June's Barbecue in September

I am a substitute teacher at a nearby Hutterite Colony. It was tough to get the children onside in the beginning but as we all learn sooner or later, food is the language of camaraderie and trust. It was not until we had a barbecue that I won them over.

That was three years ago. We were so disappointed in June when the weather did not cooperate and we did not have our annual barbecue. I must have said something like, "Well we can always do it in September!"

Trust children to remember every word and promise. September it was and today was the day.

We have always done the usual, hamburgers and hot dogs. This year they decided they would like to grill a chicken. I decided Chicken Under a Brick. They  l...o...v...e...d  it!

As an aside, I do not take any pictures. I turn over my DSLR camera to them. These images are from their eyes. Every year I am amazed by the wonderful pictures they take. These are not cropped and minimally altered, only for exposure.

Here is our day in pictures.

Jacob trying to light the 'chimney' with more charcoal.

Annie is only in Grade 4! Eek! She is making the milk shakes with my VitaMix blender. I am showing her how to use it.

The aftermath of making milk shakes.

Jacob the barbecue meister.

Annie made all the veggie packets for the grill. Labelled because some don't like carrots :)

Someone dashed off for a better photo-op.

Boys on the Colony do not have the opportunity to cook. In another life Jacob would be a chef.

Me with the German teacher. He is also the gardener and has an exhausting summer. He brought us some lovely golden melons for our lunch.

If they are not all filled by now they will be soon. Night and day harvesting season.

Knive as art.

Marinating our spatchcocked chicken.

Timely lesson on salmonella poisoning.

I love the feeling of movement in this picture.

Emma and tomatoes.

Blurred in the foreground is the Shopping Bag math game. Guess how we use it? They love it.