Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give this book a shot, since it was so highly rated on Amazon. Five chapters in, I was still feeling this way. I got this. Nothing mind-blowing. I mean, it’s helpful to see how to show love to children in particular by using the five love languages of words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, gifts, and quality time. However, I still felt that it was not a book I’d recommend to someone like me who had already read the couple’s version of the book.
However, I rarely leave books unfinished, and the library due date was approaching, so I pressed on. Soon, I found myself relating some new ideas to Ben:
“Hey so I read something kinda interesting today in the Five Love Languages book. He says that children will respond better to discipline if their love tanks are full. So if you have to give them a consequence, you should sandwich it with love. Like if their love language is physical touch, give them a hug and some affirming words or something and then gently give the consequence and then hug again and give affirming words to close.
I would NEVER have thought to do that. I mean, I’m usually more stern when administering consequences. It never occurred to me to be soft and plushy and lovey during this time, but the examples he gives are totally different from that and give a totally different feel than the strict, stern persona I generally take on when in disciplining mode. But I could see how even I would probably have responded well to that approach as a kid. And it makes sense–when God disciplines us, he isn’t cold and doesn’t distance himself and just want us to feel bad. He does it out of love, for our well-being, and he wants us to know the whole time that it is all covered in love. Sandwiching discipline with love. What do you think?”
We’d talk, we’d reconsider old understandings and start to form new ones. It was pretty neat. This happened a few times, and before I knew it, I was furiously jotting down notes in my journal because I knew I’d be referring back to it. I even regretted borrowing the book from the library instead of buying my own copy, since my habit with useful books is to scrawl all over them for better retention and for future reference.
As I was finishing the book, I started an email to the parent group at my church to share with them some of my key learnings. I figured they would be interested in hearing some practical ideas on how to love their children better, and it would also help me to have notes in my email to refer back to. So I typed them up, and was about to send them out, and then figured HEY wouldn’t my blog readers be interested in this, too? Because if you have children of your own or work with kids, chances are you want them to know they are loved. So here you go!
Because it’s 100 degrees.
And because it tastes wonderful.
And because there is no Serendipity 3 near my home.
And who doesn’t want frozen hot chocolate made the way it’s done in an ice cream parlor?!
And did you know you were paying $8.95 for 6 oz. milk + cocoa + sugar + ice?! Cuz that’s all it takes to make this incredibly satisfying, throat-cooling, hit-the-chocolate-spot treat!
The proportions on this recipe are perfect. Enjoy!
Today’s reading lesson: Making Inferences! This is the art of reading between the lines and figuring out something that is probably true. As this unit study explains, “The author doesn’t tell us everything. We can take evidence from the text and combine it with what we already know and say, ‘This is probably true.’ That is an inference.”
You make inferences all the time when you read: You infer that Charlie is a responsible child because he looks around to see if he can return the money. You infer that the story takes place a hundred years ago based on the type of cars they’re driving. Good readers are constantly making inferences to make sense of the text we read, and it’s important to teach your child to make and then notice those inferences when they are reading.
This is Hanna. She is one of my favorite people! We had the pleasure of teaching at the same school, and my only regret is that we never got to work on the same grade level team. That didn’t keep us from becoming fast friends, as we soon found that we shared common interests for baking, books, and teaching! I felt so blessed to work with someone so passionate, fun, competent, and selfless. She has since made a career change to be an educational consultant, and I’ve been dying to pick her brain on the recent nationwide transition to the Common Core State Standards– something you’ve probably heard a lot about and something you definitely want to know more about!
It turns out we are very much on the same page about the Common Core transition! Since she is such an expert in the area, I asked her to write a guest post to share with you, dear readers! Now you can learn what all the fuss is about, why we’re doing it, and things you can do to help your own child transition well to the new standards. Please give a warm welcome to my dear friend…. Hannnnaaaa!!!
Hi! I’m thrilled to be writing a guest post for Cuppacocoa! JoEllen is a great friend and I love her blog as much as you do! I had the privilege being her colleague for 4 of my 8 years in the classroom (teaching 2nd and 3rd grades). I implemented the Common Core State Standards in my last 2 years of teaching. Now, I’m working as an educational consultant for a nonprofit organization in San Jose, CA, coaching teachers and principals through the transition to Common Core and helping them ensure high-quality education and strong results for kids through it all. JoEllen asked me to share some of what I’ve learned about the Common Core with you all, so here we go!
What are the Common Core State Standards? Why Change?
