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About Us
The Cake Creator is now Irelands largest cake shop and offers cakes for every occasion, at unbeatable prices guaranteed.
Any wedding cake can be made. If you have the idea we will make it for you. If you see a design any where in the world we can create it for you.
All our award winning cakes are created in our ground floor on-site bakery, made from the highest of quality materials and sculpted to a high standard you will get exactly what you want.
Our second floor houses over 6000 sugar craft supplies for that baking and confectionery expert.
Finally, our top floor houses our classroom for in house and sugar craft classes where you will learn skills such as cake baking, making sugar flowers, modeling sugar figures and much more, take a look at our full class timetable.
Remember - If you have a budget we can work with it. As our price promise I guarantee to beat any PRICE or your cake for FREE! * subject to terms and conditions.
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The Cake Creator is a modern company that offers many designs, ranging from basic contemporary styles through to more lavish designs.
I have been making cakes for 31 years and welcome customer requests for new cake ideas, this allows you to have the exact cake to make your special occasion perfect.
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Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB pays flood penalty
The OCC issued a Consent Order for a Civil Money Penalty of $83,264.50 to Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, for a pattern or practice of violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act and implementing regulations, specifically 12 CFR 22.10(a) - notice of server's identity, transfer of servicing rights.
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The New York Times is a generally well-written newspaper. They have a (self-admitted) liberal bias, but if you read the reporting with this in mind, it is an excellent and readable news source. Unfortunately, the quality plummets when you turn to the editorial pages (the health reporting is also horrific, but that is a subject for another day).
Paul Krugman is a regular editorial columnist: a Princeton professor of economics with a Yale undergraduate degree and a PhD from M.I.T. He often comments on health care issues, so I read his column. Then I take the paper and wipe my ass with it.
I certainly don't make any claims to have an answer to grand health care policy problems, but I did take one course in economics in college and got a B-, so I figure Prof. Krugman should be able to teach me something. Wrong again.
Here is a gem from a recent article of his called "Voodoo Health Economics" (if you don't get the political reference, watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" again):
"It's about time someone … made the case that Mr. McCain's approach to health care is based on voodoo economics — not the supply-side voodoo that claims that cutting taxes increases revenues (though Mr. McCain says that, too), but the equally foolish claim, refuted by all available evidence, that the magic of the marketplace can produce cheap health care for everyone."
Um … OK genius. I think it was page 54 of my "Macro-economics for Dummies" text that introduced the Laffer Curve. For you econo-morons, look at the above picture: now think … hmmm, if I tax everyone at 100%, my tax revenues will be … ZERO! Yeah, because no one will work for free, idiot! Not only that, but statisticians have shown definitively that higher taxes DO NOT increase tax revenues (see http://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/).
One idiotic statement I can take, but when he scornfully dismisses the "magic of the marketplace", I start pulling out my hair. Adam Smith is going to haunt your tweed- wearing, arrogant, bearded, ivory-tower, smug, pseudo-intellectual ass after he reads your retarded article. (begin sarcasm) I can't imagine how a capitalist model could produce an efficient economic system! The US has flailed in ignorance for these past two hundred and thirty two years! Thank you for your insight Professor! (end sarcasm)
I'm glad I went to East Tumecula Community College and not Princeton so I didn't have to listen to this type of bozo for 6 years. Prof. Krugman should stop patting himself on the back for being so fucking clever and go re-take Econ 101. Maybe the "Bloom Picayune" would hire him.


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Phone – 888.424.3336
Email – firstname.lastname@example.com
701 Tecumseh Road
Clinton, Michigan 49236
A potent combination of two ancient grains, Khorasan (kamut®) wheat and high altitude Andean Quinoa in fork friendly twist, aka 'gemelli'. Uniquely satisfying, it's our best selling most nourishing macaroni cut. Made at the Eden Organic Pasta Company on vintage Italian equipment with brass dies and slowly air dried. Rich in healthy fiber and magnesium. A good source of protein, iron, thiamin B1, niacin B3, and zinc. Universally appealing whole grain pasta in a reclosable, recycled and recyclable box with a tasty recipe and its photo on the back.
* See Detailed Description for qualified FDA Health Claim
Eden Organic Twisted Pair Gemelli is made from whole Khorasan wheat grown on the high plains of Montana and North Dakota, and quinoa grown at over 11,000 feet in the Andes. Both grains are organically grown on family farms by those committed to building vital soil, creating a clean environment, and producing the safest and most nutritious and delicious food.
Eden Organic Twisted Pair Gemelli is small batch hand crafted at the Eden Organic Pasta Company, a Detroit landmark employing traditional pasta making techniques and vintage Italian equipment since 1923, and the first food production facility in North America to be third party certified organic. Whole Khorasan wheat and quinoa are milled at our organic, AIB highly rated, Clinton, Michigan mill. The flour is blended and mixed with purified water and slow, thorough kneading prepares the dough. Using a traditional screw press the dough is extruded through an artisan brass die and cut forming spiral twists that are placed on drying racks. The twists go through an initial hot air/steam dryer to reduce moisture slowly and to the drying room where it spends about 16 hours. Each step helps to create pasta of exceptional flavor, texture, and character. The pasta is packaged in a reclosable box, with a delicious recipe and photo from Eden's kitchen printed on the back.
All Eden Organic Pasta is packaged in boxes made from recycled and recyclable paperboard, one of the most environmentally friendly packages available. According to the 100 percent Recycled Paperboard Alliance (RPA100.com), "Fourteen trees are saved for each ton of paperboard converted to 100 percent recycled paperboard. Trees are critical to the sequestration of CO2 (a greenhouse gas) in North America. For each ton of paperboard converted to 100 percent recycled paperboard, an equal amount of recovered fiber has been diverted from municipal landfills. Production of 100 percent recycled paperboard uses 50 percent less energy compared to virgin grades of paperboard, thus significantly reducing the greenhouse gases released into the environment."
Khorasan Triticum turgidum or T. turanicum is an ancient grain with large gold kernels native to Asia Minor and Egypt, sometimes called King Tut's wheat. It is related to the ancient grain spelt and is a distant relative of durum wheat. Khorasan wheat is allergy friendly. Although it does contain gluten, it is highly water soluble gluten making it easier to digest than modern wheat. This is due to Khorasan's unique nutritional composition. Research by the International Food Allergy Association (IFAA) says, "For most wheat sensitive people Kamut grain can be an excellent substitute for common wheat." Dr. Ellen Yoder, President of IFAA and a team of independent scientists and physicians arrived at this conclusion after studying two groups of wheat sensitive people - those with immediate immune system responses and those with a delayed immune system response. The delayed immune response group showed a remarkable 70 percent greater sensitivity to common wheat than to Kamut. With the immediate immune response group, those who were severely allergic, they found that 70 percent had no or minor reaction to Kamut. The Kamut Association of America and Europe calls kamut "the wheat you can eat." Khorasan was introduced to America by an organic farmer in Montana in the 1940s. It is a rare non-hybridized wheat that offers the highest protein of any wheat.
Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa is an ancient grain of native Americans and was called the 'Mother' grain of the Andes. Quinoa is a gluten free whole grain that can be tolerated by most people with allergies to some grains. The American Celiac Sprue Association lists quinoa as "consistent with a gluten-free diet at this time. Versatile, it can be substituted for any grain, used whole as a hot cereal, or ground into flour. Adds moisture to baked goods." The Canadian Celiac Foundation also lists quinoa as an allowed food on the gluten-free diet. In the Canadian Celiac Association's, 'Celiac News Articles', Dr. J. A. Campbell says, "There are no data to indicate that gluten occurs in plants of this family. There is therefore, no basis for concern about the use of quinoa by persons with Celiac Disease. An undocumented report indicates that quinoa has been given over a period of several months to a number of persons with Celiac disease with no untoward effects. Quinoa is a very nutritious grain and therefore a very useful alternative to wheat, rye, barley, and oats in the diet of Celiacs."
Whole grain is the heart of a healthy diet providing the broadest spectrum of nutrients in the proportions that we need for good health and well being. Commercial pasta is made from highly refined chemically treated flour, processed in minutes through Teflon dies and ultra high heat or microwave drying, resulting in inferior flavor, diminished nutrition, poor cooking quality, and questionable value.
Scientists at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University say, "Whole grains help regulate blood sugar by slowing down the conversion of complex carbohydrates into sugar. In fact, low-glycemic index foods such as whole grains reduce hunger and can help to control weight." Scientists at the Agriculture Research Service completed a study of more than 2,000 people concluding, "at least three or more servings of whole grain foods everyday could reduce the chances of developing metabolic syndrome - a condition marked by a combination of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, poor blood sugar control, low HDL 'good' cholesterol and high blood fats."
