Turkey Sausage Pie

Turkey Sausage Pie
Turkey Sausage Pie
Don't take away my Turkey Sausage Pie!
Take away the green grass, take away the sky,
But don't take away my Turkey Sausage Pie!

This is the epitome of grand leftovers and such simplicity, too. My daughter opted to sacrifice her turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day for extras to add to the Turkey Sausage Pie.

Thanks, Mom for having friends that share recipes!

Turkey Sausage Pie

2 cups cubed, cooked turkey
1/2 lb. browned, ground sausage (mild)
1 jar fancy mushrooms (Giorgio Shitake Slices)
4 oz. sour cream (not reduced fat)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
double crust pie




Mix everything, except pie crust in a bowl, fill prepared pie shell, top with second crust, cut to vent. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 - 45 min. until golden. Filling should be bubbling. Let cool 10 min. Serve with leftover gravy and cranberry sauce. Delicious!

Summertime!

It's the first day of summer! What better way to celebrate than with a good ol' fashioned BBQ?! Baby back ribs, corn on the cob, cucumber "salad", and sliced tomatoes harken back to my southern roots. Making delicious baby back ribs is actually very easy. I learned via observations working at Darryl's in Richmond, VA and Kilroy's in Woodbridge, VA. 

Here's what you need:

Rack of ribs (tonight I'm doing two racks!)

Large pan (I use a 9x13 Pyrex dish for each rack)

Liquid Smoke

Salt and pepper to taste and water

Barbecue sauce of your choice

Directions:

Rinse the ribs with water, cut in half and lay in the pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the ribs, fill pan with about 1 inch of water, and put four or five dashes of liquid smoke in the water. 

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and cook in a warm, 300 degree Fahrenheit oven until the ribs are fragrant, about one and a half to two hours. When the heavenly aroma of cooked pork fills your kitchen, turn off the oven and let the ribs rest. If they cook too long, they'll fall off the bone when you put them on the grill.

Preheat the grill to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grill ribs about 3-5 min per side coating with your desired amount of sauce. Serve hot with lots of napkins, paper towels, or hot wash cloths. 

Happy summer!

5 things I learned about PBL taking on the DuPont Challenge

Recently, I came across the DuPont Challenge buried in an email from our school's science contact. When I followed the link, I discovered a wonderful science competition for elementary students that would be a perfect PBL (problem based learning) unit. The fourth grade challenge was to identify an ecosystem in your community or state that had been negatively impacted by human activity and develop a plan to return it to its original, healthy state. Wonderful, I thought! We have to learn about ecosystems this quarter. Gather data, it said. Fantastic, I thought! This quarter, I have to teach my students about graphing data. This was just what I was looking for. One problem; the deadline was two weeks away. No worries. I figured I could stop regular instruction for a week and a half and focus solely on this project. Hind sight being twenty-twenty, here's what I learned from taking on the DuPont Challenge. 

1. Enthusiasm counts for a lot! An enthusiastic teacher leads to enthusiastic students. My excitement over the opportunity became infectious with my students. No matter the project, be enthusiastic. Your students will catch the enthusiasm you convey.

2. It's okay to tell your students they can do better. My students seemed to expect me to praise their every effort, but some of the work they gave me was, ahem, c-r-a-p. Seriously. I had a few students who would notoriously state "facts" that were out and out made up! I continuously challenged their statements and made them show me the research to support their statements. The result? High quality, FACTUAL information. 

3. Let go! Part of successful PBL is learning to be the guide on the side, rather than the sage on the stage. Most teachers I know are in fact control freaks, so the DuPont Challenge and other projects should be student-driven. Learn to step aside and have your kids do the work.

4. Deadlines are deadlines. My students have learned--in part due to my allowance--that work can be turned in anytime. Okay, I'm guilty! I allow my fourth graders to turn in work up to the last day of the quarter. However, I'm beginning to rethink this practice. After having my students complete the DuPont Challenge, I think maybe allowing them to turn their work in so late is not helping them in the long run. I think it's time to set deadlines and stick to them.

5. Nothing beats genuine praise. When it was all said and done, I was genuinely proud of all my students for their efforts and final projects. Was it stressful? Yes. Was it worth it? You bet! I am so proud of my students and the hard work they put forth. Going forward, I know what they can do and how I can help them. Plus they know they earned every bit of praise!

