noodles

this week we are learning about the letter N in my classroom. on monday, we started by reading the story strega nona. if you aren't familiar with it, it is about an old woman in a town who is the source for cures, potions, comfort, and magic. she also owns a pot that can make noodles when she says a specific poem. so yesterday i decided to bring in my own "magic" pot and make some "magic" noodles of my own. on tuesday, we discussed the story and i told the kids that this aforementioned activity would be happening the next day. (gasps!) as they lined up outside of the classroom yesterday, i could hear a commotion in the hallway. when i walked out, i was bombarded with questions,"did you bring it!? did you bring your magic pot?! is it IN THERE!? " (pointing in the classroom) i told them that it was in on my desk and we would be using it during reading time. (high fives and giggles galore.) prior to them coming in the room, i ripped apart a bunch of packages of ramen noodles and broke them into the (magic) pot and put on the (clear) lid. they swarmed into the classroom like a bunch of anxious bees...and all buzzed to my desk. after telling them to slow down (sheesh!), i just listened to them discussing the pot of (10 cents a package) noodles. there were a billion oooos and ahhhhss...but mostly, their chatter was recalling information about the story that we read the previous day. (score!) plus, their excitement was palpable. (if i stuck out my tongue, i could taste it.)

my "magic" pot.

even as they all sat down and got started on their morning work, some kids wandered back to my desk to ask me questions...as they were standing there, each was eyeballing that pot as if it really had magic powers. (awesome.) as we worked our way through our carpet time, calendar work, and reading some sentences on the board...i must've been asked no less than 234 times when we were going to "do the noodles." so finally, after i completed the "mandated" curriculum worksheets with them...we got down to business. i borrowed a single burner from a colleague and i slowly poured water over our noodles. (adding a little long pour/short pour action for good measure.) during this time, i had someone retell the story in their own words and another student give a summary. we talked about the characters, the plot, and the setting. then, i put on the lid and told the kids they could stand on their chairs. (they loved this.) they all raised their little arms and put their hands toward the pot and recited the same magic saying (oral language skills!) that strega nona did in the story to get the noodles to boil. (most had it memorized.) i swear to you, they truly believed that their words were going to make that (calphalon) pot full of (ramen) noodles boil. they believed it down to their very being. while we waited for the pot to boil, we went back to the carpet and i read them another story entitled the magic porridge pot.  same story, told in a different way. (porridge vs. pasta) then, we discussed how the two stories were alike and how they were different...we made a venn diagram to show this. they we graphed our favorite story. (more math.) however, when the pot finally started to boil, they lost all control and i lost all of their attention. (i had anticipated this.)

i seriously thought half of them were going to pee their pants and the other half were going to pass out. (they. were. pumped.) as the steam rose up into the classroom, i lifted the lid and the noodles were nearly to the top. in the story, strega nona recites a different poem to make the noodles stop boiling...but it doesn't stop until she blows three kisses at it after she recites it. (part of her magic.) so again, they all stood on their chairs, arms raised, hands toward the pot...and repeated the magic poem to get the pot to stop. (i discreetly turned the burner off.) i then told them they we were going to eat the noodles! (cheers all around!) as i walked back to my desk to get the bowls and forks, i heard one of my students yell..."BUT MRS. S! WE FORGOT TO BLOW THE THREE KISSES!!" gasps filled the room, one kid screamed, another almost started crying...because in the story, one of strega nona's workers steals her pot and says the magic words, but forgets to blow the three kisses. the noodles kept flowing out of the pot because of the this and they covered the town. (the kids were legitimately worried.) i saved it by saying, "everyone, quick! get back on your chairs and let's blow the three kisses before the noodles cover the classroom!!" (i do this stuff with a straight face. i have to be believable, people.) they all hopped up on their chairs and we blew the three kisses at the pot (that i got as a wedding gift). one kid then yelped, "WHEW! that was CLOSE." (HAHA!) while they were eating, i did a shared descriptive writing activity. they had to give me words to describe the noodles. (they did awesome.) they blurted out "salty!, good!, yummy!, stringy!, delicious!, hot!" i wrote these words down on a giant bowl of noodles that i had drawn on the board. we sounded out the words and talked about each one.

at the close of this lesson, most of the kids were sad it was over. (as was i, it's one of my favorites.) however, i'm sharing this story for another reason. it seems at the moment there is huge controversy about "the common core." basically, it's a new trend that is taking over education and it is trying to reinvent the wheel. just know this...i do what is expected slash required of me in the classroom. i follow the common core as much as i can. i sit through staff meetings and trainings about this new nonsense. i read literature on it. i do the required  paperwork and worksheets with my students. however, at the heart of it all...i have one goal. my goal is to teach my students in a way that they will learn and make sure they have fun while doing so. i want them to be excited about school, about learning, about the letter N! i want them to walk in feeling as excited as they did yesterday and have them leave knowing they have learned something. sure, i (merely) made a pot of ramen noodles...but as you see from my story, it was so much more than that. i didn't see "ramen noodles 101" in my curriculum framework, i didn't read about it in a learning map, it wasn't part of my pacing schedule...i just know that at the end of the day, that they would gain auditory and visual recognition about the letter N (noodles from nona!) in a fun and exciting way. (goal met.) i just hope that as my own child (ella) enters kindergarten in 2 years (gulp.)...that she has a teacher that can look beyond such things as the common core and state standards. a teacher that can think outside the box, a teacher that can cover what she has to, but that can give the kids what they need...a teacher that will make magic noodles for the sake of the letter N.

most teachers have the same mentality as me. (trust me.) i work with some awesome (awesome) teachers and know even more of these individuals personally. we care about your kids and we want them to succeed. we get annoyed with trendy waves such as common core and do what we see fit while in the confines of our classroom as much as we can. i didn't mention that at the end of this lesson, i had a child that wasn't feeling well and vomited a full belly of noodles all over my boots. (oh boy.) as i cleaned up his hands, face, and shirt (and sent him to the nurse), the other students (who were not vomiting) were drawing pictures of their favorite part of the noodle lesson. (art integration). today i had at least half of the kids ask when we were going to, "make the noodles again" i explained that this ship has sailed and we weren't going to make anymore noodles anytime soon. (booooooo.) however, i do have another teacher trick up my sleeve for tomorrow! after our (required) worksheets, we will be making noodle necklaces! (really driving home that N sound.) i dyed noodles tonight using rubbing alcohol and food coloring and they are going to sit and string them up. i will encourage them to use patterns (math!) and this is also an awesome activity to help with fine motor skills. sounds so simple right? noodle necklaces? well every year, they lose their minds. i wish i could get excited about anything as much as they get excited about noodle necklaces. so at the end of this week, i know a couple of things for sure: i know that my students have met our weekly state standard by gaining auditory and visual recognition of the letter N and i also know they have acquired and practiced many (many) other skills in the process...but not without the help of ramen noodles, strega nona, and noodle necklaces. take that, common core. i win.