According to the FDA, "Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods and low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers." The FDA also states, "Low fat diets rich in fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer, a disease associated with many factors." Eden Organic Twisted Pair (Gemelli) is 100 percent whole grain, low in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol free, and an excellent source of dietary fiber. Also, "Diets low in sodium may reduce the risk of hypertension or high blood pressure, a disease associated with many factors." Eden Organic Twisted Pair (Gemelli) is made without salt and is sodium free. It is also an excellent source of phosphorus and magnesium, and a good source of protein, carbohydrate, iron, thiamin (vitamin B1), niacin (B3), and zinc.
When you bite into properly cooked, al dente, Eden Organic Pasta the flavor and character of the grain is evident. Eden Organic Twisted Pair (Gemelli) is made from whole, fresh, unbleached, non enriched flour. It doesn't need to be enriched because the grain has not be stripped of its nutrients.
Use Eden Organic Twisted Pair (Gemelli) in your favorite pasta recipes for real whole grain nourishment and delicious flavor. Heart healthy, 100 percent whole grain pasta with great texture. Try it in soups and salads, like our Gemelli Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in our recipe section.
|Kamut® & Quinoa Twisted Pair®, Organic, 100% Whole Grain
|Item Number
|70% Organic Whole Grain Kamut Wheat, 30% Organic Whole Grain Quinoa
|Case Quantity
|Package Size
|12 oz
|Package Size Metric
|340 g
|UPC Code Each
|UPC Code Case
|Eligible for Flat Rate Shipping
|Sodium Free
|Yes, less than 5 mg per serving
|High Fiber
|Yes, 5 g or more per serving (20% or more DV)
|Heart Healthy
|Low Fat
|Yes, 3 g or less per serving
|Non GMO


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In the last week's article, I've provided an overview of the most important global improvements in .NET Framework 4.5 that affect the Common Language Run-time (CLR). In this article in this 3-part series analyzing .NET Framework 4.5, I examine the most useful new features and improvements included in ASP.NET MVC 4 and ASP.NET 4.5.
One of the most important features of ASP.NET MVC 4 is the introduction of the new ASP.NET Web API, which simplifies REST programming with a strongly typed HTTP object model. In addition, ASP.NET MVC 4 takes advantage of the new asynchronous programming model introduced with .NET Framework 4.5 to allow developers to write asynchronous action methods. It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the new asynchronous methods to use them whenever they will provide a benefit.
(ASP.NET MVC 4 also includes many enhancements focused on mobile development, such as jQuery Mobile support and selecting views based on which mobile browser makes requests. If you work with previous ASP.NET MVC versions and you target multiple mobile devices, the new display modes are worth moving to ASP.NET MVC 4. In addition, the bundling and minification framework makes it simpler to reduce HTTP requests for each page without having to use third-party tools.)
If you haven't done so, I encourage you to read "Visual Studio 2012 for ASP.NET Developers" by Dino Esposito. Dino provides a detailed overview of the most important features for both ASP.NET MVC 4 and ASP.NET 4.5. In addition, he summarized the availability of the different features in a table that you can use as a useful reference. I will dive deeper in one specific feature and its usages, the asynchronous methods.
Asynchronous methods in ASP.NET MVC 4
.NET Framework 4.5 adds two new keywords to simplify asynchronous programming, on top of the task-based programming model introduced in .NET Framework 4 with the
System.Threading.Tasks namespace. In C# 5.0, the new keywords are the following:
async: This modifier marks a method or a lambda expression as asynchronous. When you are going to make asynchronous calls by using the await keyword, you need to add the async keyword to the method's signature.
await: This operator yields control until a task completes. By using this modifier, you don't have to create callback functions anymore. The compiler does the necessary work to transform your code into an asynchronous call and also handles the necessary conversion to return T, instead of
Task<T>. As a result, the code is really simpler to write and easier to understand. However, you can also return
Task<T>whenever needed.
The new model for asynchronous methods is known as "TAP" (short for Task-based Asynchronous Pattern). ASP.NET MVC 4 allows you to combine await, async and
Task<T> instances to write asynchronous action methods for controllers. However, it is very important to understand when asynchronous action methods are appropriate and when they aren't. If you worked with task-based programming approaches to achieve performance improvements when targeting multi-core CPUs, you might draw incorrect conclusions about asynchronous methods with ASP.NET MVC 4.
When you have CPU-bound operations in Windows applications you usually try to take advantage of parallel programming features included in .NET Framework in order to achieve performance improvements. Thus, you detect the hotspots and launch parallel tasks to take advantage of the available cores. However, when you have CPU-bound operations in ASP.NET MVC, they aren't good candidates for using asynchronous action methods. Asynchronous methods add an overhead and when the action methods execute CPU-bound operations, that overhead doesn't provide any benefit.
You might consider asynchronous methods for certain CPU-bound operations when you need to increase the responsiveness of some pages and the overhead makes sense because you have a benefit. Nevertheless, you should prioritize other methods for their conversion to asynchronous methods before adding an overhead to CPU-bound operations unless you want to provide a cancellation mechanism for long-running operations.


text:
Solid State Physics
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976 - Solid-state physics - 826 pages
This book provides an introduction to the field of solid state physics for undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, engineering, and materials science.
From inside the book
80 pages matching problem in this book
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 80
What people are saying - Write a review
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The Drude Theory of Metals
Failures of the Free Electron Model
The facecentered cubic elements
34 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Solid State Physics: Advances in Research and Applications, Volume 42
Henry Ehrenreich
Limited preview - 1989
Common terms and phrases
alkali atomic band structure Bloch boundary condition Bragg plane Bravais lattice Brillouin zone calculation carrier densities Chapter coefficients collisions conduction band conduction electrons contribution crystal momentum crystal structure density of levels dependence described determined direction Drude effect electric field electron gas electron-electron electronic levels energy gap equilibrium example Fermi energy Fermi surface Figure free electron theory frequency given Hamiltonian hexagonal holes impurity independent electron approximation insulators integral interaction ionic crystals lattice planes lattice point linear magnetic field metals motion nearly free electron neutron normal modes Note number of electrons one-electron levels orbits periodic potential perpendicular phonon Phys plane waves primitive cell primitive vectors problem properties quantum reciprocal lattice vector region result scattering Schrodinger equation semiclassical semiclassical equations semiclassical model semiconductors simple cubic solid solution specific heat sphere spin superconducting symmetry temperature term thermal tight-binding valence vanishes velocity wave functions wave vector zero


text: style="margin:0;padding:0;" Metro Press Releases The Open Press - Professional Press Release News Wire - Free Registration Saturday, May 30th 2020 - 11:56am EDT PRESS RELEASE NEWS WIRE FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVES | ABOUT US | FAQS Welcome Guest User ( LOG IN ) SUBMIT A RELEASE ADD A FIRM Sorting Options By Country By Metro Area By Industry Member Options Register Login Recover Password Email Alert Site Navigation Home Services & Fees Press Release Guidelines Submit a Press Release Company Directory Contact Us RSS Feeds Help |Press Releases|Pro PRs|Book Reviews|Articles (OP-ED)|News|Exposé|PR Firms| This Metro Area has no 2019 press releases. Please check our archives for more listings.Search 2018 Copyright © 2020The Open Press - Professional Press Release News Wire.All rights reserved. Home|About Us|Archives|Faqs|Services & Fees|Guidelines|Submit Release|Register|Company Directory|Contact Us|RSS Feeds|Email Alert


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Job Information
Sanford Health Franchise Manager, Store Operations (Full-time) – Sugar House, UT in Sugar House, Utah
Franchise Manager, Store Operations (Full-time) – Sugar House, UT
Thank you for your interest in this position. It is a job opportunity with one of Profile by Sanford's franchise partners. Please apply by submitting your resume and cover letter to email@example.com .
Our Company
Join America's newest and most advanced weight loss company. Profile by Sanford is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanford Health, one of the nation's leading, not-for-profit health care systems with locations in 126 communities in nine states.
Position Description
The Profile Manager will be responsible for achieving store quotas as well as all day-to-day operations of the store, including (but not limited to) coaching members, business development, mentoring and training coaches, as well as other duties:
Responsible for obtaining qualified leads through internal and externalmarketing efforts, setting appointments, and enrolling new members byusing company sponsored presentation tool.
