Tricia also posted this a while back (when garden web still had caps in our usernames!) and I saved it... Given her original intro which I also saved (Tricia- I didn't think you'd mind if I re-posted it) it might not be appropriate for school, as she says it should only travel a short distance, but your daughter might find it interesting anyway... Russian Chicken and Dumplings Posted by TriciaE this is gonna sound complicated but it isn't...just takes a while but it's worth the time investment. I make this in a LC Dutch Oven. This is best if you're only going a short distance like to the neighbor's house for din-din... I'm German/Russian...family from Norka, Saratov, Russia...and this is our family's recipe for CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS. OK, first take a deep breathe, relax, and just read through the instructions...you'll see that it's not hard just a lot of process. Here we go... Roasted Chicken 1 (3-pound) whole chicken Salt and fresly ground black pepper 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1 Lemon, halved and juiced, halves reserved 1/4 Cup fresh MINCED herbs, such as thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary 1 Spanish onion, halved but not "skinned" 1 Head of garlic, chopped in two pieces (no need to peel) Fresh whole herbs, such as above... Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard or freeze for another use (like gravey anyone?). Rinse chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Wash hand thoroughly. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and minced herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a Dutch Oven. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock. Next Step: Chicken Stock 2 Tablespoons EVOO 2 Carrots, cut in large chunks 2 Celery Stalks, cut in large chunks 1 Onion halved, do not peel 1 Garlic bulb, halved, do not peel Reserved chicken carcass 2 Quarts cold water 3 Sprigs fresh parsley 4 Sprigs fresh thyme 2 Bay leaves To prepare the stock, first place the chicken bones and the vegetables in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with a little EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Now, when the roasting is done...coat a large stockpot with EVOO and place over medium heat. Add the bones and veggies from the roasting pan, give a few good shakes of salt & pepper and saute everything for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the water and herbs. Simmer for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside. ARE WE READY??? Next Step is... Gravy 2 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon EVOO 1 Tablespoon AP Flour 1/2 Cup carrot, diced 1/2 Cup celery, diced 2 Cloves garlic, minced 2 Bay leaves 1/4 Cup Flour 6 Cups chicken stock (augment with canned if the above is slightly less but it should be enough) 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish In a Dutch Oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 more minutes to cook the flour and remove the starchy taste. SLOWLY, pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. WHEW, ok...don't give up yet...we're almost done and it's smelling good in here... Dumplings 2 Cups AP Flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 Teaspoon salt 2 Eggs 3/4 to 1 Cup Buttermilk To prepare dumplings, sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together, pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like. Set aside. The Chicken...remember the chicken??? Go get the shredded chicken and put it into the simmering sauce. If this cools down the sauce, allow a couple minutes to bring back to a simmer. Finally, the Finishing step: Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be crowded. Let the dumplings poach COVERED for 10 to 15 minutes (DO NOT LIFT LID TO PEEK). They will be firm and puffed up. Season the pot with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving. Take the Dutch Oven directly to the table...remember to use a trivet. Congratulations, you've worked for hours and have burned enough calories to indulge yourself with homemade Chicken & Dumplings Russian Style... Tradition, in my family, is to serve this with smashed tatters. Yes, it's a HEAVY meal, but what the hay...believe me, you won't make this that often! Oh, don't forget to make something green to go with it. *****************

