American Girl Place Excursion - July 30, 2011

The second annual All American Girls trip to American Girl Place Los Angeles at The Grove was on July 30, 2011.  Over 20 girls from 2 classes and over 20 guests were in attendance!

Most of the girls participated in the Kit's Tree House Book craft in the bookstore.  Once everyone was checked in and had a chance to complete their crafts, we assembled the group for a special meet and greet with Jessica Griffiths, the girl chosen for the Kanani (Girl of the Year 2011) ad campaign.

We then separated into two groups for our tour, led by Belinda and Heidi of American Girl.  The girls were given a quiz, to be completed during the tour.  The quizzes were checked in random order until one had been answered 100% correctly.  Congratulations to Rachel, who received the prize!

After the tour, we had a little time to browse and chat while waiting for our tea reservation.  We were escorted through a separate entrance so that we could be seated before the other diners.  Every girl borrowed a chair for their dolls, and a doll if they didn't bring one, and every doll had it's own little tea cup and saucer.  Our group had the entire terrace all to ourselves!  We were served a warm welcome of cinnamon buns while the waitstaff took our drink orders.  Next came a tray of delicious sandwiches, fruit, and sweets.  Finally, tea was topped off with chocolate mousse, served in flowerpots!  Everyone took home a pink ponytail holder, which had been used as the napkin rings.

See more pictures on our class flickr! 

Remember, your feedback is important.  Let SPEF know what you thought of summer school this year!

Meet Kanani!

As part of our American Girl Place excursion on Saturday, the girls were able to meet a very special guest!  Jessica Griffiths, the girl chosen to star in the Kanani ad campaign, was visiting the store from Maui, Hawaii.  She was gracious enough to speak with the girls about her experience as the "girl of the year."  Her proud papa even posted a video of it on youtube (click hyperlink to view).  Read more about Jessica in this article from the Maui News.

I'm in the process of uploading pictures from Saturday, so stay tuned!

American Girl Place Excursion - July 30, 2011

Alright, American Girls, today's the day of our trip to the American Girl Place at The Grove!

In case you didn't receive the reminder email, here is the itinerary:

 
2:00 – 3:00 pm – Check in with Miss Cong at the Bookstore.  This area is located directly to the right of the entrance, on the first floor.  I will give out name tags and take pictures before directing you to the craft area.  If you wish to arrive early, you can make the craft any time after 1:00, and then check in with me at your convenience between 2 and 3.  Please try to arrive before 2:30 if you are participating, as they do end the craft promptly at 3.  I believe they will first be offering the Kit’s Tree House Book craft while supplies last and then Kit’s Paper Lantern craft.  You are free to explore until the tour.

3:00 – Return to the Bookstore area for a store tour.  The group will be broken down into two groups.  Belinda Rodriguez, the Experience Manager and Heidi Sanders, the HR Director will be leading the tours. During the tour, please pay special attention to the historical areas, I will give out a quiz that will test your knowledge of the stories we have read and some we have not.  All answers can be found in the displays and completed quizzes will be accepted after 4:00.  The first team with the most correct answers is the winner.  The tour will end at the Café Hostess Stand where we will check in for tea.

4:00 – Tea at the American Girl Café.  Please meet in front of the café on the second floor at 3:45, and no later than 4:00, for our seating.  With such a large group (40!), it will take time to be situated and our tea is a one-hour seating.  For those who wish to bring a doll, you may use the special chairs so your doll can sit with you at tea.  There are also dolls available to borrow if you so choose. 

Parking is located at The Grove Dr. between Beverly and 3^rd St.  Self parking is free for the first hour and then $3/hr for up to 3 hours.  The store offers validation with purchase for 2 hours of free parking.  Valet service is also available.  Carpooling is recommended if possible. 

Please feel free to email with any questions, I am able to check emails from The Grove as well.  In case of emergency, please call me at the number on your RSVP card.

All of the pictures I take will be posted to a dedicated “set” on my flickr account as soon as possible.  It is free to download and save the photos.  View them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_cong/

Week 4

Thank you to everyone for making Summer School 2011 such a great success!  I've just come back from a brief vacation and am just now uploading all the pictures from Week 4 to our flickr account.  It is free to download and save the pictures, so please feel free!


Addy Walker was born into slavery, but after her family is torn apart, she and her mother risk a daring escape to freedom!  Students learned about slavery, the civil war, and the Underground Railroad.  On that Wednesday, we celebrated Addy's freedom with a small party, enjoying strawberry shortcake and a tangy iced tea and playing a beanbag game.  The rest of the week was spent with Rebecca Rubin in turn of the century New York.  Rebecca dreamed of becoming an actress.  Her family struggled to raise money to bring her relatives from Russia to the United States.  We learned about Rebecca's Jewish heritage, playing dreidel, learning about the menorrah, bar mitzvahs, and, thanks to the Serwin family, sampling some challah bread.  The week ended with a movie party, with a concessions stand of popcorn and candy, and featuring a movie about Samantha.


