Leap for Joy!

One day last week after school, I checked my mailbox drawer in the office and discovered an exciting surprise peeking out.  Wow!  My friend Carolyn Leap had delivered a treat for Leap Day!  With the last name "Leap," Leap Day takes on special importance.  Personalized M&Ms are in order for a sweet celebration.  She had even organized the M&Ms into individual bags of equal mass!  We're so grateful that she shares this tradition with us--and that she's so scientific (she does work at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, after all)!

Of course, I wasn't satisfied with simply handing out M&Ms to eat. 

We'd have to do some work first!

First, the children sorted the M&Ms.  We had a couple of options: by color or by printed message.  We decided to sort based on the words printed on the M&Ms.

Next, the children used tally marks to record their sorts in a chart.

This data was then used to create a bar graph.

Tea for More than a Few

Preparations for Valentine's Day begin early around here.













We start by reviewing table manners:
* Pass serving dishes to the right.
* Do not reach across the table.
* Wait to begin until everyone is served.
* Place your napkin in your lap.
* Chew with your lips together.
* Enjoy quiet conversation.
* No "goofing around" or playing with food.
* Keep your elbows off the table.
* Use utensils for their intended purpose.
* Stay at the table until everyone is finished.
The children use lunch in the cafeteria to practice for a series of days.

Next, we get out the world map and have a lesson on tea growing regions, different tea traditions around the world, and the types of tea.

White tea--Only the newest tea leaves are picked with the white fuzz still on the leaves.

Green tea--fresh tea leaves are dried and rolled or ground into a powder for the Japanese Matcha.

Oxidized, fermented, and compressed Pu-Erh.  This tea is so compressed is requires a special tea needle!

Black tea

On the day of our tea, families send supplies: heavy cream, lemon curd, sugar cubes, scones, madeleines (a French tea cake), ginger snaps, and tulips.  The children then use a whisk to whip the cream, 

arrange the food beautifully on trays and in baskets, 

reorganize our desks and chairs into a long table, and set the table with flowers, teacups, plates, and napkins.

We brew four kinds of tea: a white blooming tea (always spectacular!), genmaicha (a green tea with roasted brown rice), oolong, and ginger peach black tea.  Finally, we sit down together to enjoy.