My students need 5 "Healthy Body" cookbooks, an electric skillet, and utensils in order to learn healthy cooking techniques, using reading, math and science, to follow a recipe and cook a healthy meal.
BAM! Healthy, nutritious cooking can be fun! I want to let my students experience how much fun this can be by reading an age-appropriate cookbook, planning a meal, following a recipe and practicing safe cooking techniques to enjoy a healthy meal. FOOD USA is assisting in this project.
Students at my Title I elementary school come from low-income households and many come from homes where English is spoken as a second language (or not spoken at all.) Our school houses a local food pantry for anyone in the community where they can come and pick up a grocery bag of nutritious food items.
Many of our students' homes do not have books and the children have never followed a written recipe. Experiencing the planning, preparation and enjoyment of a healthy meal will provide a learning experience they can share at home with their families. Our students are eager to learn and work hard to achieve successes in academics and in their lives.
My Project
Most students in my class eat their healthiest meals during their free (or reduced cost)breakfast and lunch which they eat at school. Many come from low-income homes where nutritious meals are not a part of their daily lives. Teaching students how to read a cookbook and its recipes, plan a nutritious meal, use safe cooking techniques and enjoy that meal will provide a learning experience they can share with their families at home. The cookbooks themselves will be available for checkout in our school library so the students can cook for themselves or their families at home. What a wonderful way to learn reading, science and math and integrate them into their daily live with their families! Using the cookbook to read a recipe, using math and science to measure and prepare the ingredients, using the electric frying pans to safely prepare the meal and enjoying the "fruits" of their labor with the plates, cups and cutlery will provide a unique in-school learning experience for my students.
Many times young students remember a unique learning experience their entire lives.
How often do you have the opportunity to plan, prepare and eat a meal while in elementary school? Healthy eating habits begin at home, but many students do not experience this on a routine basis. Many of these fourth grade students have younger siblings at home and will be able to model for them what they learned during this project. This project may just change the way the whole family eats at home.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. McQueen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.