Next year, I hope our school is a force to be reckoned with in the DuPont Challenge. 

So embrace PBL. You may not be able to go hog wild with it, but try it for a couple of weeks. You'd be surprised at what your students can learn and produce if you just step aside and let them!

Back to School Teacher Bargains 

The Dollar Spot at Target is stocked full of teacher goodies this time of year. Need some inexpensive storage solutions? Target! How about some new rubber stamps or trendy chalkboard accessories? Target!

I'm repeating my chalkboard themed classroom this year, so the cute little galvanized buckets with a chalkboard label are perfect for my table groups ($1 each). Plus, I found a schoolhouse chalkboard ($3) that will come in handy on Back-to-School Night. My other fun find was a black three clip board ($3). I added some white sticker letters and it's now my "No Name" papers sign. There are some really cute rubber stamps ($3) for teachers. Some are self inking and others are traditional, but you can get inexpensive stamp pads ($1 per 3-pack) at the Dollar Spot, too. Oh! And one of my favorite little Target Spot finds is a dry erase notebook paper bunting ($3).  How cute is that going to be saying, "Welcome"?!

I always stock up for Read Across America Week with a trip to the Dollar Spot at Target. There are also lots of cute Dr. Seuss pencils, erasers, bags, bookmarks, and headbands ($1 per 6-pack). My local Target has been restocking every few days, but don't wait too long!

You can also find lots of cute storage solutions and teacher products right now at Dollar Tree and Five Below. Where is your favorite Back-To-School Bargain Shop?

Faux Cherry Blossoms

It's almost Easter, but chilly temperatures in Virginia have kept the cherry blossoms closed up tight! No worries! We made some pretty faux blossoms with branches, tissue, and glue.
Here's what you need:

• Colored tissue paper (we used light pink)
• Bare branches (this time of year our birch trees have tons of small branches underneath)
• Hot glue

Cut your tissue into 1 1/2 - 2 inch squares. Fold the tissue in half and pinch into a blossom shape--this is an imperfect art which is why it's so easy! Place a dot of hot glue on the branch and CAREFULLY place and squeeze the blossom onto the glue.

Blossoms should be placed randomly for a natural look. Once you're satisfied with the look, pull away any glue strings and voila! You have beautiful faux branches. Happy Easter!

Craft Prep and Crticism

My students go to Book Buddies every Tuesday. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept: my fourth graders read to their first grade buddies. It benefits both classes, their comprehension, fluency, and confidence soar in this setting. Anyway, in the spirit of Thanksgivivg, we met today to read and make a turkey craft. I read 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey and our buddies' teacher had arranged a craft: build a turkey from a tp tube and construction paper. Was it a bit chaotic? Yes. Were the kids engaged and building relationships with one another? Yes! As far as I was concerned, the last 30 minutes before Thanksgiving break we're going well. Now my buddies' teacher is a newbie. This is her first year teaching. Are there things I would do differently? Absolutely. But as the old adage goes, let your actions speak louder than your words. So I was content to teach by example until a TA commented with a knowing expression, "You might want to give her some advice on craft prep." I nodded and went about cutting out turkey beaks. It occurred to me: I could tell my newbie friend what she was doing wrong or I could tell her what went well and praise her efforts. I could suggest how to do things differently or I could give her words of encouragement. I've learned that people generally don't take criticism, even constructive criticism well. It would be more constructive of me to help plan our next craft and SHOW her how a little preparation can go a long way toward easing chaos. She'll figure out the rest on her own.

My New Favorite Toy!

I love Class Messenger! What?! You don't know what it is? Well, let me tell you all about it!
First off, it's from Scholastic so you know it's a quality product. Okay, okay, it's not exactly a product. It's a service and a fantastic one at that. To tell you a little bit more about it, here's a handy Prezi that the folks at Scholastic have produced to give you some more information.

Class Messenger Prezi

What a fantastic thing, right?
To date, I have sent reminders for a get-to-know-you project, book orders, homework, and a request for parent volunteers. It is the best thing ever! But wait! There's more! Class Messenger is an app that you can download for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play!

I hope you find Class Messenger as useful and easy to use as I have! Happy teaching, friends!