Generating revenue by exhibiting strong and effective business development/salesskills, and providing excellent customer service to potential, new andexisting members.
Providing leadership and mentoring Profile Coaches which entails, but isnot limited to, clinical needs in training, organizing, standardizing,and optimizing of workflows relative to delivery of care to the Profile Members.
Operations of the center which includes staffing, scheduling, inventorymanagement and managing a P & L statement.
Leading and conducting orientation presentations on a regular basis. Introducingand effectively encouraging prospects to attend orientation meetings.Understanding the details of the Profile Plan to effectively encourageparticipation in the program.
Tracking program effectiveness including retention of members, weight lossaverages, reduction in medical issues, and revenue analysis.
Providing nutrition and exercise theory and practicing expertise to theProfile Program, consultative services to the staff and to other Profile members.
Assisting with providing program development, staff education and bestpractices. Collaborating and providing nutrition expertise with otherProfile managers and staff.
All job duties will be carried out using a high level of customer service while promoting and participating in the team approach. High level of professionalism is expected while promoting health and wellness both personally and professionally. Provide nutrition knowledge and expertise with anticipated future research projects. Must maintain competence in nutrition and exercise theory and practice.
Equipment operated: computer skills to include the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook as well as navigate and be proficient to teach and encourage members and team how to use the Profile web site.
Bachelor's degree required. 5+ yrs. management sales and business development experience preferred. Experience with wellness programs, fitness, nutrition, and weight management counseling highly recommended. Proven ability to achieve goals. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail required implementing a variety of programs such as presentations, seminars, and other activities. Applicants must also have excellent time management skills, problem-solving skills, and the ability to handle multiple tasks and adapt to constant changing requirements. Must have exceptional verbal skills and be able to give effective presentations and seminars. Timeliness/accuracy of all daily, weekly, and monthly monitoring of reports.
Employment Variables
Excellent written and oral communication skills. Be able to meet, greet, speak, and positively represent Profile. Creativity, persistence and organization. Ability to handle stress. Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Ability to organize marketing/sales materials and identify needs.
Please submit your cover letter and resume to: firstname.lastname@example.com .


text:
Browsing Center for Applied Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) by Title
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Technological innovation and the role of regulation by law in information systems research: The case of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)Ronzani, Daniel (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper-based thesis attempts to answer the question how the adoption and diffusion of RFID can be balanced successfully between technological innovation and regulation by law. To answer this question, an abductive reasoning perspective has been applied. The first premise of abduction includes four sets of observations presented in four articles; the second premise of abduction includes two hypothetical claims, and the third premise of abduction builds the case, i.e., concludes the thesis. As first step, the definitional framework is established. Ten theories of adoption and diffusion of technological innovation (TRA, TPB, MPCU, SCT, TAM, TAM2, C-TAM-TPB, IDT, PCI, and UTAUT) and their characteristics are investigated. They frame the technological viewpoint. Then, the reasons for regulation (public interest theory, private interest theory, and institutionalist theory) as well as the means of regulation (regulation by law, norms, market, and architecture) and their application are investigated. They frame the regulatory viewpoint. As second step, four observations are made that constitute the first premise of abduction based on the findings of four individual research articles referred to as the Database Article, Marketing Article, Modality Mix Article, and Survey Article: Database Article: This research article evaluates the strategic advantage of placing RFID databases in certain territorial and jurisdictional regions based on database regulation. The analysis of the database regulation by law in Europe and North America revealed that, based on the creativity, skill and judgement, and investment doctrine, they do not protect RFID data in databases. It is claimed that protection of RFID data in databases should be regulated by other means of regulation, for instance, by regulation by norms or architecture. Observation 1 stipulates: Despite the amount of data anticipated to be stored and the regulation by law in the different countries where RFID is adopted and diffused, the location of the databases containing RFID data does not seem to play an important role for the technological innovator. Marketing Article: This research article applies a legal use case for the technological innovations marketed by the industry as active RFID tags. The analysis of the RFID industry's marketing efforts and the unfavourable regulation by law is possible, and likely. Adopting the broad legal interpretation of self-emitting devices (short-range devices) to RFID tags that need to transduce energy from an RFID reader (active RFID tags) might allow the search and seizure of transmitted RFID data without a warrant to be in line with the constitutional rights. It is claimed that within the RFID industry there should be more awareness of regulation by legislation and adjudication. Observation 2 stipulates: Extending the doctrinal definition of active RFID tags to include reader-independent and indiscriminate signalling might lead to unfavourable regulation by law. Modality Mix Article: This research article offers a reflection on how law must manage the evolution of technological innovation. The analysis of the Draft Recommendation (2008) by the European Commission shows that the focus on regulation by law is inappropriate for a manageable diffusion of RFID technology. An over-regulation of RFID technology by regulation by law is possible if the Draft Recommendation (2008) is implemented and comes into force. It is claimed that a more diverse set of modalities (regulation by norms, market, and architecture) is necessary to successfully regulate RFID technology. Observation 3 stipulates: The current adoption and diffusion of RFID technology do not seem to be following an appropriate mix of regulation. Survey Article: This research article provides a reverse perspective of current RFID issues by examining the RFID industry's view of regulation by law and consumers. The analysis of the survey data of the RFID industry shows three shortcomings by the RFID industry in its engagement of legal experts, its knowledge of regulation by law for RFID subject-matter, and its information policy to the general public. It is claimed that the exchange between the RFID industry and the legal regulator needs to improve. Observation 4 stipulates: The interaction between, and consequently also the exchange of expert know-how and standpoints of, (i) the RFID industry and the legal regulator and (ii) the RFID industry and the consumers seem insufficient. As third step, two hypothetical claims are made as second premise of abduction based on a literature review of characteristics of adoption and diffusion of technological innovation in IS research, namely IT, EDI, and RFID. First, the research shows that in IS research there are only a few regulation-by-law characteristics (5 of 150 different characteristics). Thus, a first hypothetical claim is made that in IS research there is a lack of legal perspectives. Second, the research shows that in IS research there are even fewer characteristics of other regulatory means, such as for example, social norms, market or architecture. Thus a second hypothetical claim is made that in IS research there is a lack of diversity in regulation of technological innovation. Finally, a case is built as third premise of abduction. It seems possible to conclude that (i) based on observation 1 and hypothetical claim 2, increasing the diversity of regulation modalities might have a positive effect on the strategic management decisions for the location of RFID systems; (ii) based on observation 2 and hypothetical claim 1, increasing the legal perspective in IS research might have a positive effect on the RFID industry's marketing strategy; (iii) based on observation 3 and hypothetical claim 2, a more thorough and precise review of essential regulation by law is necessary; and (iv) based on observation 4 and hypothetical claim 1, increasing the legal perspective in IS research might have a positive effect on the RFID industry's awareness of the legal challenges and their consequences. It is suggested that the four cases (conclusions) built in this thesis provide a solid foundation for the following four hypotheses that can be further tested with additional empirical data: 1. Increasing the diversity of regulation modalities has a positive effect on the strategic management decisions for the deployment location of technological innovation. 2. Increasing the legal perspective in IS research has a positive effect on the marketing strategy for technological innovation. 3. Increasing the thoroughness and precision in the review of essential regulation by law has a positive effect on other regulatory tools for technological innovation. 4. Increasing the legal perspective in IS research has a positive effect on the industry's awareness of the legal challenges and their consequences. Therefore, to prevent bits from falling once they have learned to walk, the legal perspective of regulation in IS research as well as the diverse implementation of regulation in IS research should probably be increased. Such an increase might augment the awareness for the potential of regulation in technological innovation, which, in turn, might foster the adoption and diffusion of RFID. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7930
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You asked for it, and here it is: The recipe for my mom's stuffed artichokes.
I could tell you all about artichokes: how they date to antiquity, how they're actually edible flower buds, and how the heart (the most delectable part) is the caviar of vegetables. But you can read what I wrote here for that.
Today I want to focus on my mom's stuffed artichokes. I've been making stuffed artichokes with my mom since I was about 6 years old. When my hands were still too small to tackle the prickly, cactus-like leaves of the artichoke, I was in charge of making the stuffing. There was something indescribably satisfying about it: first I wet the stale Italian bread and squished in between my fingers, then I grated lots of cheese and added a slew of black olives (which, by the way, made lovely finger extensions). It gave "playing with your food" a whole new perspective.
When I got a bit older, I learned how to properly clean an artichoke (which is no easy task). Maybe that's why I appreciate them so much today.