The Common Core State Standards…I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Do they intrigue you? Confuse you? Make you want to run screaming down the street or cower under your desk? These new(ish) standards have gotten a lot of press in the last few years, not all of it favorable. And if the Common Core Standards leave you befuddled, you’re in good company!
The Common Core State Standards (or CCSS, for short), have been adopted by 45 states. Before the creation and adoption of the CCSS each state had its own standards, which led to widely different measures of student proficiency across the nation. Comparing student achievement in, for example, California and New York would have been like comparing apples and hamburgers. Why is this important, you wisely ask? Because if we can’t compare how students from different states are performing, how can we possibly know if we are giving each of our nation’s children a fair shot? How can we ensure that every child, regardless of his or her zip code, graduates high school ready to enter college or the work force? We couldn’t. The CCSS and their aligned assessments allow us to finally, effectively assess student proficiency no matter where that student is from. We can finally tell if we, as a nation, are adequately preparing our children to enter the workforce and the world as competent 21st century citizens. (As a bonus, if your family has to move across state lines in the course of your child’s schooling, you can rest assured that, if you move to another state that’s adopted the CCSS, your child will be prepared to enter school without losing any ground.)
What does this mean for us?
So that’s the “why” behind the CCSS (according to me, at least). But now I’m sure you’re wondering – what does this mean for me? How are the CCSS different from what my child was expected to learn before? Why are people so up in arms about the CCSS? How can I help my child if she brings home one of those notorious enigmas of a math problem for homework?
I like to cook, but I don’t always like to go grocery shopping.
I like to cook, but I don’t always enjoy meal planning.
I like to cook, but sometimes I just wanna mix things up and try something new.
I don’t really know how to cook, but I want to learn. Help?
Sometimes, I don’t feel like cooking at all. I don’t even want to go pick up takeout. I just want food delivered to my door.
If any of those statements resonates with you, then you may want to consider a meal delivery service! Meal delivery services are cropping everywhere, and I feel like I’m just starting to get the hang of one when another new one pops up. I’ve tried four of the options offered in the SF Bay Area so far, so I can give you the lowdown on how they work, how they differ, and which one would fit your needs best! Here is my review of The Munchery, Gobble, Blue Apron, and Door Dash.
This stuff is so good. So, so, so good, and so easy to shake together in the morning! That’s right, I like to shake my iced coffee, boba-shop style :). From my relatively small batch of cold brew (I only made 8 cups of it, compared to The Pioneer Woman’s 8 quarts!), I’ve been able to make creamy, scrumptious Vietnamese iced coffee for myself a few times, my husband a few times, my mom, and my friend Jamie! They all really enjoyed it, and I think you will, too!
The main thing that makes this coffee Vietnamese is the condensed milk (pictured left), not to be confused with evaporated milk (pictured right):
While they are both canned dairy products, condensed milk is a thick, oozy, super sweet product
As for the “splash” ingredient, The Pioneer Woman recommends half-and-half, but I have experimented with splashing in both heavy cream and then whole milk, and I liked it equally well both ways.
After you’ve added all your ingredients, be sure to stir it up really well, otherwise the condensed milk settles on the bottom and it gets too sweet at the end (or the beginning, if you’re using a straw)… although I guess if it came down to it, you could just add more coffee and milk and then enjoy some more of this scrumptious beverage! :). If you like your iced coffee creamy and sweet, you have to try this recipe. So easy, so delicious!!
I stumbled upon this cold-brew recipe a few years ago and was dying to try it. But I disciplined myself and kept putting it off due to being pregnant or nursing. But my will eventually crumbled (years of pregnancy and nursing will do that to you) and I finally gave it a go! Now I daily face the temptation of sweet, delicious iced coffee every day in my refrigerator… ai yah. What have I done. But it’s SO GOOD! And SO EASY. You can just use the recipe linked above, but it’s kind of long so I figured I’d break the basic information down into two parts: 1) How to make a simple cold brew (this post), and 2) A great recipe for Vietnamese iced coffee using your cold brew (post coming soon!). YUMMMMYYYY!!!!!!
Back when I first read the recipe, I mentally boiled down the 1,242-word post down to these simple directions: steep coffee grounds in water. I guess nowadays the hip term for this process is making cold brew. It’s such an easy way to prepare coffee, and results in a smooth, less-acidic coffee after. After you filter out the grounds, then BOOM. There’s your cold brew. Done. Now you have coffee concentrate at your fingertips, ready to refresh you morning after morning! I love her idea of making a big batch so all you have to do in the days (or weeks) to follow is pour it over a bit of ice and really, you can be done. Anything to keep the mornings more simple!
