How to Make a Sandwich

Last summer, I read the book "Crash Course" by Kim Bearden.  It completely changed my world.  Every day isn't perfect, but it left me wanting to have more perfect lessons, more memories, and wanting to give my kids more hands-on learning experiences.  I made it a point to try to plan one or two incredible lessons a week.

This lesson is one of those lessons and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite ones I've ever taught.  Yes, it did cost a little bit, but I knew at the beginning of the year that I wanted to create this lesson, so I budgeted for it.

First, I gathered all the sandwich stuff I needed to make this lesson work.  Honestly, it didn't cost much because I grabbed a lot of the stuff out of our refrigerator.  Either the stuff had just expired or had been in there awhile.   If you are better at finishing off all your extra food, then most of this stuff is cheap or you can see if several parents could send in the stuff for you.

I also went on Amazon and ordered chef hats, aprons, and gloves.  That cost a little more, but I really wanted to build out this experience.

After I gathered all of my stuff together, I waited for my kids to go to specials and I got everything set up and ready for them.  They had no idea that they were coming back to this lesson which made it more fun.

As always before we started, we went over the rules - no eating because some of the food was expired, no playing, and work as a team.  I appointed team captains and then split the kids into groups of three.  The team captains were the only ones allowed to come get items from me.

Once the sandwiches were done, I gave students their cut and paste sheets.  We went over these when we were going over the rules, so they knew what to do.

After that, we did our How To Make A Sandwich rough draft together.  I did this because I wanted us to be able to talk about our transitional words.  I also wanted us to be able to discuss how to use commas in a series and how to add extra details between the sentences.

The next day, I let my kids write their final drafts and paint a picture of what the sandwich looked like.

This may not be the lesson for you, but go find your lesson.  There is nothing more incredible than seeing your kids' eyes sparkle, watching imagination grow, and observing dreamers realize that they can do anything.  It will make all of the weight you endure worth it.