Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

I decided to make my plum pudding this week. It took several calls to my mother to ask specifics about the recipe. The recipe came from my Grandma (Ma) Erickson and she wasn't always very exact on her recipes. For example, the ingredients called for 'small cups' of some things, big teaspoons of soda, and enough flour to make it stiff. My mother shared some directions that weren't in the recipe which I am sure were necessary for success. The first step was to cut up the suet. My mother said she always has the butcher grind it when she buys it, so I will have to remember that for next year. The suet is important because it is the fat or oil in the pudding. The recipe calls for regular raisins and seeded raisins. We can't find seeded raisins anymore so my mom suggested dates as a substitute. That works well. The dry ingredients look like this when mixed together. But you then add molasses for flavor and sweetness. Then you gradually add enough flour to make i...

I know I haven't been nearly as faithful writing this blog this fall. I miss sharing and even thinking about what I should share with my blogging friends. My positions at Hopkins Middle School & MAISA (Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators) have kept me working almost full-time with only an occasional day off. This week I was in Lansing Monday - Wednesday attending two different conferences. Both dealt with using data from student work to improve the teaching. The emphasis in education is changing from the focus on the teaching to a focus on what the students are learning. It is a subtle difference but it makes huge differences in the end product-the achievement of the students. Then Thursday and Friday I was at Hopkins Middle School working with teachers to implement strategies to help students better understand and remember what they read. Hopkins Middle School is a small school with great kids. I'm enjoying my work there getting to know the...