After making your batch of cold brew, check out this recipe (link will work soon 🙂works!) for a great Vietnamese coffee using condensed milk. MMMM. Soooo creamy, perfectly sweet, and delicious! Enjoy!
Back to school sales have been happening which can only mean one thing: IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!! For some, that is great reason to celebrate, and for others, it’s a little too soon to be thinking about it (What?! Didn’t school just let out a couple weeks ago??). Either way, it’s almost always a good time to clock in some extra minutes of parent-child reading time together!
As you probably know, I’ve been in the middle of a series on how to read well with your child. Yes, straight-up reading out loud to your child is great, and is already more quality and productive time than a lot of other things you or your child could be doing. But if your child happens to be struggling at all with reading, there are a few simple things you can do to make the reading time together even more effective! If you’re hoping to get more bang for the minutes you are spending reading with your child, bookmark this parent page and try some of these simple strategies to help your child grow as a reader.
Today, I’m going to go more in depth on teaching your child the reading strategy of asking questions while reading. I have spent weeks teaching this strategy alone in the classroom. There are so many ways to talk about asking questions that I was tempted to break this post into two parts, but the OCD part of me wants to link just one “Asking Questions” link everywhere, so… here goes!
A couple months ago, a handyman came by to give us an estimate on some jobs. Somewhere in the middle of that, I learned that he had a daughter in fourth grade so I mentioned that I had taught fourth grade for several years. I asked him how she was liking it, since well, I loved it… and then I heard it all. His frustrations with the grade level. His frustrations with his child’s teacher and the new Common Core standards. How upsetting it was to suddenly hear that his daughter– who was doing just fine last year– was suddenly performing and reading below grade level. The teacher blamed it on the new Common Core standards, and he didn’t know who to blame it on. He was just frustrated.
This is a common thing I’ve heard from parents– “What do you mean my child is behind? He was doing just fine last year! His state test scores were just fine!” Maybe they don’t phrase it quite like that, but I can hear the alarm and disbelief in their voices. If their child performed decently on state tests, that must mean they’re getting it, right?
I’m afraid not. It’s not that simple. Reading fluency and comprehension doesn’t boil down to answering a few multiple choice questions about a passage. Good readers are engaging in a number of reading strategies all the time when they’re reading, considering questions far beyond Who is the main character? and Who won the race? Good readers don’t just answer questions while reading– they ask them. They consider their existing knowledge on the subject, and they are aware when they aren’t understanding the text well. In my current series, I am sharing reading strategies that we teach at school in the Reader’s Workshop to help students deepen their reading comprehension skills.
Today, I will share one of the most accessible strategies: making connections. This is the one nearly universal strategy that nearly every reader is already doing in some way, so it’s one of the easiest to teach. This is also one of the most effective in helping readers remember what they read, because when you can connect new material to existing knowledge, you are much more apt to remember it, as I described in this post. Making connections is exactly what it sounds like: you read something, and consider how it is connected to something else you know about.
The goal of making connections is to help kids attach new text they read to things they already know about. They can use that pre-existing knowledge to help them remember the new material they come across. This strategy makes texts more meaningful to readers, and it also makes texts easier to understand. This is usually an easy and enjoyable strategy for children to practice and use. When we talk with students about the reading strategy of making connections, we usually break it down into three types of connections: text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections, and text-to-world connections.
Lord, help me. It’s been one of those weeks. I’m so. tired.
Sorry, blog,I have no energy for you right now. I’ll be back soon!
In the meantime, here is something I’ve been meaning to share for a long time: Giada’s Garlic Lemon Aioli recipe. It’s fanTASTIC. It’s my own little “dirty sauce” that I love to spread on anything, especially on paninis or for dipping veggies in. It’s the extra MMM you’re looking for to bring your sandwiches to the next level, and seriously pairs wonderfully with so many things. I mean, lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper– can’t really go wrong there, right?
Mix…
Yum!!!
This is our favorite panini setup right there with focaccia, pepperjack, arugala, tomatoes, pastrami, and some garlic lemon aioli.
I sprinkle some salt on top before grilling them and mm-mmm they always hit the spot!
Anyway I’m way overdue to get this on my blog, because I reference my own blog for frequently used recipes and I always tell myself “I really need to get the aioli recipe on there!” So here it is. Enjoy!
Meet JoEllen
Subscribe via Email
Top Posts & Pages
Categories
