photo credit

DEAR SARA: I was canning peaches today, and I was supposed to cut them into halves and remove the pit. I can’t figure out how to do that without ending up with a ball of mush. How do you cut it in half when it has a giant hard pit in the middle? I ended up canning peach chunks, but I would like to know the correct technique for next year. — Carla, Canada

DEAR CARLA: I insert a sharp knife into the peach until it touches the pit. Then I continue cutting a circle around. After I have a complete circle cut around the peach, I twist it to release the peach from the pit.

DEAR SARA: How do I keep my son warm during class? We just received the new dress code for my sixth-grader. Anything with hoods isn’t allowed in class (even if you don’t wear the hood). My son tends to live in his gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt and pullover hooded sweatshirts. But now they are no longer allowed. He doesn’t like crew-neck sweatshirts. We tend to have a hard time finding any that fit over his head anyway. And if they do fit, they tend to be oversized, which is also against the dress code. He has never liked the feel of sweaters, so they have generally just sat in his drawer. So what can we get to keep him warm in class without breaking the rules? I need some ideas. — J. Moffitt, forums

DEAR J. MOFFITT: Unfortunately, this dress code is happening in many schools. Reasons vary from students listening to iPods to theft and violence. You could have him dress in layers. He could wear a short-sleeved shirt or T-shirt with a long-sleeved cotton or thermal shirt underneath. Or he could wear a fleece pullover. A lot of shirts are sold as “doublers,” and there are “sweat/track” jackets that have zippers and don’t have hoods, too.

DEAR SARA: What are your thoughts on a four-day school week? My sister-in-law is a music teacher in a small school in western Montana. Their school board voted unanimously to a four-day school week. With all of the money they would save on the bus routes and utilities, they said it was the right thing to do. So three-day weekends for the kids every week! They will start school 10 minutes earlier and stay 30 minutes longer at the end of the day. Do you think this is something you would like to see in your school system? I know a lot of different schools are looking into this to cut costs. — Vanessa, forums

DEAR VANESSA: From an environmental standpoint, I think it’s a great thing. I’m sure many parents like this idea. I can’t say it’s wonderful until I’m faced with it in our district and I have more information. I wouldn’t want my kids to stay later; they don’t get home until after 4 p.m. as it is. For some kids and families, it would work out well. Some families would love the extra family time. For me, it would depend on whether my children could maintain the same focus on their studies with the longer school days. I’d question whether there would be increased homework during the week, where the excess money saved was being spent, and how the teachers viewed it. For example, is it harder to get the children to be attentive after three days off? Although this isn’t an issue for me, it could be a burden on families that would need childcare. I don’t view the school as a babysitter, but let’s face it: Many families have both parents working full time. I would hope the children didn’t suffer from the decision.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!