Cirque Du Seabreeze

          Seabreeze High School's 2014 Prom's theme was vintage circus.  We dubbed it "Cirque Du Seabreeze."  The circus wagon and photo cutouts were made by our construction students and the balloons were done by Balloons by Beth in Daytona Beach. Oh, and a student made a ringmaster's coat for our principal which he wore to greet our students!

Easter Ham

     I remember when I was first married, I was completely intimidated by the baking of a ham.  Certainly this was something my grandmother spent hours preparing and fretting over.  Alas, the baked ham is probably one of the easiest and tastiest dinners you could make.
     Now, I am not talking about one of those fancy hams where you score the ham in a geometrical pattern and then stab it with whole cloves and strategically place slices of pineapple with maraschino cherries  around the geometrical pattern.  Nor, am I talking about one of those pre-sliced spiral sweet hams where you mix the provided packet with water on the stove and then slather the sugary goop down the slices.  I am talking about a good old country ham that is simply baked to enjoy the smokiness and saltiness of the pig.
     This could not be easier. I usually buy a semi-boneless ham (on sale) and wrap it in foil.  I probably use enough foil to pick up cable television in Russia.  Then, put it in a pan and bake it at 325 degrees for about forty-five minutes per pound.  Essentially you are baking it on a lower heat for a longer time.  You almost want to overcook the ham. When you take it out the oven, you should be able to "fork it" a part.  Least that is what my grandmother always said.
     I just love the simple pleasure of a simple country ham.

Student Writing: Map of My Heart

Map of My Heart

     This is a writing activity I do with my high school creative writing class.  Almost every day, we start class with an invitation to write.  Before this activity, I invite them to write about what is most important to them in life. As always, we do a class share and some of the responses are serious, some funny, and some very practical.  But, my students are never boring. The writing ranges from "The Walking Dead" to chocolate to family.
     Next, I go through the children's book My Map Book by Sara Fanelli. It is adorable. My teenage students love this book and I have to thank my National Writing Project colleague, Dr. Kathy Holt for introducing it to me.  My Map Book has many maps a child would find important. A map of the neighborhood, a map of my room, a map of my tummy, and so on. After we go through the book, I return to the pages that cover the map of my heart.
     From that point, my students use Fanelli's book for inspiration and their invitation to write to create their own map of my heart. I have them compose a poem based on what would be included in their map and then we peer edit.  I give them a heart template and let them go.  The results are wonderful and I post them up in the classroom for all to see.