I recently substituted for 4-year old kindergarten. There were 25 students — 21 boys and four girls! Those of you who know me are probably thinking I had lost my mind. It was for my husband who is now the headmaster at Tri-County Academy in Flora. He informed me that I would have an assistant. I told him I still didn’t like the odds — 25 4-year olds and two adults! It brought back a memory of when my son was younger.
When my son, Steven, was in kindergarten at Cruger-Tchula Academy, his teacher was Joanne Crump. She was a wonderful teacher and helped to calm my nerves many times as a concerned parent. Steven was not the most well-behaved student in class and quite the clown. He was a very smart student, but missed quite a lot of play time at recess. One day he asked me if I would take him to the playground on the weekend sometime because those children seem to enjoy playing out there. He was observing from the sidewalk.
His cousin, Rebekah, was also in kindergarten and was very well-behaved and always received a sticker on her hand at the end of the day as a reward for her good behavior. Steven’s hand never saw a sticker until the end of the school year when he came home with a sticker on his hand. I was so proud until he told me that Rebekah had felt sorry for him and given him hers since he had never gotten one!
I should have known we were in for trouble when he had been in school for about a month and he looked at me one day and told me that his teacher loved him more than any other student in the class. After telling him that she loved them all just the same, he assured me that I was wrong. His reply was, “Mrs. Crump loves me better than anybody else in the room because she moved my chair right beside her desk, puts my name on the board every day and picks me to be the one to stay in at recess.”
For all you parents who have a “Steven,” there is light at the end of the tunnel. He made a turnaround and became a good student and also a well-behaved one who did not get in trouble at school. He will soon celebrate his 38th birthday and is a wonderful son, husband, father and has a great job! Those kindergarten years can be tough.
Hope you enjoy these congealed salad recipes. Spring is around the corner and everybody needs a salad in the fridge that they can add as an accompaniment to any meal or just a sandwich. Thanks for reading.
CRANBERRY SALAD
1 large package orange Jell-O
1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups boiling water
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 cup sour cream
Mix Jell-O with boiling water and let cool. Add pineapple and cranberry sauce. Mix sour cream with pineapple syrup and add along with nuts. Mix well and pour into mold or 9 x 13 inch dish sprayed with Pam; refrigerate.
*I served this with a chicken salad plate at a luncheon last week-end and it was quite a hit!
ORANGE CONGEALED SALAD
1 8 1/2 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 8 ounce carton Cool Whip
1 6 ounce package orange Jell-O
2 cups buttermilk
Bring pineapple to a slow boil. Remove from heat and stir in Jell-O; cool. Stir in buttermilk; fold in Cool Whip. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch dish that has been sprayed with Pam before serving.
This congealed salad is only one of two I have tried with buttermilk as an ingredient and it makes a creamy delicious salad.
MAMAW’S LIME CONGEALED SALAD
1 small package lime Jell-O
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 flat can crushed pineapple, undrained
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup boiling water
Dissolve Jell-O in 1 cup boiling water. Mix in cream cheese and stir until smooth. Add pineapple and pecans. Pour into an 8 x 8-inch Pyrex dish and chill until firm.
Any recipe with my Mamaw’s name in it is a keeper. She always served this on a lettuce leaf with a dollop of mayonnaise and a red cherry on top.