Ironically, my mom never ate her stuffed artichokes. She always made them for my dad and me. After I moved away from Rhode Island, I didn't make artichokes for a long time. They'll never be as good as Mom's, I'd say. Then one spring day I asked my dad if Mom had made any stuffed artichokes lately. He lamented, "she doesn't like making them now that you're not home to have them." So strangely none of us was making or eating artichokes anymore.
This changed one Sunday after we moved to California, where virtually 100% of US artichokes are grown, including colossal Big Hearts. Upon seeing them for the first time, I audibly gasped. They were enormous-- about 6 inches across with 6-8-inch- long stems. I bought two. My mom talked me through the process of making them (there was never a recipe). They were good (not as good as Mom's), but good.
Big Heart artichoke at left and Globe artichoke at right
I've gotten much better at cooking artichokes over the last 5 years, and when my parents visited a couple of months ago, I surprised my dad with the BIGGEST Big Heart artichoke I have ever seen. It weighed nearly 3 pounds! The only problem was it took 2 hours to cook. Remember, the bigger the artichoke, the longer the cooking time. And please don't believe people who say big artichokes have no flavor. They do.
So next time you're at the market, pick up a couple of artichokes, and follow my Artichokes 101 guide for cleaning and cooking them. Then make my mom's stuffed artichokes. You won't be disappointed.
I'm sending my stuffed artichoke to Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska and Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen's for this week's round of WHB hosted by Laurie. I mean, really, it's just too big for one person to eat.
Speaking of Mom and Rhode Island, have you met Mary of Sweet Mary? I discovered her blog when I peered into her kitchen pantry a few weeks ago at Lydia's; we have become regular visitors since. Mary lives in Rhode Island and graciously interviewed me for her blog. Why not say "hi" to Mary and check out her sweet recipes like Dad's Favorite Italian Cake, or her hilariously named I Hate Winter Where the Hell is Spring Pie. With a name like that, it's gotta be "wickit awesome!"'
Italian Stuffed Globe Artichokes
Makes 2
Print recipe only here.
You could stuff just the cavity of the artichoke, but where's the fun it that? Stuffing the leaves makes a more impressive presentation and makes it more fun to share (if you want to).
2 trimmed, peeled, and diced artichoke stems
1 lemon, cut in half (for rubbing the artichoke)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 loaf stale Italian bread, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
1 tablespoon fresh minced basil
1/4 cup grated Reggiano-Parmigiano cheese
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
salt, to taste
1 lemon, sliced (for cooking)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons
To make the stuffing, cut stale bread into a few thick slices and moisten with warm water. Wet the bread just enough to soften it but not soak it. If it's too wet, then just squeeze it dry with your hands. Tear the bread into small pieces (about 1/2-inch), and place in a large bowl.
Meanwhile place an artichoke on a cutting board and cut off the stem. Using a sharp knife, remove the fibrous outer part of the stem and discard. Cut the remaining center of the stem into long, thin strips, then dice. Place in a small skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add to the bowl of bread. Add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, chopped olives, crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, basil, and cheese and mix well.
To toast the pine nuts, place in a small dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute, or until golden brown. Shake the pan handle gently to ensure even toasting. Add to the bowl of bread and season generously with salt. Mix the stuffing well with your hands, breaking up any large pieces of bread. If it seems too dry or crumbly, add a little more olive oil or water; if it's too moist, add a bit more bread. I usually taste it at this point and adjust the seasonings as necessary. (If making the stuffing ahead, then place in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days).
Transfer cooked artichokes to a large plate or shallow bowl and let cool for 5 minutes before eating. They can also be kept warm by loosely covering with foil and eating within 15- 20 minutes.
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Best Fishing Holes around Laconia, NH
Add an Organization
Ahern State Park
43 Great Bay LaneLaconia, NH
Ahern State Park spans 128 acres, with 3,500 feet of shoreline on Lake Winnisquam. The park was transferred to the state in November, 1994 as Gover...Read More »
Air Line State Park Trail
Smith StreetEast Hampton, CT
Though the rails are long gone, this rail bed once offered fashionable, rapid transit from New York to Boston. Those who travel the corridor ...Read More »
Alburgh Dunes State Park
151 Coon Point RoadAlburg, VT
This 625-acre property became a state park in 1996. It is named for the sand dunes near the center and western end of the south-facing natural sand...Read More »
Laconia Top Searches
Algonquin State Forest
off Sandy Brook Rd.Colebrook, CT
Activities include hiking, letterboxing, wildlife viewing, and hunting (in some sections of the forest).Read More »
Allagash Wilderness Waterway
Pleasant StreetGreenville, ME
The Allagash Wilderness Waterway was established by the Maine Legislature in 1966 to preserve, protect, and enhance the natural beauty, character, ...Read More »
American Legion and Peoples State Forests
East River RoadBarkhamsted, CT
Four season fun can be found at American Legion/Peoples State Forests which offer the region's finest fishing, hunting and winter sporting activiti...Read More »
Ames Nowell State Park
Linwood StreetAbington, MA
Ames Nowell is a year-round day use area with recreational activity centered around Cleveland Pond which is popular with boaters and fisherman. Dev...Read More »
Androscoggin Riverlands
Route 117Turner, ME
Lying near Maine's second largest urban area (Lewiston/Auburn), Androscoggin Riverlands State Park is a 2,675-acre expanse with 12 miles of river f...Read More »
Androscoggin Wayside Park
1607 Berlin RdErrol, NH
Androscoggin Wayside Park, a part of Mollidgewock State Park, is located along the Androscoggin River and lies within the Thirteen Mile Woods. It i...Read More »
Arcadia Management Area
260 Arcadia RoadHope Valley, RI
At over 14,000 mostly forested acres, the Arcadia Management Area is the state's largest recreational area, offering users a great variety of oppor...Read More »
Ashland State Park
162 West Union StreetAshland, MA
Ashland State Park has 470 acres including the 157 acre Ashland Reservoir. The park is operated seasonally and provides opportunities for swimming,...Read More »
Bash Bish Falls State Park
Falls RdSouth Egremont, MA
Bash Bish Falls is the highest single-drop waterfall in the state. Take a hike and enjoy a picnic on the rocks. Explore the neighboring wilderness ...Read More »
Bear Brook State Park
61 Deerfield RoadAllenstown, NH
Bear Brook State Park, with over 10,000 acres, is the largest developed state park in New Hampshire. Located in the southeast region of the state, ...Read More »
Beartown State Forest
69 Blue Hill RdMonterey, MA
Beartown State Forest has two distinctly different worlds between the summer and winter. During the warm months the pristine 35-acre Benedict Pond ...Read More »
Beaver Brook Reservation
66 Mill StreetBelmont, MA
The first reservation established by the Metropolitan Parks Commission (later the MDC) in 1893, Beaver Brook Reservation is 59 acres of open fields...Read More »
Beavertail State Park
Beavertail RoadJamestown, RI
Beavertail State Park, located in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is known for offering some of the most beautiful vistas along the New England coastline....Read More »
Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument
140 Lower RoadEast Canaan, CT
Iron making had been a local industry that for 150 years shaped the formation of America. The Beckley blast furnace was built in 1847 and ceased op...Read More »
Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument
140 Lower RoadCanaan, CT
Iron making had been a local industry that for 150 years shaped the formation of America. The Beckley blast furnace was built in 1847 and ceased op...Read More »
Bedell Bridge State Historic Site
880 Meadow LaneHaverhill, NH
Bedell Bridge State Park is a 74-acre park located along the Connecticut River. The park was the site of a historic two-span covered bridge, the se...Read More »
Bigelow Hollow State Park
Shenipsit State Forest, 166 Chestnut Hill RoadStafford Springs, CT
Bigelow Hollow State Park and the adjoining Nipmuck State Forest offer over 9,000 acres of recreation opportunities including miles of hiking trail...Read More »
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Cooper the cat doesn't mind the post-holiday mess.
Is your house a mess? Mine is.
Even though my youngest daughter is 20 years old, my post-Christmas house looks no different than it did 15 years ago when she and her sister had lots of toys. Now, we no longer have Barbie dolls and Lego pieces lying about, but we have plenty of grown-up projects waiting to be finished over our remaining vacation days.
Sorting through all of this stuff today got me thinking about how difficult it can be to share space with others without resenting the mess those "others" leave behind. I want my daughters to be able to work together on the puzzle they picked out, and I'm happy they still (mostly) enjoy each other's company, but I don't want the puzzle to still be on the kitchen table next week.
