Miss Cong's Classes

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Upcoming Harry Potter Events

With the latest film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, coming out this week, there are a number of events wizards could attend. Here are just a few (all free):

Meet director David Heyman
Apple Store @ Third Street Promenade
July 13, 2009 (7PM)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Screening
Altadena Public Library
July 14, 2009 (6:30PM)
Refreshments and Raffle

Harry Potter/Mugglenet Event
San Marino Toy and Book
July 15, 2009 (1:30-4:30PM)

Harry Potter Reading Group
Vroman's Bookstore @ Pasadena
July 20, 2009 (3PM)
Ages 9-14 to discuss the Half-Blood Prince

Day Nine

On Friday, first years learned to brew a lovely plant-growing potion, while second years celebrated Sir Nicholas' Deathday Party with some pumpkin muffins and butterbeer (much better than what was actually being served at the party!).

The chefs of Book Cooks whipped up (literally!) a delicious chocolate buttercream frosting for their thundercakes. Ask them what the chocolate cake's secret ingredient is!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Day 7 & 8

First years have been busying themselves with their Chocolate Frog Famous Wizard cards lately, doing research on various famous wizards.

Second year students worked on their herbology by collecting samples and making magical botanical prints.

The chefs of Rm. 8 made cinnamon apples (Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss) and Strega Nona pasta (inspired by the book by Tomie de Paola).

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Day Six

At Hogwarts, now that our wands are ready, we got a chance to practice some charms. Second years helped to make new pygmy puffs for the Weasleys' joke shop, but it turns out they didn't need so many afterall and the students got to take home their new pets.

In Book Cooks, we read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is going to be a movie soon. We cooked up a delicious marinara sauce to go with our alphabet pasta and meatballs. Mmmm...

Monday, July 6, 2009

Day Five

Oh dear, we have had an infestation of puffskeins! Fortunately, these little guys are harmless. They're even a little cute, and I hear they purr like kittens. Now that the wands are finished, we can look forward to practicing our spells.

In Book Cooks, we worked on mashing skills as we made a delicious black bean dip. Inspired by the story Jack and the Beanstalk, students enjoyed the dip with some chips and a bit of shredded cheddar. Put the kids to work making the dip at your next party!

Day Four

Pictures are up on flickr for Days Three and Four. In Hogwarts, we just began painting our wands. They are really starting to turn out. Our little Book Cooks chefs had fun making Huff Puffs from Mr. Wolf and the Three Bears! Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Day Three

I forgot to bring my camera home, so no new pictures today, but I'll have them up over the weekend. Remember that Friday is a school holiday, so there are NO classes on July 3rd.

Mr. Ollivander stopped by this morning, but was unable to stay and fit students with new wands. Fortunately, he left us a supply of wand blanks, but they had been charmed to look like ordinary paintbrushes (too many muggles around!). We are in the process of sculpting our own, though, which should do just fine for practicing some charms and other spells.

In Book Cooks, we read the adorable Mo Willems story The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. Afterward, the students chopped vegetables to make chili for our delicious chili dogs!

Testimonials

"This is so lovely for you to take the time to write this blog. Thank you very much for all of the extra time you are putting in. "
"Thanks for posting photos of the class on your blog! It's really fun to scroll through and find photos of [my son] having fun cooking and tasting all sorts of yummy dishes. We don't usually get a chance to meet the summer school teachers so this is an awesome way for you to share what goes on in class. [He] is enjoying himself. I love the concept for the class and think it's a great way to read, cook, and share."
"Thanks so much Miss Cong, we will follow along with your blog and we hope you're doing these courses next year, [my daughter] will be one of the first to sign up!"
"I just wanted to thank you SO much for making Book Cooks such a fun class for my twins. They loved being able to cook real food for themselves, and our whole family loved being able to follow along with your blog and photos. Thanks for taking the time to make this an experience we could all share."
"I just wanted to drop a line and say thank you so much for a wonderful summer!!! Both [daughters] had the BEST time in your Hogwarts class. They came home every day so excited to talk about what they'd done - and it was all so creative! So I know you must have put a great deal of time, thought and energy into planning it."
"My daughter [name omitted] was in two of your classes this summer, and I just wanted to drop you a line to tell you how much I appreciate the experiences you provided for her each day. She came home excited about each new thing that you did with the kids, whether making hoecakes or butterbeer! And she is generally hard to impress...jaded for her age due to two (also jaded) teenage siblings. So I know that she really had a wonderful time in your classes. I also wanted to tell you how impressed I was with the amount of work -- in terms of preparation and gathering materials -- that you put into each class. And the attention to detail...wow! Thank you for going above and beyond to give the kids a fabulous and truly unforgettable summer experience!"
"I've been wanting to tell you how much my boys love your classes! It's the first thing they talk about when they see me each afternoon. Very cool."
"What a class you must be teaching - [names omitted] both came home so excited and talked about their Hogwarts class for half an hour! Thank you for all of your hard work and creativity."
"I spoke with a mom yesterday who unsolicited offered up terrific and unsolicited praise of you and your classes."
"Just a quick note to let you know how popular your classes are! We have already filled your third period Hogwarts class (in fact, yours was among the first class to fill during last week’s live registration!)"