In Book Cooks, we found out how long it takes to bake a thunder cake, and also how to make a rich and chocolately buttercream frosting.  As it turns out, though, snozzcumbers taste a lot like fish.  Although, in a sandwich, they aren't too bad.  Unlike Stellaluna, we didn't have to eat any disgusting bugs, just juicy mangos and blueberries in a ginger syrup!  Did you know that a little demon lives inside each popcorn kernel?  He gets pretty angry when you heat up his house, though.  Finally, we watched the Yooks and Zooks duke it out over whether the bread should be butter side up, or butter side down. 

Have a great school year and I hope to see some of you next summer!!!

Miss Cong

Fashion in 1914

Want to know what you would have looked like in Rebecca's day?  Print this page and add a picture of your face to these lovely outfits.  Or, if you are computer savvy, maybe you can Photo Shop yourself in?

Week 3

I do apologize for some of the Friday pictures, as my camera battery died and I had to use my phone's camera.  I will upload them as soon as I figure out how to get them off my phone!  ;)

In American Girl, we traveled with Kirsten Larson as she came across the Atlantic from Sweden, to a new life in Minnesota.  All of the girls made their own calico cats to take home.  We finished the week with a little barn dance.  Everyone enjoyed Swedish ginger cookies, cornbread, and lingonberry drink and then participated in the Apple Dance.  Our final two girls in Week 4 are Addy and Rebecca.


Apparently, every one cooks rice, and some people cook red beans and rice.  Little peas eat candy for dinner, blech.  On the 4th of July, we're all American as apple "pie."  Big Anthony is so full from eating all of Strega Nona's pasta.  In case you were curious, our last recipe for the week was mini pizzas!

Week 2

Week 2 blew by so quickly and we're already nearly finished with Week 3!

The American Girls learned about life on a New Mexico rancho with Josefina.  The music-lover dealt with her quarreling sisters while working through the loss of her mother.  Everyone made colorful punched luminaries and tissue paper flowers to decorate the room.  At the end of the week we tried some foods Josefina might have eaten, such as bizcochitos (a cinnamon sugar cookie) and flan.  Then all of the girls participated in a game called "El Floron," or "The Flower."  In Week 3, we will meet Kirsten, a girl from Sweden who comes to America in 1854. 

The sous chefs of Book Cooks started the week off right with spaghetti and meatballs for all!  Of course, that just doesn't compare with the scrumptious mudburgers we had on Wednesday.  The next day, we let the weather decide what we'd make, and ended up with frankfurters already in their rolls with mustard and a side of baked beans.  On Friday, we sailed a chocolate river to a world of imagination with a very dippable chocolate fondue and a little Willy Wonka!

Don't forget to check out the pictures at the flickr link to the left!

Week 1

Wow, this has been a whirlwind first week for the American Girls and Book Cooks classes!  Hope you are already enjoying your Independence Day weekend!

The American Girls were busy this week learning all about life in a Nez Perce village through Kaya.  This first American Girl learned valuable lessons about responsibility and being humble.  We ended the week by having a tasting of foods Kaya might have enjoyed, such as salmon, pemmican, and finger cakes.  Then all of the girls participated in a three-legged race, a game popular with children at the time.  Next week, we will meet Josefina, a girl living in New Mexico in 1824. 

In Book Cooks, my little sous chefs enjoyed several stories as well as the yummy recipes inspired by them.  We prepared a buttercream frosting to decorate cookies, but if you give a kid a cookie, they're going to want a glass of milk... Did you know that potatoes make better o'brien than rocks?  We found out that we do, we do, we do like green eggs and ham.  It also turns out that giants like 3 beans in their dip.  Oh, and when you have an argument with your neighbor, a good way to solve it is by throwing marshmallows at each other, because then you can make s'mores. 

Find pictures of our classes at the flickr link to the left!

Mouse's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 c. plus 2 tbsp Flour

½ tsp. Baking Soda

A pinch of Salt

½ c. softened Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

½ c. Sugar

¼ c. packed Light Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 c. Red and Green Candy-Coated Chocolates

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mash together the butter, vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. 
3. Mix in the egg.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet and mix until just blended. 
5. Stir in the chocolates, adding 1 tsp. of water if necessary to help mix.
6. Drop batter by tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets. 
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

makes 18 cookies

SPEF Summer School 2011!

Summer School is set to start on Monday, June 27!  If you haven't already, it's not too late to sign up!

Period 1 and 2:  All American Girls
Period 3: Book Cooks

If you took All American Girls last year, you'll be pleased to know that there was a mistake in the course description in the catalog, and this year's class features ALL NEW historical characters.  Come join Kaya, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, and Rebecca for some fun this summer! 

Book Cooks will combine some old favorites with recipes/books different from last year.  Let's get cooking!