from fluting to cutting-in...

So what is the best way to have students learn how to make a home-made pie from beginning to end?? How about making 53 pies in 3 days for fellow staff members! Well that is what we did!
From pails of apples (many of which were rotten - sadly one student even found one of the hungry worms!), to pounds of rhubarb, and trays of blueberries (which I stocked all summer long) we learned many skills like dicing, coring, and most importance patience and co-operation.

It is certainly not the easiest thing to manage 25 students at a time, the main goal to ensure that they are all working! And on top playing a general in an apron I also had to try to ensure that the pies were edible!

In the end success is what we baked. Of the 53 pies I received two complaints, too salty (what can I say within three weeks of school I wasn't able to ensure that every student really understood the difference between a big T and a little t) and finally a slightly burnt sugar in the chocolate pie (but for crying out loud they also had to temper eggs!).

So what did I get out of it? Headache? Yes. Physical exhaustion and the sweating that comes with it? Yes. Stress? Yes. One of my greatest teaching moments of all time? YES!! To watch all 25 students so actively involved in the learning process; only looking for more work to do, and helping each other whenever I couldn't get to them first...as easy as apple pie!