Mr. Soto’s Classroom Edit display name

About my class

This year I have been fortunate to be selected as part of the Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship program which will put an emphasis on cooking and using food as a tool to help guide academic learning. As part of the fellowship I will receive a $1,000 stipend to purchase cooking equipment and food supplies for the year. With 300 students and ambitious plans for food cooking/serving/tastings through the whole academic year I know those funds will run out quickly. With your help my students will have all of the cooking equipment they need and I would have all of the resources necessary to support even more engaging (and tasty!) learning experiences. During the year my students will learn about healthy eating through food tastings, recipe exploration/development/execution, self-reflection on our eating habits, and how to plan for a healthier future! They will be exposed to new foods and flavors and be taught real life skills such as basic food safety, table manners, grocery shopping, recipe reading, and food preparation. As students learn these new skills they will also be receiving exposure to the mindfulness practices that are already a part of our Wellness curriculum. Mindful eating exercises will become a regular practice as students are allowed time to fully explore new foods by engaging as many senses as possible. These guided explorations will help students reflect on the relationships they have with the foods that we eat--not only their effect on our body weight but in the very flora of our digestive system and the chemicals we find in our brains. Students will learn about how our food choices affect our behavior and our mood, our ability to think, remember, and reason, and most importantly our ability to live long, happy and fulfilling lives! During the year students will be exposed to wellness practices that will will address our Physical, Social, Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, and Environmental needs through a serious of engaging and thought provoking activities. With a kitchen cart and all of the tools at their disposal, my students can't wait to start cooking up some Wellness!