December 15th, 2009

Today was a great and busy day!

At our morning meeting, we were Problem Solvers. Our problem was that during centers, we found ourselves constantly in conflict over sharing the computers. We were not sure how much time was fair for people to spend on them. To solve the problem, we took turns suggesting how much time each person should get on the computer. Some Problem Solvers said 10 minutes, some said 6, some said 4, some said 3, some said 2, some said 1. Most people voted for 10 minute sessions on the computer. We will try 10 minutes and revisit our solution in a few weeks to think about whether it is still fair and is working for us.



For baking today, we made tortillas! We read a recipe, and took turns adding in the ingredients. This is always a test of patience, and we do so wonderfully respecting the materials and giving everyone a chance to participate. While mixing, we noticed that, unlike other bread recipes, tortillas don't have yeast in them. We predicted that the tortilla dough wouldn't rise without the yeast.



We mixed the batter first with a spoon.


When that didn't work, we adjusted our method. Some Bakers suggested we try using our hands instead of the spoon!





After mixing the batter, we divided the tortillas into little balls - one for each of us. We each got a turn using the tortilla press to flatten our balls of dough into the shape of skinny circles. We thought they looked like pancakes!






During afternoon centers, we cooked our tortillas in on a griddle. We knew they were done when they were slightly brown. We topped them with cheese. They were so delicious. We were right about the yeast! Since we didn't put yeast in the dough, it did not rise!!

On Thursday we will make gingerbread and butter!

Remember: Thursday is the last day of class before December break!