20.Dez '14 - Heut' wird's gebacken

We made cookies. Oh, the cookies we made! Probably at least 3 dozen.

It was to my surprise and elation that all the 7th graders in attendance were able to bake, do dishes, and clean up the kitchen with minimal help, creating nigh-perfect cookies and leaving no mess behind.

The day began with a note written on the classroom board, "Laßt eure Sachen hier und wir treffen uns in der Küche." What waited in the kitchen area was a table with a heavy-duty mixer, cookie sheets, my wife's mobile baking kit (spatulas, scales, cups, measuring spoons...) and a bunch of ingredients.
The kids divided up their labor: some read the recipe steps, some stirred dry ingredients or manned the mixer, divvied out the different chips into bowls, watched the oven and set timers, did dishes, swept the floors...
I'd brought a few different kinds of chips so they could choose what they wanted. We ended up having cookies with caramel-filled chocolate chips.

By the time it was done, we'd been eating fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies for over an hour and so felt generous (and full) enough to start giving them away to parent volunteers, teachers, and some fellow students who helped us clean.

We then had the play rehearsal and singing practice. I'm in the play as the Wirt (Innkeeper) if you're coming tomorrow, so be sure to cheer extremely loudly when I take the stage for all of 40 seconds.

Frohe Weihnachten, and see you in a few weeks.

Mit Vergnügen

13.Dez '14 - Jeopardy

Saturday, we had our lovely little vocabulary quiz, for which plenty of advanced warning was given, and then we played Jeopardy to review everything we have covered this semester. That took pretty much all day.

We had teams Olga versus Bärbel; Bärbel won by a relatively slim margin of some 3000 points.

After lunch, we ended the day on a jovial note by playing basketball as a class.

Next week, we will have an hour of singing practice and practice for the Christmas play, so those who are participating in the play (including me! I'm the Innkeeper, believe it or not) will need to take part in this.

Mit Vergnügen

6.Dez. '14 - Krieg

Today, we went to war.

It all started out so calmly with the song "Mein Fahrrad" by Die Prinzen.
We then took inventory or our handouts to make sure that everyone had everything needed for end-of-semester quizzes in the next few weeks.

Then out came "Krieg im Altentum: ein gutes Spiel," the strategy fighting game I made myself because it's fun. In short, using the legionnaires and teutonic warriors we'd made and decorated in past weeks, along with a point system of defense and offense, hit points and saves, the class divided into two groups to pit the Teutons against the Romans. It's a lot like a mix of Pokemon and DnD, as regards mechanics, and was a fun use of the vocabulary we'll have a quiz over next week as well as regular verb and dative case usage.

By 1 point, the Teutons ended up winning after a very long, drawn-out battle with many upsets and sudden reversals.

The vocabulary quiz next week will be over these words (and they're also on the handouts "Eisenzeit Kleider" and "Waffen.")

1. Sword - der Schwert
2. Spear - der Speer
3. Shield - der Schild (note that Das Schild is a sign, and Der Schild is the defensive device) 
4. Dagger - der Dolch (makes me giggle every time I order Dulce de Leche)
5. Helmet - der Helm
6. Body Armor - die Körperpanzerung 
7. Pants - die Hose
8. Cloak/coat - der Mantel
9. Sandals - die Sandalen
10. Boots - die Stiefel
11. Catapult - die Schleuder
12. Skirt - der Rock

And they will be asked to identify what the following are on a diagram of a Roman: toga, tunic, sash, laurels.

Viel Glück!