The Reading Mother

One of the books I purchased and mentioned here before Christmas was Geronimo Stilton Special Edition: Christmas Catastrophe. I read out loud one chapter every night and my youngest kid just loved it - so much that two more titles are on their way!
I have always read my two boys bedtime stories but not many in English and now I ask myself why. The feedback and my kid's improvement in reading, vocabulary, pronunciation...have been so remarkable that I will certainly go on.

S. Gillilan (1869-1954)

As a reading mother, let me share a lovely poem with you:

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea.
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth;
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness lent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch.
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a Mother who read to me.

Strickland Gillilan 

Coffee Quiz

Following the last activity, I decided to hand out the quiz below (obviously without the link and the key!!!) so that students could do some research in English as well as enhance their knowledge on the topic. The challenge was immediately accepted as prizes will be awarded =))

Open publication - Free publishing - More coffee

Brewing, serving and savoring coffee

Source: Clipart, coffee beans

Last Friday (Jan 20th) one of my vocational classes had their first contact with a professional in the art of brewing and serving the best coffee: Paulo Vieira, a former adult learner of mine, kindly accepted my invite to come to our school to teach and share his large experience with our young students. He spent the whole morning there and started by showing how to do some daily preventive maintenance and service to coffee machines (always needed besides the scheduled maintenance); step by step, he provided cleaning instructions, explaining that the best coffee beans cannot make up for the impurities a dirty machine adds to our drinks. He then moved on and showed how to grind coffee properly and how to store it - yes, that's also important once whole bean or ground coffees lose their flavour quickly.

Nestle's logo

Hats off to our students as well who not only paid attention but were also willing to brew coffee and then served teachers and staff so competently. They really did their best performing their role regardless of their lack of experience and did learn to serve the beverage items properly to provide satisfaction to guests in restaurants, bars, coffee shops or, quietly simply, at their own school thus acquiring the practice they so desperately need.
Some final thank you words to sr Paulo Vieira for his time, professionalism, dedication, positive attitude towards our students and for "his" gorgeous coffee. Yes... the coffee served was brought by him and it was from SICAL, so our thanks to NESTLE as well :=)



You might like these links including coffee recipes:
http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=71 -by National Coffee Association USA
http://www.coffeescience.org/
http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=776
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=coffee+recipes&x=0&y=0
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/desserts/cakes/coffee-cakes/main.aspx