Now that my girls are grown up they are able to respect and care for the spaces we all share. I know that puzzle will be put away before I have to ask, but when they were little it was a different story. I was constantly nagging them to clean up. And the need to nag them really frustrated me. Perhaps you can relate? The most common question parents have after observing their children in our Montessori classrooms is, "I see she puts everything away when she's done using it at school. Why doesn't she do that at home?"
Children put their work away in a Montessori classroom because everything in the classroom is designed to make that an easy thing to do. For example, lockers are child-sized so the children don't need help hanging up their coats. The daily schedule is consistent, so the children are not surprised when it's time to put their work away. And, when a child's work is very important to her and she cannot finish it all today, she puts her name tag on it to remind everyone that she will be working on it first thing tomorrow morning. Also, the guidelines for the classroom are the same every day and everyone follows them (eventually) so cleaning up is just a normal part of the day.
A nametag on a child's unfinished activity shows ownership and that the child's work is valued.
If you would like to learn how to use these and other Montessori practices at home, please join us for the upcoming "Bringing Montessori Home Parent Development Course on Practical Life" on Wednesday, January 27th from 6 to 8pm. This event is open to the public so you can invite your friends and you can follow the link above to sign up online. Learn how to improve household organization by creating child-friendly spaces and nurturing your child's independence in the areas of self-care and food preparation.
Ian vacuming.
In the meantime, check out these articles that offer alternatives to nagging kids to clean up. In "Here's an Idea...Don't Clean Up!" Rachel Cedar invites us to look at a child's play as his work, much as we do in our classrooms.
In "Why I Stopped Asking My Kids to Clean Up," this mom describes what happened when she stopped resenting clean-up time and allowed her kids to follow her lead.
Finally, Sandra Gordon offers sound advice for teaching children to take on different household tasks based on their age and level of ability in this post for The Children's Trust.
Do you have ideas to share about living with and cleaning up after your family? Please share them in the comments below!
~ Heather
Photo courtesy of Lena Atkinson
What is Montessori?
Rather than explaining what Montessori is, I am offering an excerpt from an article that does a beautiful job of describing what Montessorians do. Maria Montessori's Decalogue is a set of 10 rules for adults working in a Montessori classroom. It is relevant to parents, grandparents, and caregivers of all types who strive to relate to children peacefully and respectfully in any environment.
I hope you will enjoy this expanded version of the Montessori Decalogue as written by The Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
The Montessori Decalogue
1. Never touch the child unless invited by him (in some way or another).
Unless there is a very strong reason to (like avoiding an accident, for example), one should never touch a child unless a child requests it. Picking up a child without the child's consent, even if in a playful manner, or grabbing her hand, pushing her, etc., should always be avoided. If children are engaged, looking at a book, working, playing, resting, the same principle applies. Children invite contact in many ways, and parents and adults in general, who work with children, know how to interpret the signs they send. It is important also to respect a child when she is angry and does not want to be touched or picked up.
2. Never speak ill of the child in his presence or absence.
Speaking ill of a child, or making negative comments about a child, either in the child's presence or absence, denotes lack of respect for the child. It also sets a frame of mind and denotes an attitude that is negative and conducive to confrontation—and not always open! Preconceived ideas often linger as negative thoughts and breed reactive behavior. If an adult falls into this trap, it is very easy for a lack of patience and negative attitudes to creep in and damage the relationship with the child.
3. Concentrate on strengthening and helping the development of what is good in the child, so that its presence may leave less and less space for what is negative.
If adults focus on negative behavior, children will feel inadequate. This will result in low self-esteem, and a self-fulfilling prophecy like behavioral patterns will take over. Negativity will become second nature. Instead, by focusing on what is positive, the child will feel safe and confident. Children are learning what is and is not acceptable behavior can and cannot be done, etc. They do not need punishments or rewards. Simply to be shown what is and is not acceptable, by adults that model appropriate behavior.
4. Be proactive in preparing the environment, take meticulous and constant care of it. Help the child establish constructive relations with it. Show the proper place where the means of development are kept and demonstrate their proper use.
If the child is presented with a prepared environment, there is little need for much more. Again, modeling appropriate behavior is essential. A child that is shown an orderly environment will likewise feel encouraged to keep it orderly. If a child has available manipulatives she can handle, play and work with, rather than things she cannot touch, she will feel at ease to explore the world around her. If objects are at reach, that the child may break or hurt herself with, she should be shown how to handle them, rather than told "don't touch!" A kitchen is a world full of wonder for a child! Cutting, cooking, stirring, pouring, etc., are all activities the child will want—and need!—to master in order to become independent. Include the child in as many activities as possible at home, from cleaning to cooking; there is enough to keep any child busy and engaged all day long.
5. Be ever ready to answer the call of the child who stands in need of you, and always listen and respond to the child who appeals to you.
There is nothing worse for a child than to feel insecure and ignored. Abandonment is a feeling no child should have to live with. "If a child asks for attention, then that child needs attention," stressed Montessorian Margaret Homfray. When people brush a child aside and say, "she just wants attention," that person is missing the point: a child only wants attention when she needs attention. Children who feel cared for and do not have to worry about being abandoned, even if for a short time, are far more likely to care for others and show concern for and trust others, than those who experience this sort of "cold shoulder" treatment. Also, "timeout" and "go to your room and stay there" approaches are also expressions of abandonment.
6. Respect the child who makes a mistake and can then or later correct it herself, but stop firmly and immediately any misuse of the environment and any action which endangers the child, its own development or that of others.
Avoid rushing to correct mistakes a child has committed. Children are learning to cope and function. They will persist and practice to their heart's content whatever skill they need to acquire, until they master it. If a child starts throwing things around and disrespecting the environment, by all means, stop her. Yet, explain why you had to stop her. Reason and listen to what the child may have to say. Maria Montessori said that "a child's first tantrums are the first ills of her soul." There is always a reason for everything. Try to bring the reason to light. Punishing, isolating the child, etc., will only feed her pain, and burry deep those reasons—she will learn to hide rather than communicate.
7. Respect the child who takes a rest or watches others working or ponders over what she herself has done or will do. Neither call her nor force her to other forms of activity.
A child that is idle is often not idle at all… Children need to be given space to find what it is they are interested in and want to do. Once they do, they pursue their interests with unrestrained passion and perseverance! A child that is observing other children or adults is also learning. If the child is resting, she is not being lazy and doing nothing just lying there—she is most probably processing information, observing, reflecting on something she did, or saw, or is planning on doing.
8. Help those who are in search of activity and cannot find it.
Be sensitive to the needs of the child including differentiating when apparent inactivity is inner activity, or in contrast, a child is simply lost. A child in search of activity and unable to find it is usually restless. If sitting or lying down, it can be noticed that she is not "engaged;" she is not resting, but simply lost and prostrated. There is a thin line that separates these two worlds. It is the adult's responsibility to observe carefully and find out the signs—often very different from child to child—that can reveal what the child is experiencing. Abandonment differs from rest and contemplation.
9. Be untiring in repeating presentations to the child who refused them earlier, in helping the child to acquire what is not yet her own and to overcome imperfections. Do this by animating the environment, with care, with purposive restraint and silence, with mild words and loving presence. Make your ready presence felt to the child who searches and hide from the child who has found.
A child may need to be shown the right way to do something, say a word, express her feelings or acquire any sort of new skill, many, many times. One should never grow tired of repeating it, such as reading the same bedtime story or singing the same jingle. Children seek perfection in all they do until they reach a level which meets their needs (not what the adult may think "perfect" is, or means.) To be always available but not intrusive is an art. When a child needs help, she will ask for it. When a skill has been acquired and the child no longer needs assistance, adults should respect the child's new acquired or reached level of independence.
10. Always treat the child with the best of good manners and offer her the best you have in yourself and at your disposal.
Children who are respected will learn to respect others. Giving the child the best one has to give helps the child learn that you are someone she can count on, and teaches her to also give others the best she has to give. It is important the way Montessori puts it, "the best you have in yourself," as if to say, always reach higher, but do not feel dismayed if you fall short, and "the best" that you can give is not the best you think or know you should give. If your best manners are not always what they should be—a common feeling parents harbor when children seem to be pushing their patience beyond the limits, do not lose heart. The way Dr. Montessori put it, is basically this: have realistic expectations towards the child, and yourself too. Give the best you have to give, but don't feel guilty if you fall short. Simply keep striving to improve and always do your best. If you commit a mistake, giving the child your best may well be recognizing it and apologizing. "Amy, Mommy got upset and shouted. That was not nice of me. I am sorry." Children also need to recognize mistakes, learn to apologize, and that parents are not always perfect.
