My students need class garden planting materials, pots for planting a garden at home, a nutrition game, a nutrition DVD, and nutrition-themed readers theater scripts.
Some students bring healthy snacks and lunches to school, but more do not. They passively eat what is in their bag and don't take ownership of the process. Inspired by FEED USA, I would like for my students to grow their own healthy food and learn to think about what goes into their bodies.
The students in our class are diverse, just as is the city in which they live.
They have different religions, races, abilities, and economic and family backgrounds. They are rich with diversity. My students live in a large city and come from busy families. They have a hard time fitting in homework, after school activities, and family time into a full day. As I watch the children eat their snacks, I see mostly pre-packaged food from the store. I'm not judging this. I'm just seeing it as an example of how families are trying to save time. Most of the children eat their snacks and lunches quickly and thoughtlessly. They're in a hurry to play for recess.
My Project
I want to raise my student's consciousness about what they eat. First of all, I'd like for us to raise vegetables in a class garden. This is a model suggested by "FEED USA." I believe that as the students plant, water, weed, and care for the growing vegetables, they will become more interested in tasting and eating them. Congruently, I want our class to keep a garden journal, play nutrition-centered games, talk about the food groups, and read and present short plays about eating healthy foods. In addition, I want each child to carry home a small potted vegetable plant to continue growing at home. Their families can discuss the plant and hopefully find a little spot for it to grow. I'm not unrealistic. My student's families will still be busy and may not have time for a large garden at home. But some might be inspired to plant a few vegetables. And all of my students will be impacted in some way to become more interested in their health and what goes into their bodies.
Learning to make good food choices as a first grader will benefit my students' health all of their lives.
What could be more important? "Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow," says the old song. I'm going to change it to "Carrots, peas, beans, and lettuce grow." My hope is that they will grow in our own little classroom garden. My hope is that you will help us make this happen.
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