Jell-O from 'murica!!!!!!!

Preparing for this class was a lot more work than I have expected. Since the Thanksgiving class when the kids screamed at the sight of Jell-O, I've been planning a session to bring them the real thing. Of course, this is also a good chance to teach them something else, which is the first of the three "R"s - Reuse.

I started collecting food containers from the convenient stores, wash them and save them for this big day. I had ideas on how to make multiple layers to make it more fun. I was actually planning to show them how to cook it on the spot.

As the package arrived and I started working on the first batch, I realized that it's going to take a lot more time to do this. A 30min session will be too short, and probably too chaotic. The kitchen is also not a good place to have 50 kids crowding in it, would be more like a night club gone wild with fire and hot boiling water. That's a bad bad idea. So I decided to film the "making-of" video separately to save time and trouble for the class. Well, it means a lot more preparation work before hand.

Obviously, this is also time for some simple English learning! Flavors! What better time to teach them about flavors? Raspberry, strawberry, orange and cherry. I made a mistake with the first batch and was worried that the Jell-O won't be enough. After all, there are 50 monkeys to feed. So I went to the town to get more. That where the mango and chocolate flavored pudding came from.

After all these different sessions, I really feel like I have become a variety show host, or rather, a clown. I go up there with some materials to show for, but the rest of the content is made up on the spot depending on the kids reactions. For example, when the Jell-O showed up in the class, I used the different colors to let them guess what flavors they are, which became a chance to revise the words they've just learnt. That was not planned. The collapsing table was definitely not planned too, and I also didn't expect the kids to have a significantly higher preference for chocolates. Again, it's a learning experience for me as it is for them. Seeing them lick their bowls and kept telling me how delicious it taste meant a lot. On the other side.... those English words I taught them probably got swallowed down as quickly as how they consumed the Jell-O. It's hardly present in their memories now.

But they all learnt something. Raspberry! Thanks Matt!