Reindeer Sandwiches: Say What?

Reindeer Sandwiches: Say What? Martha Rose Woodward Although Lawrence County is too far south to find indigenous reindeer, there are certainly a great number of hunters who can and would kill reindeer. However, the Reindeer Sandwiches I am going to describe have nothing to do with wild game. Back in the day when I was a classroom teacher I used this fun activity with my students during the Christmas season. It was always a great hit with them. To make it fit into the curriculum I used it to teach the skill of following directions. We would also study about real reindeer. When teaching the lesson, I began by playing the song Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer as they sang along. This set the festive mood. Next, I would assemble the ingredients, model step-by-step how to make the sandwich and provide ingredients for each student to make one. After tasting and enjoying the treat, they got a grade for correctly following then writing the directions. A Reindeer Sandwich is made in the shape of the head of reindeer complete with a big red nose. Ingredients needed are: a slice of brown bread per sandwich, 4 stick pretzels, a red gum drop, two raisins, or 2 olives, or 2 nuts (for the eyes), and a filling such as peanut butter, tuna/chicken salad, or pimento cheese. You could also use any sandwich meat. Step One: Spread the filling on the bread. Step Two: Cut the bread into half leaving 2 triangles. Join the two sides. Step Three: Using the peanut butter, or mayonnaise, or butter as a kind of glue, smooth onto the bread in order to make the eyes stick. Step Four: Using the peanut butter, or mayonnaise, or butter, smooth onto the bottom of red gum drop and stick it onto the bread. Step Five: Place the 4 pretzels on top between the two pieces of bread as the antlers. Step Six: Share your creation with classmates and teacher. Step Seven: Eat and enjoy. Step Eight: Write the directions for making Reindeer Sandwiches. Be sure to go step by step. It was my experience that students loved lessons in which they were given the task to eat and enjoy. Merry Christmas!