As a parent and a teacher, I don't think ANY child should be condemned to spending every waking second on schoolwork. You're not going to raise a very well-rounded person that way. It's important for them to engage in activities with their peers--be it sports, dancing, music, arts, gymnastics. In my opinion, it's VITAL for them to be encouraged to do a significant amount of volunteer work (at that age, my dd was raising puppies for the Seeing Eye--I'm sure, with the nightmarish curriculum you're describing, she would NOT have had time for the daily care of her puppies, nor the 4-H club meetings, activities and trips that were involved in the project). And really? They just to be able to have hours for 'down' time--time to go for a bike ride, or visit grandma, or bake some cookies--or help Dad rake the leaves, talking on the phone with friends, going to the mall, etc. As a teacher, I'd have to say that a child who is restricted to spending virtual every waking hour on school work, is going to grow up to be one who may have some serious issues--including things like not being able to interact well with peers, or maybe not being able to relax when it's appropriate for example. You're going to have to sit down, evaluate what you like about this school, how important it is for your child to be able to engage in other activities outside of school, whether or not you can provide him with a good academic education--that you can afford--in another way. Only after you've looked at all your alternatives, will you be able to make the right decision. I don't know you--but if what you've described is completely accurate, then I feel so sorry for your child, if he's going to be put in a situation where he's going to lose a year of childhood's golden days.

Is this about a child who hasn't reached the maturity to take responsibility for his own work or is it about your dislike of standardized tests? I don't see what one has to do with the other. What should or should not have been done in first grade is irrelevent. This is not about past mistakes, it is about his current problems. Whether schools should administer standardized tests or not is irrelevent to your grandson's current academic problems. There might be very good points about such tests, but that debate is another post in itself. I don't think it has anything to do with this child's lack of focus. So focus on what the problem is now and how to go forward in the right direction for him to learn to be more successful. Notice I said "him learn to be" not make him. He needs to learn the skills himself because middle school will be a big change. Many 5th graders are very bright students but aren't ready for the demands that middle school will put on them emotionally. That is the part about self discipline, study skills, prioritizing, etc. If he has those skills, regardless of his intelligence, he should be able to do what the school/teacher is asking in the second half of the year. If he doesn't, he isn't ready for the next level, regardless of his intelligence. I agree with having two tests done for ADD, might as well make certain. But don't go into it looking for someone to affirm what you suspect, try to remain open minded and just wait and see what the tests determine. Then focus on those study and responsibility skills, not just the academics. Both are equally important to school and life success. I would work out a "contract" with my child listing on paper his responsibilities and his plan to fulfill them. If he forgets assignments, he needs to learn to use an assignment planner. If he doesn't complete assignments, he needs to work on the self discipline to finish before he goes on to something else. Whatever the problems are, he needs to be involved with coming up with the solution. He is bright, he can do that. Let him use his problem solving skills to solve his problem. The contract would include the final expectations, how to evaluate if they were met or not, and what the plan will be if they are not met. I would consider keeping him back if he is not able to get himself where he needs to be, he is not ready for 6th grade. Not as a punishment, it should not be thought of or talked of as a punishment. It is the solution to a problem. You don't want him to go into 6th grade with the same problems. Suppose (for example) the academic requirements for moving to 6th grade were to know 50 states and capitols, recognize certain countries on the world map, do long division, label the digestive tract, read on a 6th grade level, and, oh, label the levels of the Earth's atmosphere. Those skills would be required, not because it looks good on the school's performance charts, but because they are prerequisits to what will be taught in 6th grade. Students will be taught information and skills that build on what they should already know. If they don't know that information, they cannot learn what builds on it. The skills of responsibility, self discipline and study habits should be seen as prerequisits for the next level. He will not be able to achieve at the expected level in 6th grade if he does not have those skills. Therefor, he must demonostrate those skills before moving on. OK, that was the long winded answer for yes, if he doesn't prove those skills, I would agree to hold him back. I would do so not as a punishment, but because it is what needs to be done to ensure his success in middle school and later in high school.

There are quite a few NZ's who poat over on the Garden Web--you could put out an "all call" in Junk...But I agree--his teacher should supply some safe sites/resources. TOO MUCH SCARY STUFF on the net. And I think 5th grade is still too young for some of the "pen Pals" advertised, don't you? Reminds me of the time younger son's 6th grade teacher told them to research "Guy B. Phillips" on hte web-- (person his school is named after)---one of hte google "hits" was a male porn site... I copied it to her. BOY was she horrified! melanie