SOL# 6 Healthy eating and good taste can occur together.

On our second month of avoiding gluten, dairy and various other unhealthy foods, I was looking for something healthy to satisfy my husband’s sweet craving. Almond flour, oat flour, and nuts had been purchased so I tried to create a healthier version of chocolate chip cookies.  I used olive oil instead of butter, mixed 1/3 cup of almond flour with 2/3 cup of oat flour in with 2 eggs, baking soda, salt, vanilla, ¾ cup of Splenda, ¾ cup of brown sugar and a small amount of chocolate chips. The consistency was the same but I had to taste the batter. That was my first mistake. I added some pecan chips and could not stop eating as I waited for the first batch to bake.  It seems not only my husband has a sweet craving.

The cookies browned beautifully and I took 3 small cookies to my husband. He was going to share them with me and I told him I had already eaten that many in batter. I did taste one baked cookie and was pleasantly surprised, they were crisp and tasty.

After cleaning up the dishes, I told my husband I could not do that again because I felt as though I had gained 5 pounds. The next morning I sent the rest of the cookies to work with him. His coworkers (2 brothers and 3 nephews) would be the true test.  

He came home at lunch and said they loved them!

SOL #5 Home of the Runestones

Last fall I was riding with a group of workshop attendees through rural Oklahoma and saw a school sign, "Heavener, Home of the Runestones". No one had heard of a runestone. We have athletic teams with animal names: bears, bobcats, beat cats, hornets, red hawks, etc. Using my cell phone, I went straight to Wikipedia and began a search. I found very interesting information that lead to more questions by everyone riding along. We couldn't believe Norsemen actually lived in Oklahoma.

The next day I found a video clip on You Tube. I was excited because I could actually see the site and hear how to correctly pronounce Heavener.

A day later another group member sent an interesting link that more thoroughly explained current beliefs. You never know when you will encounter such a controversial history lesson. And it had no relevance to the workshop we had just attended. Teachers never stop learning.

SOL #4 Each place has its rewards and minor differences

Rural vs Urban

I live in the country

Thinking about the city

I greet friends and family in town

Running errands without running into any acquaintances

I see stars in the evening sky

Seeing street lights twinkle, lighting the way

I  make dinner with the vegetables from my garden

Dining at various quaint spots and savoring the entree

I hear hoot owls call one another in the distance

Hearing sirens throughout the night helping someone in distress

All make a life well lived

Carving out a niche that feels like home

SOL #3

I was connected to the same school for 29 years as a teacher, counselor, and principal. My life revolved around school functions in which many family members participated. My husband, his parents, our son and I graduated from this same school, lived in the small community and still do.

I left 9 years ago with mixed emotions, I took a leap of faith into a larger world. I still work in education, with a different perspective. I'm not involved in the daily minutiae of the classroom, or even one school. I work for the conservation outreach and education department of my state. I concentrate on teachers from 9 counties in my region of the state. My goal is to help people discover nature. I find relevance for conservation education in literacy, math, reading, science and writing. That is the easy part. Nature readily involves children and adults. Nature calms the spirit, soothes the restless and provides focus, but all that is another post.

Visiting classrooms, providing professional development and teaching others how to explore nature has been a great fit for me. It has been a valuable learning experience. I'm finding it difficult to stop. I think I'd like to merge the best of both worlds by creating a school where the subject matter is nature, where students spend lots of time observing, journaling, collecting, analyzing and synthesizing data to make sense of the natural world.

Maybe in another life!

Time for Reading SOL#2

https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/sol15-day2/

I was trolling today's SOL posts on the challenge sponsored by Two Writing Teachers when a comment brought back memories of how I struggled with reading.

I not only didn't love to read, I fought it. Not because reading was difficult for me, my Mother taught me to read verses from the Bible before I was 5. But somewhere along the way I lost interest. In elementary school my test scores were good, but grades on report cards always expressed my lack of effort, "Patricia must work harder". I didn't think I knew how to work harder. Mom and I studied geography and math every night. But with each move to a new district, I struggled.

Finally we settled in one area and a 6th grade teacher recognized my abilities and encouraged me to read by sharing Robinson Crusoe in comic style. That summer I remember reading "Gone with the Wind" as I lay on a blanket under a tree in our backyard. Read and cry, read more and cry more. That got me hooked on books for a time again. It wasn't until high school literature class when we studies O'Henry and Ray Bradbury that I loved reading again. When I attended college much later reading about Van Gogh, children's literature and education psychology sparked my desire to read.

Still, I quickly finish a book if I'm engrossed, but I might keep another one lying around, struggle through and finally give up.

I shared books with my son as soon as he was born. He mouthed words trying to read and told me one day he  had a problem because he struggled and could not yet read at age 2. Now that he is married, I share books with Grand Nieces and Nephews. I visit classrooms and read nature books aloud to children of all ages. I love children's picture books and hope to write a good one someday.

Slice of Life 2015 #1

How can it be March, already? I planned to get a jump on writing for a daily slice of life. I started a draft last week, well before March 1. The first day of March is slipping through my hands. I spent the morning organizing tax papers, reading some interesting slices, enjoying a late lunch, and shopping for a few necessities before more bad weather. Well, that last item was not enjoyable because it was crowded and the roads are lined with dirty black piles of snow/ice. The day slipped away from me and now it is time to prepare for another work day. Ok, tomorrow, I promise to myself that I will do better. 

Wordless Wednesday