Andy Bloebaum heads out to the playground to join his classmates for an afternoon nature hike. The Uintah School second-grader makes an abrupt U-turn and races back to his classroom.
"I came back for my orange bear," Andy says. "I forgot to take him on the hike."Exploring the nature trail in the back yard of Oakridge School was only one of a series of activities planned to celebrate the pen pal picnic of second-graders at both schools.
Andy, a student in Karen Moyle's Uintah class, not only made a teddy bear friend, teddy bear bread and a teddy bear cake but developed a yearlong correspondence with Nate Stevens, a student at Oakridge School.
Moyle and her neighbor, Kathy Christensen, a second-grade teacher in the Granite District elementary school, devised a plan to link their separate classrooms throughout the school year.
"We assigned each student a pen pal at the beginning of the year," explains Christensen. "The students introduced themselves, sent pictures and exchanged phone numbers. The communication continued as students shared letters each month."
Using an unusual team-teaching approach to language arts developed broad, unexpected results.
"The children shared important parts of their lives with each other," Moyle says. "They uncovered a new way to build a friendship based strictly on the written word, then they found such excitement as that paper friend became a real person."
Kimball Parker and Lee Caldwell attended the birthday party of a mutual friend only to discover they knew each other through their pen pal assignments.
Students acquired communication skills as they critiqued correspondence and applied letter-writing techniques.
"But what really surprised all of us was to see how comfortably the children met one another for the first time," Christensen adds. "We expected them to be friendly but then return to their own playmates. These pen pal pairs have been together all day long at the picnic and other activities."
Only Catherine Balken and Vanessa Davis encountered a mishap.
"Mrs. Christensen, I can't find my pen pal," Catherine lamented. "She got lost when we divided into groups and I can't see her."
Vanessa was reunited with Catherine later in the activities.
Peter Ostler, a Uintah student, admits he was a "little nervous" to meet his pen pal, Tyler Bunnell.
"This is the first time we've seen each other," Peter says, "but it's great. We want to play together again."
"Meeting in person is awesome," Tyler adds.
Shared letters suggested other ideas duplicated in the pen pal-linked classes.
Both groups designed and constructed a snuggly, fabric teddy bear to act as a companion throughout the year and accompany each student throughout the pen pal picnic activities.
Moyle's students learned breadmaking techniques from sprouting and grinding wheat to kneading and shaping a loaf.
"Cooking in the classroom is a whole language experience," Moyle explains. "Recipes teach so many different skills - things like measuring, fractions, sequence, following instructions and more. Some of the children had never cooked before, so it was wonderful for them to see a project through to completion."
Students even shared recipes with their pen pals.
Peter Ostler produced his "famous" banana pie, a simple concoction of instant pudding, bananas and graham cracker crust, while Rebecca Pingree and Casey Kiser developed trail mixes to share during the nature studies.
Moyle suggests cooking projects as an effective way to reinforce classroom assignments.
"Cooking with children is one of the most effective ways to implement principles of mathematics," she explains. "But more than a strictly academic activity, cooking gives kids immediate success experience, a wonderful way to bolster self-esteem."
Spread kid's cooking projects throughout your summer schedules.
And begin with the Teddy Bear Pen Pal Picnic recipes.
*****
RECIPES
Casey's Trail Mix
1 package (15 oz.) granola cereal
1 cup M&M's
1 cup salted peanuts
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup peanut butter cup pieces, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
Combine all ingredients; divide into individually bagged servings. Makes 20 1/2-cup servings.
- From Casey Kiser
- Each serving contains 394 calories; 18 gm fat; 58 mg sodium; 0 gm cholesterol.
Chocolate Brownies
1/3 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can (16 oz.) chocolate syrup
1 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon flour
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Cream margarine, sugar and eggs until light and fluffly. Blend in flour and chocolate syrup. Bake in lightly greased 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan at 350 degrees for 22 minutes.
For frosting, combine milk, sugar and butter; bring to a boil. Boil 30 seconds; add chocolate chips and spread quickly over cooled brownies. Makes about 4 dozen brownies.
- From Tommy Oyarzun
- Each serving contains 100 calories; 3 gm fat, 26 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol.
Fudge Cake
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted shortening
Fudge Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water
Combine flour, sugar, salt, cocoa, baking powder and nuts; blend with milk and melted shortening. Pour into a well-greased 9-inch square pan.
For sauce, combine sugars and cocoa; blend in vanilla and boiling water. Pour over top of cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Makes 6 servings.
- From Kristi Adams
- Each serving contains 406 calories; 7 gm fat; 218 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol.
Caramel Cereal Pops
1 package (14 oz.) vanilla caramels
1/4 cup milk
4 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup salted peanuts
Shortening
Combine caramels with milk in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until caramels melt, about 15 minutes. Add cereal and peanuts.
Lightly grease a 8-inch square pan; spoon cereal mixture into prepared pan. When cooled, cut into squares and insert popsicle or sucker sticks. Makes 16 pops.
- From Kathy Christensen
- Each serving contains 158 calories; 8 gm fat; 191 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol.
Teddy Bear Bread
5-6 cups flours
1/4 - 1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Raisins
2 eggs, optional
Measure 4 cups flour into a large bowl. Mix warm water with yeast, sugar, and salt. Add butter, yeast mixture and eggs to flour; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to make a smooth dough. Knead about 10 minutes; let rise until double in bulk.
To shape bears, divide dough into four equal pieces. Shape two portions into rounds for bodies. Divide third portion in half to form heads. Roll the fourth portion into a strip 14 inches long. Cut strip into 14 equal pieces to form ears, paws and nose.
Place shaped bears on lightly greased cookie sheet. Add raisins for eyes and belly button. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 10 servings.
- Each serving contains 385 calories; 8 g fat; 296 mg sodium; 43 mg cholesterol.
- Recipe from Karen Moyle
Apple Muffins
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup apples, peeled and chopped
Blend milk, oil and egg; add to combined dry ingredients. Mix until moistened; fold in chopped apples. Bake in paperlined or greased muffins tins at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.
- Each serving contains 130 calories; 10 gm fat; 276 mg sodium; 19 mg cholesterol.
- Recipe from Alice Huguet
Teddy Bear Treats
1/3 cup margarine
1 package (10 1/2 oz.) miniature marshmallows
6 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup Gummy Bears
Melt butter and marshmallows in large pan over low heat. Stir in 4 cups crisp rice cereal, then add remaining cereal and Gummy Bears. Stir until mixed. Pour into buttered 9-by-13-inch pan; cool before cutting. Makes 15 servings.
- Each serving contains 160 calories; 4 gm fat; 199 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol.
- Recipe from Ralph Davis and Kimball Parker
Banana Bread
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of cinnamon
2/3 medium bananas, mashed
Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Blend in dry ingredients; fold in mashed bananas. Pour into greased 9-by-5-inch loaf tin; bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until tests done. Makes 10 servings.
- Each serving contains 155 calories; 7 gm fat; 80 mg sodium; 36 mg cholesterol.
Recipe from Rebecca Piercey