These are basic principles. What Montessori strives for is to protect the child from all sorts of negative influences that can create deviations in the child's spirit and psyche. To preserve the natural curiosity of the child, help her find her interests, protect her passion for learning, foster it and let it grow in a healthy way. In this way, the child can contribute her best to society. This is conducive to world peace, as Dr. Montessori envisioned it, and Montessorians believe is possible. It takes passion, it takes commitment, and it takes working together.
- Excerpted from Montessori: Committed People with a Passion for Children by the Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
Grace's first day of Montessori preschool, 1997.
Last summer, my 19-year-old daughter was getting ready to move into her first apartment. I was excited for her to have the chance to live on her own and had been setting aside household items that I thought she could use. One day, after admiring the "steal" of a chair I had found at Goodwill, she asked me, "Aren't you sad that I won't live here anymore?"
"Well, honey," I said, "I always imagined that you would grow up and move out of the house. That was our goal all along for you to be an independent, self-sufficient person."
"I know," she said. "But I'm kind of sad that I won't be sleeping here anymore."
I reminded her that she had hardly slept at home at all since she started college last year. She lived in the dorm, four hours away from home and we often didn't hear from her for days.
"Yeah, but this is different. I just can't believe this won't be my home address anymore. Are you going to change the garage door code?"
A-ha! Then I figured it out. She was worried about cutting the cord from the house where she grew up. I had been concerning myself with making sure she was comfortable "out there" and she was worried she would no longer be welcome back at home.
It occurred to me that not much has changed between that day and the day sixteen years ago when we were preparing to send her to preschool here at the Montessori School of Greater Lafayette. Back then we were so excited to help our "baby" pick out a new lunch box and indoor shoes but we had little idea what to do to help prepare her (or ourselves) emotionally for this new chapter. She sailed through preschool and is now working through nursing school just fine, but we have learned a lot since then. Today I am sharing some tips and advice gathered from teachers and parents here at MSGL to help you and your child prepare for the first days of preschool.
Talk about school - mindfully.
Talk with your child about preschool when he is in the mood. Maybe he will bring it up or you can start the conversation, just don't push too hard. If your child seems "done" with the conversation or is becoming anxious, let the topic drop until later. And be honest about your feelings when you do talk about school. Some children worry that their parents will be sad or lonely when they are gone. When you say, "I am going to miss being with you in the morning, but it makes me happy to know you will be enjoying yourself at school," it lets him know that you will miss him but you are confident that school is a good place for him to be.
Check out the new environment.
MSGL's Parent Work Day is Saturday, August 16th. This is a great time to get familiar with the school and classroom environments and to be part of the school community. Children are encouraged to help clean lockers, pull weeds, and load and unload wheelbarrows full of mulch right alongside their parents and new classmates. And, each family member's time counts towards your volunteer hours requirement.
You will have another opportunity to get familiar with the school when your child attends her New Student Orientation visit on Monday, August 18th. This is her first opportunity to see her teachers and classmates in her new classroom. She can put her indoor shoes in her locker, locate her cubby and extra clothes box, and see where the bathroom is. The whole family can attend the Parent Orientation later that evening and maybe your child can give a tour of her new classroom.
Make new friends.
You will receive a class list via email in August. Consider contacting a few families on the list to set up a playdate before school starts. Even if you can't get together with any other families, you and your child can look over the names on the list together. You may discover that one of his classmates lives on your street or maybe someone has the same name as a sibling or a friend.
Help her dress for success.
Our Montessori classrooms are prepared to encourage your child's independence and you can help by providing your child with shoes and clothing that she can put on and take off by herself. Belts, suspenders, and jumpsuits look smart but they can be difficult for your child to use successfully. Provide your child a choice of clothing that allows her complete independence in her self-care routines. And please remember that preschool is a time to jump in and explore. Paint, snack, sand, and dirt from the garden can stain your child's clothing, so please send her to school in clothes that can stand to get dirty.
Plan a morning routine.
Now is a good time to do a mental run-through of your morning routine. Consider how much time your child needs to wake up, get dressed, and eat breakfast. Allow time for packing lunches, finding coats and shoes, and getting on the bike or in the car. Then add a few extra minutes. Parents and children who are not in a rush tend to have much better experiences at drop-off. Some families even do a few "practice runs" in the summer to see if they can get to school and work on time.
Create a goodbye routine.
Discuss with your child how you each want to say goodbye at drop-off. Some families say, "After you put on your inside shoes and put away your lunch box, we will walk to the classroom and I will give you three hugs and two kisses before I go to work." Some children like to wave to dad out the window and some parents leave their children with specific plans for what they will do after school. "Sonia is picking you up today" or "we are going to the Farmer's Market on our bikes after school today." Children have so little control over their daily lives that they appreciate at least knowing what is happening and when.
And while we're talking about goodbyes, let's take just a moment to consider the specter of separation anxiety.
What if my child cries when I walk away?
Separating from your child that first time can be heart-breaking, but remember - it's only for a few moments. The majority of children who are sad when they separate from their parents are able to calm themselves and choose an activity within a few minutes. If you have gone through the goodbye routine and are finding it hard to turn around and walk away, ask your teacher for help. Sometimes parents say, "Please help me. I need to leave." That is the teacher's sign that she needs to hold your child's hand or pick her up so that you can walk away. Teachers don't want to step in before you are ready to go but they are happy to help when you ask them.
The best thing you can do for your child at drop-off is to be consistent and walk away when you say you will. Lingering tends to just prolong the heartache for the parent and the child. The first few times you drop your child off may be difficult, but trust that with consistent repetition you and your child will develop a peaceful good-bye routine.
Talk with the teachers.
Talk with your child's teachers about how the adjustment period is going. The teachers help dozens of children adjust to school every year but this may be your first time. They expect you will have questions and concerns. Email is a great way to communicate with your child's teachers and all of the contact information is available on the classroom web page at Msgl.org.
Help your child talk about his day.
If this is the first time your child has been away from home you will no doubt be very eager to know what he did all day. Unfortunately, preschoolers often say they "did nothing" or "just played." A lot of things happened between the time you dropped him off that morning and when you picked him up several hours later, but he might not yet be able to give a sequential list of his activities. Here are some ideas to help your child tell you about his day.
Take care of yourself!
The best thing you can do during these last few weeks of summer is to give you and your child the gift of a regular bedtime that allows enough sleep to wake up refreshed and ready for the big days ahead. Fill up with a good breakfast each morning and be extra patient with your child and especially with yourself. Parenting preschoolers, like college students, is hard work and there is no right way to do it. Follow your heart and follow your child, and in sixteen years, or so, you will be very proud of the people you have both become.
I had the great pleasure of working in my former classroom today and it reminded me of why the three-year cycle in Montessori classrooms is so beneficial, not least of all, to the teachers.
Our Montessori preschool classrooms are composed of a mixed-age group of children who remain, ideally, in one classroom for three years. A child starts at age three and stays through her Kindergarten year. This is called the three year cycle. Each of those years brings new and unique learning opportunities for the child. As a three-year-old, the child observes her older peers and benefits from their experience. As a four-year-old, she starts to see herself as one of the "big kids" and expands her social circle. In her Kindergarten year she is recognized as a leader and takes pride in helping others.
When I took a sabbatical at the end of the school year in May, I left behind children who had been in my classroom for one or two years. I was able to catch up with many of those students today when I visited the classroom. I observed that two of "my" third-year students, I'll call them S and K, were part of what Montessorian John Chattin-McNichols calls a "roving pack of 5-year-olds." They were wandering around with some other boys and mixing it up a little. I knew these two boys when they were just barely three years old. I knew them before they could consciously control their bodies at group time and even before they could dress themselves successfully. Now, here they were - big, bold 5-year-olds and I was curious to see who they had become eight months after we last worked together.
Angie, my dear friend and the lead teacher of my former class, shared with me that S and K had been working on the squaring and cubing chains in the math area, so I asked them about those activities. They were eager to show me what they had already done and tell me what came next. Within a few minutes, they broke off from the pack and were ready to master the 10 cubing chain.
The 10 cubing chain - or 1000 chain - is a concrete representation of 10 cubed. It's made up of one thousand pea-sized beads organized into bars of ten. The bars of ten are attached at the ends to make a chain. Children are ready for this work after they have mastered the 1 - 10 squaring chains and the 1 - 9 cubing chains. This video from the DuPage Montessori School in Naperville, Illinois provides a good overview of how the squaring and cubing chains are presented in the Montessori classroom.
