/male tainted accounts of what actually occurred. Rarely are children taught the "real" version of history, or even that there ARE diverse accounts of our nation's (and the world's) historical events. This is never more true than in the case of Thanksgiving.

As a child, I grew up hearing the traditional account of the "pilgrims'" first harvest feast, complete with sweet Squanto, abundant food, and peaceful relations between the new settlers and the Native Americans. We made "Indian" vests out of paper bags, paraded in headdresses, and acted out the pleasure of the indigenous people as they were invited to share in the pilgrim's bounty.

Ha. Ha. Hahahahahahaha.

All this was well-intentioned, I am sure. Sometimes, if the teacher was REAL liberal, we even read a Native American poem or two about the earth. This was a more well-rounded, balanced approach to teaching about Thanksgiving, you see.

Well, times have changed. This Thanksgiving, in my school, we are not celebrating the European's encroachment onto the Wampanoag's land. We are not celebrating the 95% of all Native's who were wiped out by smallpox and other forms of European biological warfare. We are not celebrating the fact that those in power have altered these peoples' story and that millions of children grew up with a skewed and dangerous view of history.

Instead, in my class, we are talking about Stone Soup. We are talking about how alone, we have little, but together, we can feed us all. We are talking about distribution of resources, sharing, and how to confront selfishness and greed. We are talking about bread, and families, and how each culture has something to offer one another. And yes, we are thinking about what we are Thankful for, with no mention of "Indians" and pilgrims.

If you are a teacher, or a parent, please read the resources below before your next Thanksgiving re-telling. Question what and how you are celebrating. We have much to be thankful for, but how are we introducing that concept to our children? Are we using an archaic, false and skewed tale at the expense of real history? Who is hurt by this perpetuating myth? Is there a way you can introduce Thanksgiving (the true story) and encourage children to have a reflective, grateful heart without glorifying what was essentially the beginning of genocide?

1. Oyate.org – Deconstructing the Myths of Thanksgiving: http://www.oyate.org/resources.html

2. Resource to find out about the indigenous people that lived here before colonization: http://www.native-languages.org/states.htm

3. Kids FAQ about Native Americans: http://www.native-languages.org/kidfaq.htm#1

4. A great list of children’s books (organized by age) : http://www.native-languages.org/children-books.htm

5. Rethinking Our Schools: Myths and Misgivings: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/24_01/24_01_thanksgiving.shtml

6. Webquest on the first Thanksgiving (this gives a more accurate, balanced approach without highlighting the violence between the Wampanoag's and Europeans. http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html#