Paint and Pages

The day before reading, “Round is a Tortilla” the students and I were playing with play dough. I had planned to have students make the letter E with the play dough, but they were having so much fun exploring the new, stickier reddish purple play dough that I decided to save that task for another day and let them explore.

While playing, a student flattened his into a round shape and excitedly said, “Mira, Mrs. Thelen! Tortilla!” As we chatted about making tortillas, I shared that I’ve always wanted to make them, but never had. “My mom will give you some!” the student generously offered which was followed by a chorus of, “We also have tortillas at my house you can have Mrs. Thelen!” I thanked students for being so thoughtful and told them I was even more excited to read the book I’d planned for the following morning.

While reading, “Round is a tortilla” students looked around the classroom for shapes. They described the clock as round. The doors and Newline board as rectangles. The ceiling tiles as square. Our weather wheel as made up of triangles. It was a lot of fun seeing how excited they were to discover shapes.

After reading, I shared that I was quite hungry. The students and I shared our favorite foods to eat and their shapes. Our school lunch that day was pizza, which students were excited to share was a triangle.

Earlier in the week, our Equity Coalition met on Monday and our Hungarian colleague brought us all her Hungarian Goulash and sour cream to try. It was outstanding! I can only imagine her horror the first time she tried Americanized goulash.

My Latina colleague, Mrs. Rodriguez, told me of the first time she had “salsa” at a white family’s home. She was so excited for tacos and so horrified when something resembling marinara sauce was set in the table. Mrs. Rodriguez also sent me a picture of her dinner last week: pozole with homemade chili sauce. I joked that I needed her to bring it to the meeting the following day. Sure enough, she did! I was treated to one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.

I thanked her for sharing her culture with me. I told her I would have to find something from my culture to share with her. I really struggled with that assignment. Then it finally hit me: I’d share my sense of humor. My family is full of goofballs who love to tell jokes and make each other laugh. I decided to share my family’s love of self-depreciating humor with Mrs. Rodriguez.

So I left a potato in her classroom! My family has Irish/Scottish ancestry, so it kind of fits. Conveniently, Mrs. Rodriguez asked me if I had a “Mr. Potato Head” toy recently and commented that she wished the resource room had one. So I extended the potato joke and got her a couple of those as well.

I also threw in some candy: Laffy Taffies and Airheads: White Mystery.

I hope Mrs. Rodriguez gets a chuckle Monday morning! I know I enjoyed setting it up.

I really enjoyed the chili oil Mrs. Rodriguez shared. She taught me how to make it and then shared that it is delicious on boiled potatoes with lime and sea salt. I tried this Sunday and can confirm it is in fact delicious.

I’ve always had an interest and appreciation for ethnic foods. What better way to explore the world than by trying the foods loved by others!

One of my favorite perks of teaching in an area blessed with diversity is being able to experience the culture, traditions, and foods of others. I sometimes feel I’m learning as much as my students and finding so many things to love!

What a joy to share food and humor with others!