Interesting (to me) thoughts on baking

11 years ago

Some of you may remember that I posted last year, asking for help in choosing quick and easy baking ideas for my niece who has attention issues. Her mother (my sister) doesn`t bake but Sarah loves to.
We ended up doing a lot of molded chocolates, with intricate painting and decorating. Sarah was totally focused for 3 hours until Auntie Jane couldn`t take any more. The next morning we made two kinds of cookies, again about a 3 hour span with total concentration from Sarah.
So since them, we have a `baking sleepover` every 3 or 4 weeks. We have done pies, jelly roll, heavily decorated cupcakes and numerous kinds of cookies. Each and every time she has been 100% focused from start to finish. My sister (who happens to be a teacher) is amazed.
Sarah is coming again today and we are making Snickerdoodles and an Overnight Apple Cinnamon French Toast.
Guess I just wanted to share this little baking victory. This is a little girl who has a special desk, right next to the teacher, and sadly spends time alone in the hallway to complete her work. But give her a spatula and a whisk and she is good for 3 hours of intense concentration. Maybe we need baking classes in school...
Jane

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Comments (18)

mustangs81
11 years ago
This will certain give her confidence. What a great Auntie Jane you are; and the memories you are creating for Sarah will be long lasting!
cloudy_christine
11 years ago
That is so cool!
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sooz
10 years ago
Hi, Jane,

Wonderful photo of Sarah and her delicious looking baking results!

BTW, we DO have cooking classes in school, but not until one gets to middle school or high school, and they are elective classes.

Smiles,
Sooz
maggie2094
10 years ago
That is awesome! She is a "maker"... So is my son and that is how he learns best.

How cute is she and her sweatshirt, too.
diinohio
10 years ago
She is precious Jane and so lucky to have a special Auntie to bake with!

Di
User
10 years ago
My DH says that the teachers ( brothers at his Jesuit school in NOLA) would throw chalk and erasers at him for what was deemed lack of attn and poor ability to perform according to their standards.He went on to get a PhD in Chemistry and has an IQ of 150.He taught in the university for 31 years. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist and clarinetist.

I just showed him pics of your sweet niece, He said congratulations to you and to your niece and...get her out of public school and into a program that allows her to learn the way she learns best. By the time she gets to high school she will be so ingrained with the school's sense of being a non-learner..poor performer that it might be irreparable . Without your love and attention there is no telling how she would/will turn out but never as wonderfully as she is doing now.

I hope for her sake that there is some other education option available. Her school is NOT providing what she needs if she is spending time in the hall ! What a travesty . c
Teresa_MN
10 years ago
Sarah is so fortunate to have someone like you in her life!
vacuumfreak
10 years ago
She is adorable and I'm glad that she has found something that she can focus on and get lost in. Good on you for providing that to her!
jimster
10 years ago
You have discovered something very important about Sarah. I hope everyone involved with her education will be able to capitalize on that knowledge. Best of luck to the whole family.

Jim
dedtired
10 years ago
That is such a sweet (in more ways than one!) story. Too many schools are "one size fits all". People learn in different ways. I had a terrible time concentrating for long periods of time on things I did not find interesting. I only wish someone had tried a different way to teach me rather than sending me the message that I was lazy or did not try.

I'm so glad your niece has an Auntie Jane!
TobyT
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for all the support. It breaks my heart that she struggles so much in school. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be taught in a way that works for us. Be it visual, tactile, auditory, we can all learn, given the opportunity. I was just musing over the fact that maybe food/cooking/baking could help some challenged learners learn more easily...
Rusty
10 years ago
Sarah is a beautiful little girl,
And your story brought tears to my eyes.

If only all children with such issues had someone
who could/would take the time
That you are taking with her,
to discover their hidden abilities!!

You are building a lifetime of wonderful memories,
For both of you!

Thank you for sharing with us!

Rusty
annie1992
10 years ago
Jane, Sarah is lucky to have you for an aunt.

The baking looks yummy too!

Annie
sally2_gw
10 years ago
Jane, you are the best aunt a girl could have. Way to go. I couldn't agree more with Trailrunner. My oldest struggled through school, ritalin stopped working in middle school, he was picked on, teased, struggling to pass. He couldn't finish anything, but could read books like crazy, and was obsessed with game playing, mainly role playing games. No one could figure out what was going on with him. Finally, when he was in the Navy, he was diagnosed with Aspergers. Neither the child behavior doctor nor Scottish Rite Hospital could figure it out.

Not that I'm suggesting your niece has Aspergers, but just that I understand the difficulties, from a mother's point of view, what your niece and her mother is going through.

(Edited to correct poor grammar.)

Sally

This post was edited by sally2 on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 7:22
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
10 years ago
You can't use a chainsaw to slice ham.

Very often some problem kids have problem fitting in because they have very special power which has not been discovered.

Wonderful story, Jane.

dcarch
debrak_2008
10 years ago
I'm thinking that its not just cooking/baking but using her hands thats the key. Some people are visual, some auditory, and some kinesthetic (touch and feel). I would hope the doctors and teachers already know that she tends to be kinesthetic but I would remind them anyway.
cj47
10 years ago
What a sweet, sweet story. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I agree that you have found out something very important about your niece. Imagine how it must feel for this child, who struggles so in the classroom, to step into a world where she excels, where she is 'different' because she's so good at it! Not only that but think of the math that she's absorbing as she watches you measure ingredients and thinks about the shapes she'll use for her cookies! What a wonderful Auntie you are to allow her to have this experience so often. She must really look forward to it.

And I agree with the others who said that she's not getting what she needs from her school if she's sitting alone out in the hallway. Some public schools are wonderful. Others, not so much....

Cj
Islay_Corbel
10 years ago
Ditto all the above. Poor darling sounds bored silly at school. What a lovely girl and a wonderful aunt.

Interesting (to me) thoughts on baking

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mustangs81

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Interesting (to me) thoughts on baking

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