The 10 cubing chain is nearly 30 feet long so it must be laid out in the hallway outside the classroom. So, off to the hallway we went.
S and K divided up the tasks between themselves. One carried the rolled-up mat and the other carried the chain. We established the space we would use in the hallway and K unrolled the mat while S went back into the classroom for the number tabs. We discussed how they would sort the tabs on the tray and move it down the mat as they worked.
S found the 1000 tab. He knew it went at the very end of the chain but he left it on the tray. There was a pause before they started and I asked what number they would start with. S said, "We have to count them all."
That is certainly one way to do it. But when a child is ready for the 1000 chain, he is generally ready to complete it without counting every number because he can now count by tens and hundreds. Once you trust that 10 is ten, you don't have to count it again.
I asked if they thought they could first put tabs on the hundreds. Yes! They were sure they could. Together, we counted the bars as 10, 20, 30 and so on until we got to 100. S got the 100 tab and marked that spot. K quickly grasped the system and immediately went to work sorting out all of the hundreds tabs in a separate group so that S could place them. This was my cue to find something else to do. I went back inside the classroom to assist Miss Angie while the boys marked off every 100th bead on the chain with the appropriate tab.
They repeated the process, stopping after each bar of ten. K was the sorter, S was the placer. "150! I need 150," S said. K had it ready. There was never any disagreement, that I heard, over who would do which task. They just got started and they each found their niche as they went. And they were really digging their work.
They started the cubing chain work at 9:45 and I checked in with them every few minutes. They finished at 11:00. One of them stopped to use the bathroom then went straight back to his work. Other children would step into the hall to see what was happening and then go back inside to their work.
Sometimes I checked on S and K without speaking and other times I acknowledged their progress. Once, I said I would be back to check on them in a bit unless they needed some help. "We need some help," S said. They could not find the tab for 590. I suggested they leave a space for that number and they could put it there when they found it. They never found it, but they were able to move on without hesitation.
As they got to the very end, S picked up the 1000 tab and started to place it under the 1000th bead. K said, "Hey! We decided we would put that one on together!" And so they did. That's when this photo was snapped.
If you had asked me three years ago if these children were developing normally and if they were going to learn to read and write and grow up to be compassionate humans I would have responded, "Of course they will!" But in the back of my head there would have been a tiny voice saying, "What if they aren't? What if they are never able to sit in a chair for more than 8 seconds? What if they never learn to put their shoes on by themselves? What if they show no interest in reading? What if they always write six as 9?"
That doubtful voice is a familiar one to parents because most of us only get to experience the development of one or two children. We fear we will do something wrong and our children will not achieve their potential. Preschool teachers should know better because we get to observe hundreds of children over the course of our careers, right? But sometimes, even with years of experience, we forget that our job is simply to prepare a nourishing environment. It is the child who must do the work of building the man.
In 1949, Maria Montessori offered us some guidance in our quest to relax and trust that each child will reveal himself as a competent and confident being in his own time. In The Absorbent Mind she wrote, "...for while, in the traditional schools, the teacher sees the immediate behavior of her pupils, knowing that she must look after them and what she has to teach, the Montessori teacher is constantly looking for a child who is not yet there."
Dr. Montessori also implemented the three-year cycle in our classrooms to give us enough time to look for that child and see him before he moves on to primary school.
I am not at all surprised that S and K can count to 1000 by tens and hundreds. I am not surprised that they can recognize 3-digit numerals or that they can prepare, complete, and put away their work. I am not even surprised that two 5-year-old boys willingly work together on a math material for 1 hour and and 15 minutes with only a bathroom break and very limited guidance. I've seen it before.
I am surprised at the sense of joyous relief I feel each time children reveal themselves in this way. It's an experience that never gets old. I suppose that's the ultimate reward of being a teacher.
The s-word is in our forecast this week. I don't know anyone who is happy about the October SNOW except for my allergy-suffering friends. With the snow come cold temperatures and at MSGL we play outside year-round, so it's important for children to have warm and practical clothing to wear every day. For the past 12 years I greeted the children on the playground at 8:30 am, snow or shine. To help you prepare for this week and the next six months (it hurts me to say that), I have compiled for you:
Miss Heather's Top 10 List for Child Comfort and Parent Happiness: Winter Edition
1. Check the forecast. Every class - Toddler through Elementary - goes outside when the temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Check the weather forecast each day before leaving the house to make sure your child will have the appropriate cold-weather gear for that day.
2. Go with the low. Consider the time of day your child will be outside. The forecast may call for a high temp. of 63 degrees, but the temperature at 8:30 am might only be in the 40's. Some classes start outside, some go out at 10:15, some at 11:00. The afternoon and Elementary classes go out at varying times throughout the week. Provide clothing for the day's low temperature and your child should be well-prepared.
3. Layer, layer, layer. Imagine your child as a cute, rosy-cheeked onion and help her dress in layers. Being hot and sweaty outside in the cold is just as uncomfortable as shivering. If your child can take off a sweater or push back her hood and unzip her coat, she will be able to regulate her body temperature and still enjoy the time outside.
4. Listen to your child. Trust your child to make decisions about his comfort. The only way we can learn if we are too cold is if we are allowed to feel the cold. If your child doesn't want to wear his gloves, don't sweat it. Make sure he knows his gloves are in his locker and that he can go get them if he gets cold. The same goes for his snow pants and his bulky winter coat. An active child dressed in layers with warm shoes and a hat can generally enjoy himself outside without danger of getting too cold, even in winter. If your child is listening to his body instead of chafing under a "mitten mandate" he is more likely to develop a true sense of how to dress for the weather. My friend "Z" always told his dad he didn't want to wear his coat or his snow pants or his gloves, but 10 minutes after dad left, Z would ask to go get them.
5. Start a discussion. Talk with your child about the day's weather and how to dress. Remember that the ultimate goals are safety and independence. You might say something like, "It's 30 degrees Fahrenheit. You definitely need to wear something on your hands, but you can choose if you wear your Spiderman gloves or the mittens Grandma made for you." Or try, "It's going to be 45 degrees when you go outside today. What should you pack for school?" Young children can learn to speak three languages at once. They can also learn to make clothing choices based on the outdoor temperature.
6. Get a move-on. Remember that your child is most likely playing actively outside. We might feel very cold walking from the car to the school door in a suit or a skirt and heels, but a child riding a balance bike for 10 minutes heats up very quickly.
7. Consider cold pants. Snow pants or snow suits are essential when there is snow on the ground, but some children (and some preschool teachers) like to wear them as soon as they can see their breath outside. Think of them as "cold pants" and let your child keep them in his locker from October through April.
8. Label everything. Speaking of lockers, our lockers are small. When two children share a locker it's nearly impossible to fit snow pants, coats, book bags and lunch boxes inside. PLEASE make sure every article of clothing you send to school has your child's name or your family's last name written on it where it's easy to read. All black snow pants and all Spiderman gloves look the same when there are 24 children getting dressed in the hallway. If you forget, your child's teacher will be happy to loan you a Sharpie and some masking tape.
9. Embrace the terrific outdoors. Spending time outdoors is important for everyone's health and well-being. We do not have a gym and children may not stay inside by themselves. If your child is recovering from an illness and you don't want her to be outside, please make arrangements to drop her off late or pick her up early, depending on the class schedule.
10. Stock up. Have extra winter clothing on hand, if possible. The first Snow Day of the year is much less fun when your child has left her snow pants at school. And plan to lose at least one set of gloves. If you buy three identical sets of gloves, odds are you will have at least one matching set at the end of the year. Just in case, the Lost and Found box is in the office.
If you recently moved to West Lafayette from somewhere warm and lovely, I am so sorry! But seriously, you can stock up on all the clothing your family needs to get through your first Indiana winter at J.C. Penney, Sears, Target, KMart, or Walmart. You can purchase gently-used childrens' outerwear at Once Upon a Child in Lafayette.
Below are some examples of items your child will need.
Thanks for reading and bring on the snow!
Children at work in the Montessori Elementary class.
October is observation month at our Montessori school. Now that the classrooms have been up and running for six weeks and the children are mostly adjusted to being away from their parents, we invite the parents to spend 15 minutes in the class just observing to see what their children's days are like. Parents are given a clipboard with an observation sheet that asks some general questions about what they see. After class, the teachers read over the observation sheets and respond to any questions or concerns the parents may have at the upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences. Observation month is offered again in April.
