Season’s Greetings!

December 22, 2010 | Posted in: Class Updates

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My thanks go out to so many of you this evening!  Thank you to all the parents to volunteered to send in supplies for today’s successful party, and to those parents who found time in their busy schedules to come in and help us out!  Thank you, also, for the very kind and generous holiday gift that you all got me!  I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

In class today, we went back to the 1500’s and 1600’s and learned a bit about Elizabethan customs.  We made our own pot of wassail – a kid-friendly adaptation of the ubiquitous Christmas grog during the days of Queen Elizabeth I.  We also enjoyed a few madrigal songs.  After our afternoon cookie swap, the kids had fun decorating their very own gingerbread houses.

Because we were cooking for much of the morning, our normal schedule was modified, and we had the flexibility to work through material at a slower, more relaxed pace.  I really enjoyed our day today, and I hope the kids did too!

Many of the kids asked for the recipe for the wassail, so here it is:

• Ingredients
  • Apple Cider (1.5 gallons)
  • Naval Oranges (2 large)
  • Cloves
  • Cinnamon Sticks (4)
• Directions
  • Cook the apple cider until steaming.  Cut two naval oranges into eights (or so you have enough slices to serve to each guest).  Push one or two cloves into the rind of each orange slice.  Place the studded oranges into the cider and continue cooking.  Do NOT boil!  Add approximately four cinnamon sticks (more or less, to taste), broken in half, to the wassail.  Cook until the oranges are plump and until the citrus cells begin to burst.  Do not over cook, as the wassail will get a bitter, tart flavor.  Allow the wassail to cool a bit before serving; it should be warm, but not piping hot.  Enjoy!
  • Makes about 15 full cup servings (more or less!)

I also hope you enjoy the cookies that the kids brought home today.  We are ALMOST ready to send home copies of our class cookie cookbook, so thank you for your patience.

Finally, in the absence of any respectable, seasonable snowfall, enjoy the blizzard on our class website for a few days!

From all of us in Room 209, particularly Mrs. Linkovich and myself, have a wonderful break and a joyful holiday season!