Substitute Teaching

OH MY GOODNESS!  This is from February 2013 and I never published it.  I'm not sure why, must have been an over sight.  As true as it all still is, I now work full time at the middle school teaching math (that is my actual degree) and I really miss being at the high school.  My daughter was very upset when I wasn't up there for her first year of high school, but she's calmed down about it now... Interesting to read this in hind sight.....


  Okay my actual "day job" is Substitute Teaching.  I know that doesn't sound like a real job, but honestly I find it pretty great.  I always enjoyed school and loved college.  I like learning and helping others learn.  And it means that I am done with my day when my kids are done.  Also if they have a snow day, so do I.  No worrying about getting a baby sitter.
  In the state of Illinois you have to have at least a Bachelor's Degree to sub.  That means I get to work a lot in the rural town of about 7,500 people that I live in.  Where I really work a lot is the high school.  This brings me to the main reason I decided to blog about this today.
  SO MANY people do not want to sub at the high school.  I have to admit that I was actually scared to do it as well.  My kids were no where near high school age at the time and the kids at the high school are almost all bigger than I am.  However, that fateful day when the high school principal called me, my husband said, "You aren't afraid!  Just try it!"  So I did.
  What was I thinking?!  High school is great.  I liked high school myself.  Granted not all the classes are as fun and sometimes I'm just a "baby sitter," but in general these kids are awesome and teaching the subjects that I enjoyed as a student is really fun.
  You learn a lot subbing in high school.  Especially if it's a small town and you know the kids and your children will eventually attend the school.  You can learn a lot about the classes, the teachers, the rules and the not so obvious "rules."  Sometimes you learn things you didn't want to know and things that you are really glad you found out.
  These teenagers are at an amazing time in their lives.  They are learning about themselves, their world and about dealing with others.  Some of them are crazy, whacky fun and others are somber, and intellectual.  Some are a mix of both.  These kids want to be adults and this is a great time to start treating them like adults and showing some equality, but with authority by position.  When the kids realize this, a light bulb seems to go on.  The realize they can be independent, below you in position, but respected anyway.  It's like a teenager doesn't get this at first and struggles with respecting authority.  In general, I do not have any problems with the kids giving me "grief" in this area.
  It's also very rewarding to be able to help students who are struggling or students who are not as eager to learn at first.  I do not struggle to teach any of the classes at the school and because I am there a lot, I've learned how all the equipment works (mostly, a girl helped me with a portable projector today) and where almost everything is.  This leaves me with less stress and more time to enjoy actually teaching the class.  Most of the kids are respectful and it's really fun to get to know the kids and have them happy to see you in their teacher's seat.  I find I am sad as I see the classes graduate each year and I can't imagine being a regular teacher, having a few certain kids all year and then have them leave.  I just get so attached.
  Next year, I adventure into having my first child in high school.  I can't wait to be here while she is here.  Thankfully I am cool enough to be acknowledged as "mom" and she seems to be calmed a little by knowing the things that I have learned and told her about going to high school in our area.
  I'm kind of glad that a lot of subs don't want to work at the high school.  It's the meat of my pay check and I enjoy being here and watching these teens bloom into adults.

  ENJOY!


 

So last year during a fun Secret Santa between the teachers at my school, I received the following magazine....

There are some really great ideas in this book and SOOOOO many more that you can find on the internet (Love Pinterest and Google!)  I have decided to challenge myself to make most of my gifts this year.   

I have a great craft room FULL of stuff and I think I probably shouldn't buy anything else, until that something else will actually fit into the craft room. I also sell high quality essential oils and I love making gifts that incorporate them as well.  Therefore, my time and love shall go into the Christmas gift making season.

I'll let you all know how it goes.  The best of the best, what I can make with what I have on hand and of course, I'll post the flops. 'Cause as we all know, those are the most fun anyway!!!

What are you doing to gear up for the holiday season?

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup from scratch is comforting and very healthy.  For instance, not many people think about it, but bone broth (part of what you'll get when we boil the chicken) is probably the most healthy part about this!
For example:

• Bone broth contains valuable minerals in a form your body can easily absorb and use, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur chondroitin, glucosamine, and a variety of trace minerals
• The gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion
• Bone broth also inhibits infection caused by cold and flu viruses, for example, and fights inflammation, courtesy of anti-inflammatory amino acids such as arginine
• Making your own bone broth is very cost effective, as you can make use of left over carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away. And making your own broth is quite easy
• For the full story and information on bone broth, go here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx

Now on to the recipe.

You'll need:

Large stock pot

One whole chicken

Celery  (4-5 large stalks)

Carrots  (5-6 large)

Onion (one large)

Your choice of noodles (This is something I do not make homemade and no one in the family agrees on thick or thin)

Celery seed  (1 tbsp)

Sea salt (really it just tastes better)

Fresh ground pepper

And I prefer using water from my purifier.

First you will take the giblets packet out of the inside of the chicken. Some won't have one, but just in case, you don't want to boil that paper with your chicken.  Then place the chicken in the stock pot, cover with water and boil.  This water becomes your broth, that is why I use filtered water.  You don't need to add anything else at this time.  You can actually boil the giblets with the chicken if you want, but they are done cooking after about 15 minutes and you will need to take them out.  

When the water starts a good rolling boil, turn the heat down to a high simmer.  You still want it to boil, but not so hard.  A 4 to 5 pound chicken will take about an hour to boil.  The meat will start to fall off the bones. and you will be able to see that it is done.  At this point turn the heat off and move the pot to a cool part of the stove.  You need it to cool off quite a while before you can handle the chicken.  You can sort of speed the process ONLY IF you have heavy duty tongs to get the hot chicken out of the pan.  The chicken is tricky at this point because it will fall apart.  You don't want to get burned.  I do put my chicken on a big serving platter to cool quicker.

When the chicken is cool and you can handle it, start to pick it apart.  I find it's just easier with your hands, but you can use a fork and scrape it off in big chunks.  Get all of the meat that you can, but obviously you are discarding the skin and bones. Cut large pieces into bite sized pieces.  Your chicken is done!

Double check the pot for skin that may have fallen off and fish that out.

While that chicken is cooling you can cut up your celery, onion and carrots.  Leave some of the leaves of the celery, it's a flavor you will miss if you don't.

One of the reasons that I take my chicken out to cool, is so that I can start boiling the vegetables right away. I go ahead and put the pot back on the heat and add the vegetables to cook and maybe a little water if it boiled down too much.  Don't worry the broth is very concentrated and adding water will not be a problem.

With my veggies boiling, I just add the chicken back in and the salt (to your preference) and celery seed. When the vegetables are tender, then I add the noodles.  Cook until the noodles are done.

Add pepper fresh to the bowl of soup that you are eating.  It can get bitter when cooked too long.

Really that's it!  I don't do exact measurements because it depends on your preferences of a lot of veggies or a little.  Salty or just a little salt. Homemade noodles, with a lot of flour on them still, will thicken your broth slightly and that is good too.   It really will turn out great no matter how much you throw in and it will be so healthy and good!

Enjoy!