Caveman Living

So, as predicted, week 1 of living like a caveman has been tricky, jumbled, confusing and delicious. As I'm new to the caveman neighbourhood it was necessary for me to investigate other cave dweller recipe collections. 

It seems that every "expert" out there has a different idea about what exactly constitutes a paleo diet. Some gave sweet potatoes the thumbs up, others said NO to all tubers (....I also had to look up what a tuber was, is this an American word or am I just extremely ignorant about vegetables?). 

One very enthusiastic paleo displayed an array of muffins, pancakes and delicious baked goods created with many obscure and exciting types of flour (that were unable to be located at my meagre grocery store). Some cave people even claimed to enjoy luxuries such as sundried tomatoes and coffee! 


Here are some of my thoughts
1. Nobody really knows what cavemen ate. It was a long time ago. Very few cave people updated their statuses, "Just slaughtered wildebeest, enjoying coffee by the fire." Sure, mummified remains have been discovered to have grain fragments found in their gut and there's that whole "the real purpose of an appendix" conversation but, really, I don't feel anybody could accurately pinpoint the exact diet of paleo people.

2. Evidence indicates that in the time of cave dwellers, our plant and animal systems were exceptionally more diverse than that of modern day. Plants and animals were also much more plentiful so, surely a true paleo diet would have been far more diverse than we could ever imagine.

3. Enough people in general talk about the health benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, eggs, nuts. As these make up the staples (and practically everything else) of the paleo diet a lot of it seems to come down to just good choices and maybe actually being brave enough to cut out the certain sugars, carbs and other elements that are probably unnecessary in a "typical diet".

All opinions aside, the common elements in all paleo tips and tricks were meat and eggs. Add in some fruits and vegetables (tubers and/or non-tubers) and I think I'm more or less on the right track. With that in mind, here are some of the things that I have enjoyed creating and eating this week. 

Some hardcore paleos may shake their heads in disgust but I am trying and, short of actually dredging up my own Encinoman (who else loved that movie?! go 1990s Brendan Fraser), I can only work with the mismatched information I am given and the supplies at the grocery store.

Mockingbirds & Cavemen

The recruitment officer rang me during the week to ask about my teaching preferences for 2013 so ....fingerscrossed! I'm holding out for a nice little school on the Northside of Brisbane and a comfortable English & SOSE position in the lower secondary department.....is that so much to ask!?

I have received approval from my principal to teach the "To Kill A Mockingbird" unit instead of "Worldshaker". I am so thankful for this opportunity and amazed at the amount of faith my boss has in me to produce a unit from nothing that will align perfectly with the National Curriculum. 

Finally, in a bid to lose every centimetre of body fat to shift some excess weight, I am tentatively considering the paleo eating plan. I have spent several hours today looking through information and I feel it is something I could realistically do and would open up some new options in the kitchen which is always exciting. 

So that's my plans for the weekend. I'm actually very excited - hope you're doing something nice! 

Linking with {6th Grade} All-Stars

I'm beginning to realise that I'm very interested in what other teachers are doing and a great way to find out is through blogs. I recently stumbled across {6th Grade} All-Stars. It's always helpful to see what others teachers are experiencing and share the wonderful things that happen in classrooms across the world. I thought I would impart my (limited!) wisdom...

1. I teach in a very isolated outback Australian community. Our school has about 160 students enrolled from prep to grade 10. I teach in the secondary department. I teach grade 9 English, grade 8 English, grade 7 English, Study of Society & Environment and Science. However, for the past two years I have taught grade 6 (all key learning areas).

2. The best advice I received in my first year of teaching is "Don't be afraid to get it wrong". As teachers we often seem to think we have all the answers but (while we do have most of the answers!!) we do get stuff wrong. The most important thing is to learn from whatever mistakes you make and don't be afraid to acknowledge that things aren't working and be brave enough to try something different to fix it! 

3. #1 - your planning - obviously you need to know what you are doing!  

#2 student desks - I start off with a bit of variety of rows, groups and single desks just until I get an idea of the students (I also explain to them on the first day that they can choose their own desk but it may change)

#3 my desk - this is a surprisingly important area and must be managed to suit your needs to avoid a paper avalanche 5 weeks into the semester. If you have a filing cabinet - USE IT! Have lots of basic stationery and sticky notes. Sometimes an "inbox" can be helpful for anything important (which you will find is most things!)

#4 digital resources - make sure your laptops/computers/interactive whiteboard etc is all hooked up and ready to go

#5 environmental print - posters, classroom rules, curriculum materials - spend the time to make your classroom look the way you want it to look...but you MUST leave space for things that you and your students create together!

4. I think it is important to have "a nice spot"! This might include a rug, some beanbags, a pot plant, fish tank...it's just a place to sit and read or listen to quiet music or talk. I've only just realised how important a spot like this is. Other imperative things are reading materials that kids actually enjoy (a nice mix of books, magazines, comics, newspapers etc). 

