Summer

Just a quick note to say hello - I am spending the summer in Paris so that my husband can go to school, and I haven't quite figured out the temporary internet situation here!

My husband is taking an intensive course at Le Cordon Bleu, and I'm happy to be in Paris working on my coursework for my masters and focusing on a big project that I am hoping comes to life over the next few months.  So much about Paris reminds me of New York, and I think that is why I love this city so much.  I'm thrilled to be here, and I'm hoping that I can get into a few schools and early childhood programs here to see what is happening and how things are working.

I was really inspired by something my husband said yesterday - he was talking about the structure of his program, and he was explaining how the chefs there do not just hand over the recipes and the ingredients and then watch everyone cook.  The students go to a three hour cooking demonstration and there they are given a paper with the ingredients for the recipe.  But it is up to the students to make notes, observe the chef, and eventually, when they make it independently, use their senses to determine the amounts depending on what they observed the chef doing and what they tasted in the final product.  This might all sound like babbling now, but for me it sounds like real hands-on education, teaching the students how to follow their senses and ideas and intuitions, all the while perfecting the basic skills that a chef needs in order to let their creativity flow. 

So if anyone out there is in Paris, let's have a coffee.