Parent observations are important to the teachers because they keep us focused on our own observations. "I'm seeing that this child rarely chooses to work by himself. I wonder if his parents will see the same thing? Is that how he is at home or only at school?"
Observations are important to parents because they can serve as an informative window into a child's day. "I didn't realize she had so many friends at school. Does she ever work by herself?"
Observations are also important to the children because every child enjoys when Mom or Dad come to visit. "Mom's at MY school watching ME work??? Awesome!" Being a part of your child's day promotes good feelings and almost guarantees terrific dinner conversation.
Children at work in a Montessori preprimary classroom.
So what can you expect during your in-class observation?
Children working in the Montessori toddler classroom.
Sign up for an observation time outside your child's classroom. We look forward to seeing all of our parents in our classrooms!
February in Indiana is tough. It's 28 days of Arctic cold, howling winds, and brown slush everywhere you turn. The air hurts your skin and the gray sky steals your hope. Do you know why February is only 28 days long? Because no one would survive if it lasted even one day longer. February is the Chuck Norris of our calendar year.
I think February brings out the worst in everyone, even the sweet little children at the Montessori school. So it's often in February when I remind myself that the primary purpose of preschool is socialization. Sure, our Montessori classrooms have these beautiful materials and teachers trained to present them, but our primary goal is for each child to develop naturally into a well-rounded and well-adjusted individual. And for that to happen, each child must learn many, many social skills. Here's a partial list. Lucky for me, blog inches are cheap!
Preschoolers do all of this really challenging work surrounded by 23 other children who are all trying to do exactly the same thing. (Twice that many, if enrolled for a full day.) Preschool can be very hard work!
Sometimes a child will do something inappropriate to another child and a well-meaning parent will ask me, "Did you tell them not to do that?" Of course. Every day our teachers remind children that hands are not for hurting and to use their words. But listening is not the way young children learn morals and social skills. (Although it IS the way they learn language.) Preschoolers learn by doing and that means that sometimes - lots of times, actually - they do inappropriate things. And gradually, they learn from them.
So, since young children are not born knowing the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and they can't simply follow our instructions, the grown-ups have to give them lots of opportunities to figure it out with other children. We must provide them with an environment that allows them to safely - with close supervision - make many, many bad decisions. In our preschool classrooms, the teachers expect inappropriate behaviors and respond to them consistently with each occurrence, knowing that they will lessen over time. A child's "bad" behavior might keep us on our toes, but it rarely surprises us.
And thank goodness for that! Imagine if doctors were shocked to see so many sick patients every day. Or if plumbers were bewildered by clogged pipes. Or firefighters were stymied when houses caught fire. They would not be very effective at their jobs. In order to be effective at my job as a teacher in a Montessori classroom of three to six-year-olds, I have to first: like children, and second: understand that all of the terrible things that children can do to each other are not failings, but simply a natural part of their development. A child who hits or bites or kicks is showing me that she is upset about something and has not yet learned to respond without hurting. It's my job to help her develop a new, appropriate response while doing my best to keep the other children safe.
I admit that my best isn't always enough. And it's not easy to watch these children suffer through the process of dealing with separation anxiety, or a friend's harsh words, or simple frustration at being unable to dress themselves. I love the children in my care and it hurts to watch them hurt themselves or others when their anger literally comes out of their fingers and toes.
Recently, I was sitting next to two children who had been playing very actively all morning. I will call them Danny and Sandy. They were having trouble working together but they just couldn't stand to be away from each other. They are each learning how to be friends with someone who drives them a little bit crazy. I stayed close to them so I could intervene and help them resolve the issues that were bound to arise when things got out of hand.
At group time the children got to talking about which animals they liked the most. Danny laughed and said, "My favorite kind of animal is Sandy." I turned to them just as Sandy pulled back her arm and punched Danny squarely in the face. Danny was really surprised. He thought maybe he was hurt for just a moment, but quickly regained his composure.
Seeing that he wasn't hurt, I said, "I don't think Sandy liked it when you called her a name. What do you think?"
"I was just saying it to myself," he said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure she heard you," I responded.
Having made herself clear already, Sandy had nothing to add.
Did Danny deserve to be hit? No. But he did need to know that Sandy didn't like the way he treated her. Should Sandy have hit him? No. But she did need to let him know that it wasn't okay to call her a name. Did either of them "get in trouble" by me? No. We talked about other possible responses and there was no more name-calling or punching that morning. But it's not over. I will keep those two on my "Watch List" for the rest of the year and when I hear their voices get loud or see them chasing each other I will do my best to be right there to help them work through their next disagreement. That's my job. Not to punish or shame children, but to help them learn to express themselves and to be good listeners and… ah, just refer to the previous bulleted list.
I have read about preschools with zero tolerance policies for hitting and biting. My question is always, "Where will they send all of those children?" If a 4-year-old is banned from preschool because she has not yet learned to get along with others, what's next for her? Reform school? Prison? Dr. Phil?
Preschool is THE BEST place for young children to learn how to get along with others. Sometimes it's tense, sweaty, gritty, even frightening work. But the mis-steps children make in preschool prepare them for a future that is much less secure. A time when they won't be surrounded by loving adults waiting to step in and guide them to resolve problems peacefully. A time when using hands to hurt can have lifelong consequences.
I am not complacent about children hurting each other and I put myself between thrown punches and sweet little faces every time I can. But I also know that "bad" behavior is not a fault in a child, it signals an important learning opportunity. A child who lashes out is showing us how we can help her. Maria Montessori put it this way,
"The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty. Discipline is, therefore, primarily a learning experience and less a punitive experience if appropriately dealt with."
"The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty. Discipline is, therefore, primarily a learning experience and less a punitive experience if appropriately dealt with."
Please try to be patient with your children and other people's children as we all wait for the Earth to travel just a little further around the Sun. February will become March, winter will become spring, and children who are not yet peaceful will develop a little more self-control and gradually, gracefully learn to cope with the many frustrations of being a small child.
Thanks for reading,


text:
Rob and I were recently asked by a client for some help justifying the choice of Ruby as an implementation language for their SaaS product. They were very happy with the results, but wanted to be prepared to answer investor and customer questions about why Rails was a good choice.
One way that I've been talking about Rails is in the context of what I'm calling "The ARC Model": Agile + Rails + Cloud. I'll borrow from my abstract from my talk at BizConf:
The Ruby on Rails Revolution has been one of productivity and efficiency, and has coincided with an equally powerful revolution in the ownership of technological infrastructure. The Rails approach combines agile methods with a highly productive language to allow developers to focus on developing business value, instead of developing plumbing. The Cloud Computing Revolution at the same time has changed the economics of infrastructure, allowing computation to become a commodity not worthy of developer attention, further enabling developers to focus on that which is truly valuable, Innovation. These three factors, Agile, Rails, and the Cloud, combine to revolutionize the economics of software development and information management, in ways that directly impact return on investment.
The question should not be, "is Rails a safe choice," but "[how long] can we justify the expense of traditional development approaches."
I think this kind of approach plays nicely to the strengths of SaaS.
In terms of large enterprise deployments, it's early yet: Enterprises tend to be conservative (about Rails as they are about SaaS) so most of the innovation has been in the startup space, with companies like Hulu being good examples of the disruptive power of Rails.
But that said, there have been some major mainstream Enterprise success stories. AT&T chose to dump a failing Java yellowpages effort in favor of Rails, with excellent results in terms of scalability, time to market, code quality, and performance. (There's a decent write-up on BuildingWebApps.)
We are starting to see major companies develop ever more mission/business/revenue-critical components in Rails. BestBuy built Remix, their new public API app, with us using Rails. We have one major multinational client who is rewriting their entire ERP system in Ruby internally. We have another major hardware vendor building new products using Rails.
Large companies tend to be a bit shy about talking about new technology initiatives, and we suspect that most Fortune 500 companies have someone doing Rails somewhere in the organization. There are a number of others we've spoken to who are using the technology to their advantage, but who aren't ready to talk about it publicly yet. But you can also search for job listings from major companies and see how many big companies are hiring Rails developers. We see them all the time.
Hard statistics are harder to come by, but Mark Driver at Gartner projected that there would be 4 million ruby programmers by 2013. We're already seeing the smart companies get huge efficiencies out of these new development models: efficiencies of cost, flexibility, and time to market.
We're very bullish on Agile, Rails and the Cloud. In the current economic climate, the reduction in risk alone is worth the cost of admission. Coupled with the qualitative benefits of being able to out-flank your competition, it's no surprise that we're continuing to see adoption grow so rapidly. The results are too compelling to ignore.
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