Grillfest!

Whew! What a day!
I was all prepared to go to Woodridge for the German Club Grillfest... running a little late, but generally okay! I even ran to Target and got out of there with 15 minutes to spare! I was driving away assuring myself that, in fact, things will be okay. Smiling as the sun shone into my car and "Hey there Delilah" streaming on the radio... everything was going to be great.
I got to Woodridge Park... to see vehicles pulled up to the building, someone grilling, tablecloths on all of the tables and even a big tub of beverages. People were there... seriously there. My stomach dropped and began to twist like someone wringing out a wet swimsuit. So I called Laura. We "problem-solved" for a while and she (the superstar) made some phone calls for me. We found out that only two parks in Cottage Grove were free for the day: Oakwood and Hamlet. So I discussed with the four boys who were there... and we decided on Oakwood. I made two signs and we hung them up: one on the porta-potty and one on the wood fence: announcing that we had moved the Grillfest to Oakwood. Whew. That was stressful--but the problem was resolved.
So we got to Oakwood and there was a group there as well! But we knew that they didn't reserve the space, so we decided we could fight them for it if it came down to it. It actually turned out really well. It was a very nice place to bring high-school students... relaxing and calm... plus they could go frolfing (which a few did). The people we shared the space with even ended up sharing some watermelon and cookies with us! It was very nice. And we were both concerned that we were bogarding the space! How cute... and how nice... seriously.
Seeing the kids was really nice... and they really clicked well together. I have to say that I am not really feeling that much more motivated to go back... but it was awfully nice to see everyone.
We talked about a lot of things and there was a good turnout... but the thing I really want to focus on is the comment made by Mitch. He spoke about how we didn't do much work until the last quarter of this last year. I was visibly offended, and he said that he meant that there was a lot of coloring, movies and fun times until the groups and worksheets and everything. Edgar agreed and said he was looking forward to German 3 until he got there and was surprised by how much work he had to do.
So it made me think...
1. How can I make the stuff we're going to do more "fun"... or perhaps just more "frau-esque" so the students think it is still fun and relaxing (yet I can get them to learn something!)?
2. How can I build the courses a little differently leading up to that point so that they don't come to expect "nothing" (or my perception of nothing)?
3. How can I make them see that the "nothing" that they must be perceiving is really something important?
4. How can I make the "nothing" more obviously "something"... yet keep it the same?

Interesting thoughts to ruminate about.
I really want this next year of school (and especially the split class in the spring... which I guess I don't need to fully be focusing on at this point) to be awesome. I want it to be amazing and meaningful... and I want the kids to feel that it was amazing and meaningful for them both as a person and (especially) as a German student.