5. Classroom rules display- it is so important to set expectations. Being clear from the first moment means that everything else flows easily. It's about establishing transparent guidelines so that nobody is confused about what they are doing. Displaying the rules gives you the opportunity to refer to them as necessary and also gives you an opportunity to introduce the rules and expectations easily on the first day. A good way to do this is with WWH (what are we doing, why are we doing it, how are we doing it).

winding down

you know when you feel like your moving at a thousand miles an hour but everything else is going so slow? It feels like you're listening to Little River Band, "Friday night it was late, I was walking you home..." but at the same time like your listening to every dance song you ever rocked out to in a night club when you were 19? 

this is my reality and it's beautiful and confusing at the same time.

the wedding keeps creeping into my every day dialogue. that's right. I'M GETTING MARRIED! .........and every time i remember that i feel like eating copious amounts of fried chicken. not that i don't want to get married. and (of course) i am terribly organised, right down to the last flower petal. i think it's just the fact that i am so far (2500kms) away from where i am getting married. i feel so far away from the wedding itself (even though it is only a mere 58(??) days away!!) that i still can't quite comprehend it.

it's birth month. My soon-to-be Mr is turning 27! i think this is the first time in 3 years i have actually put in any effort to acknowledge his birthday. packages are arriving, the fur-kids have even contributed to the gift pile.

my practicum student is arriving soon. i love this!  i get the opportunity to teach someone else to be a teacher which is always a valuable reflective tool and gives me a break from some parts of my job but also opens up another (sometimes more complicated) part.

we are off to Borneo soon to spend some time with orangutans.

i am in the process of organising a year 9 English unit on "12 Angry Men" and attempting to gain my Digital Pedagogical Licence.

my transfer application has been approved and I find out where my 2013 teaching location is in 48 days! 

in amongst all of this i am apparently 'winding down'........yet i still feel like i'm going too fast to even stop for a second. 

best feeling ever! 

Breakfast Beans

I discovered a cookbook I brought about 7 years ago. It is a Women's Weekly book and it is amazing. It's one of those books I've looked through quite a few times and though, "Why did I ever even buy this?" and put back on the bookshelf.


For some reason I picked it up on Sunday night and started flipping though it and couldn't help but be amazed at how easy a lot of the recipes looked. Quite often I assume that because something seems pretty simple it mustn't taste very good. The thing is, while this is true for some of those "4 ingredients and dinner in 2 seconds", books for this book it is different. This book seems to strike the right balance between easy to make, accessible ingredients and taste. I kicked started with this delicious breakfast:


Breakfast Beans


What you need
1/2 an onion diced
2 cloves garlic
3 bacon rashers diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 can cannelini beans
parsley


What you do
saute the onion, garlic and bacon in a saucepan until the onion is soft.  Add the crushed tomatoes, mustard and beans and stir through until thoroughly heated. Serve on toast with parsley to top. 

ANZAC Biscuits

So I'm a little late with these as ANZAC Day was ages ago. However, my English class are studying Australian Representations at the moment and we are watching several scenes from Gallipoli. It has got me in the mood for these crisp, moist delicious cookies,

There's something awesome about butter and golden syrup. I've never really liked golden syrup but the way that it caramelises with the butter in these cookies makes them so special.

I use a pretty simple recipe but one thing I've changed is the addition of sultanas. I LOVE sultanas. Everything is better with them....even cheese. Nothing makes these bikkies better than finding plump, juicy, partially cooked sultanas hidden on the inside....or outside depending on how many you use. Always tasty and perfect morning/afternoon tea snack.

My ANZAC Biscuits

1 cup flour

1 cup of rolled oats mixed

Splash of pepitas and sunflower seeds

Sultanas (as many as you require!)

1/2 cup Raw sugar

1/2 cup Coconut

150grams butter

3 tablespoons golden syrup

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 tablespoon water

Combine the flour, oats, seeds, sultanas, sugar and coconut in a mixing bowl.

On the stove melt down the butter and the syrup, mixing occasionally. Just as butter melts combine bicarb soda with 1 tablespoon of water and add to butter and syrup. Mixture will bubble up so take off the heat.

Pour butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix to combine. Take small handfuls of mixture and roll into balls, place on baking tray cook in 180 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Sometimes I like mine to be a little overdone, it gives them that crispness.

The countdown

I wish I didn't turn into a 10 year old at the end of every school holidays. Lying awake for hours in bed thinking about everything and nothing in particular.

I miss the feeling of not being home.

We had such a good break. We were busy organizing all the wedding things but it was the first time in 2 years I felt like I'd actually been back home properly.

I felt so much relief just being back there. I keep thinking about the first night back in my old room and the feeling of absolute comfort. The familiar sound of the train line and my mother's unexplainably frustrating out of time ticking clocks.

The silence here is awful now.

We're pretty sure we've decided now. We seem to have talked about it too many times but I think we're sure now.

Really there's not long to go. Probably exactly half way. It's funny how you spend so much time trying to decide something that you have already known the answer to all along.

I feel like somewhere in there I forgot that it could work out and we could go back. Now it's all I can think about and i miss it. And I remember myself probably 2 years ago saying all of this before. The waiting is the hardest part...