This past Saturday, June 28th, I worked with the Robeson Extension Office as they hosted an Agriculture Extravaganza at the Robeson County Farmer’s Market in Downtown Lumberton.

The Farmer’s Market is open every Wednesday from 9am -Noon and Saturday from 7am-Noon during prime growing season (Spring, Summer, Early Fall). Over two dozen local farmers comprise the market.

Each year, near the beginning of the Summer and truly prime fruit and vegetable season, the Robeson Extension Office hosts the Agriculture Extravaganza in order to showcase farmer’s produce and provide local citizens with examples of fresh, nutritious recipes they could make at home. This year, over 180 pounds of local produce was donated by the farmers for this event. Extension agents involved with the event included Shae Ann Dejarnette, Casey Hancock, Mack Johnson, and Christy Strickland.  The agents organized and prepared over a dozen dishes and recipes for distribution.

The following samples were provided along with recipe cards:

• Cucumber Lemon Infused Water
• Blackberry Mint Infused Water (I made some AWESOME infused H20)
• Cucumbers and Cherry Tomatoes with Light Ranch Dip
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe
• Tortilla Chips with a choice of Peach Salsa, Tomato and Corn Salsa, or Cantaloupe Salsa.
• Roasted Peanuts
• Zucchini Muffins
• Grilled Cabbage Steaks
• Grilled Vegetable Medley
• Grilled Pizzas
• Eggplant Mozarella
• Slider Hamburgers

Visitors began congregating around the booth at 9am and were eager to try the FREE samples. Each visitor signed in with their name, race, and gender for data collection.

I really enjoyed interacting with the booth visitors. It was great to watch them sample a recipe and then start talking about how they could cook some of their vegetables at home.  I was able to swap recipes with a few ladies on grilled vegetables.

Even though I was raised in Robeson County, I was caught off guard by the poverty and obesity present in the county. The Robeson Extension Agents are doing a great job with this event as they try to show local citizens that vegetables or fruits do not have to be fried, covered in butter, or stirred with sugar to be tasty. Education is the first step in meeting the challenges with local food production.

A “work week” at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, or NCCAT, should NOT be allowed to serve as a “work week.” This center is truly meeting its purpose- to rejuvenate teachers and provide them with resources in their profession.

This past week in the Kenan Fellows Summer Institute  was long and busy, yet relaxing and refreshing. I left Cullowhee with approximately 547,482 technology tools and websites use in my classroom. When considering the highlight of my week, it could have been the FANTASTIC meal service:

I have a husband and two children under three years of age at home. This past week I did not have to cook in or clean the kitchen…every mother’s dreamland! The only way that I did not gain ten pounds this week at NCCAT was because of my long, QUIET, relaxing hikes each morning. These hikes could have been my favorite part of the week…

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Check out the awesome fungi I met!

On Wednesday, we enjoyed a beautiful trip down the Nantahala River with our NOC guides and biologists, Peter and Mark. With a birthday on Earth Day and a college minor in Natural Resources, I was in heaven. This could have been my favorite part of the week- no computer screens, no required chair sitting….it was just fabulous.

In stark contrast, I even had an enjoyable time on Tuesday and Thursday learning about the 547,482 technology tools I could use in my room. Honestly, I really enjoyed learning how to “Flip” my classroom and listening to all of the smooth sounds of Kahoot. One of my close friends through the week, Melissa, even helped me overcome my past “Pinterest Anxiety” and get back into pinning awesome ideas for my classroom.  I worked with a small group to review all of the awesome tips, apps, and websites from the week and place them on a Pinterest board.  This is a great way for me to apply my love of Pinterest to my career and will prevent “mini mom meltdowns” over the birthday cake or home decorating ideas from Pinterest that I can NEVER complete. My time spent learning about new techniques in the classroom and my work in small groups could have been the best part of my week…

Check out my mini group’s best ever Pinterest board:

I truly enjoyed my week at NCCAT, but the real highlight of the week was not something found in Cullowhee or a product of the Summer Institute Agenda.  The real highlight of my week was found in the people that I was able to meet and the realization that there is not one single personality, background, or passion that makes someone a great teacher. I spent the week with people from every cultural background, personality type, and area of North Carolina. I met some individuals who were “born” to be teachers because teaching was in their blood. I became friends with two beautiful women that became mothers in high school and still worked their way through college to become successful in their careers. Teaching is a passion that is not sparked by the same thing for us all. It is a passion that finds us where we are, and helps us to work through the tough years, low pay, and screaming parents to help our students meet their future goals.

Blogs are all about honesty.

So, let’s be honest…

This is what I feel like right now in my agriculture education classroom right now…

This is how I want to feel in my classroom….

But, let’s get down to the real truth….even if I felt like a Rockstar in my classroom…there will still be days that I will feel like this…

The problem is that as teachers, we set unreachable goals for ourselves. Yes, we can be Rockstars, but we need something to get us through those days when the show is rained out and our fans give up on us.

For me, this is the Kenan Fellows Program. I do not know exactly what the program has in store, but I know how it has shaped the lives of past Kenan Fellows.

I know that the program will provide with a new curriculum in my classroom, great friends, new teaching methods (because we ALL need them), and a new confidence in my teaching.

The tricky part is that…

And I am ready. I am ready to get the most because I will give the most that is possible for me.