Jan Tucker's summer school

School's out for summer, at least for some.

There are schools that have summer school classes or credit recovery classes. Recent surveys show kids lose much of what they learned during school year because of summer break. It is one of the reasons some advocate year-'round school, with smaller breaks.

There is another answer — the Jan Tucker School curriculum for summer!

The catalogue for summer courses includes:

—HOME ECONOMICS 101: Planning, preparing two meals a week for the family, with an emphasis on shopping and cost; 102: Cleaning up the cooking area with an emphasis on hygiene; 103: Proper methods for sewing on buttons and use of an iron and ironing board, when necessary.

—CONSTRUCTION ARTS 201: Painting techniques such as painting the fence, varnishing floors and picnic tables, with particular attention on preparing the area around such projects; 202: Proper method and action in cleaning basements.

—GRAPHICS AND DESIGN 303: Determining what really looks good on the human form, including looking into the mirror and study of color matching.

—MATH AND FINANCE 401: A comprehensive report on money spent for entertainment and junk food, combined with a two-week study of the cost of existing on a family budget; determining the average cost of gas for driving up and down the street with such math problems as: If Johnny drives up and down the street 25 times between 6 and 10 p.m. what is the length of the street and the cost to Johnny’s pocket book?

—PSYCHOLOGY 501: Experiments on the advantage of smiling and good humor when facing a task compared with grumbling, reluctance and bad mouthing.

Parents: The course is free of charge and when school starts in the fall, the administration guarantees the student will not forget what he or she learned in the summer!

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Here is a recipe with  a very good flavor.

Saucy Chicken Strips

Cut 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Remove chicken from skillet and in that skillet sauté 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped green pepper  and  4-ounce can mushroom stems and pieces, drained until crisp-tender. Return chicken to skillet. In a small bowl, combine 1 envelope  onion soup mix,  1-1/4 cups water, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine  1 tablespoon corn starch with 3 tablespoons cold water. Add to sauce. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

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If you have a recipe, idea, story or comment, share it with Around the House with Jan, 416 Amygdaloid St., Ontonagon MI 49953 or email [email protected].