Chinese New Year

February 10th, 2013 issues in the Year of The Snake

Last night, FLVirtual School held a special Collaboration session in recognition of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

To get in the spirit of things, we decided to have Chinese food for dinner. I had casually mentioned this plan to Clay before he went to a meeting. When he called on his way home,  to see if we needed anything while he was out, he was surprised to find that we had decided to COOK Chinese dishes instead of ordering it from the experts. I blamed homeschooling... He indulged me by trying to find chop sticks (a negligent oversight on my part!) then, swung by Beef O'Brady's for some 'real food' just to be safe.

So, we 'made' Chinese to the best of our ability~thankful for the Ethnic Foods aisle and the International Foods freezer at the grocery store. Without it, we may have had to call Lucky Wok.

It's About the Sauces: Sriacha, Sesame Garlic, Pot Sticker. Soy & Duck

I must preface the description of what we made with a quick shout out to Uncle Ben for tipping us off to the super powers of Sriacha sauce...it made the Peanut Lo Mein just right.

We 'made' (translation: opened packages & properly heated in pools of vegetable oil) various Pot Stickers and Spring Rolls. Several neighbors have stopped by this morning to order take out...it left our house that aromatic.

They cleaned their plates, so then it was time for my favorite part of the evening: Fortune Cookies

I had never made cookies that require folding before... when the first one took the shape of an actual fortune cookie like I am often handed after meals @ Ichiban, I was beyond tickled. 

First Fortune Cookie

(there's an actual fortune in there, too!)

The cookies are best made in small batches. By the time I had made enough cookies for everyone to have two apiece, I was tired of cooking in small batches and ten minute intervals. So I poured the remaining batter into one giant Choose Your Destiny Cookie... I was able to fit all the remaining fortunes in it too: 

Ideally, the fortune cookie is the happy end to a traditional Chinese bite to eat...but the sad reality for me was this: 

I am still whittling this away at lunch time the next day. Which is why I have to be going now... 

Florida Virtual School

In the not so distant future, the two biggest of The Big Kids will be taking a handful of online classes via Florida Virtual School. 

Because they can.

And, it's free. (for Florida residents, purchasable outside the state) 

We are still in the midst of the enrollment process but were afforded a bit of a preview this evening during the systemwide WorldFest.

Using a virtual white board, teachers were able to share a presentation while maintaining a conversation via microphone and chat window. Whenever we answered a question, the moderator responded on a personal basis, calling on us by name.  

In some ways, it isn't unlike the Bob Jones Satellite system I used in high school. 

The presentations we watched varied in theme based on which country link we chose. We saw Latin American cuisine, amongst others. The instructors were also able to patch through video to enhance the lesson- we watched a video on preparing empanadas. After the video, more dishes were highlighted, a review discussion was had and then an assignment was issued- ("Write a paper on how to prepare one of the dishes highlighted.") 

 The completed assignment had the bonus of being worth class credit if one is taking Spanish. (Chandler and Logan will both be taking Spanish as soon as their enrollment is complete)

After we poked around various country links, we checked out the FLVS Online Library which is basically a vast collection of links for a myriad of subjects. Looks like a very useful tool, if not slightly overwhelming (too many options can overwhelm me and make me feel as if I'm missing something)

All in all, it looks like Florida is offering a fresh approach to education. The format is innovative and the atmosphere of learning has not been lost in the translation from classroom to chat room. If anything, it may prove to be better concentrated. 

We are looking forward to starting classes in the coming days.