II teach at an older, urban school where many of my wonderful first graders are the children of deployed military personnel. They attend school in one of the most multicultural districts in the United States. Although many of my students are deemed at-risk, they are trying very hard to learn English and at the same time, they are learning how to navigate being in school.
All of my students qualify for free breakfast and lunch; often those free meals are the only food they have.
The majority of my students walk to our neighborhood school and it is cold and dark when they leave home for school and cold and dark when they walk home but they have smiles on their faces because school is everything to them.
We are not a Title I school, and, as a result, we lack the resources and opportunities of many other schools. This pandemic has been hard on my students and their families and students often come to school hungry and without basic supplies because their families cannot afford them.
My Project
Our winter break is coming soon and I am worried about my kids. My students hurry to school in the morning because they qualify for free breakfast and lunch; often those free meals are the only food they have. Weekends and holidays are not days of celebration for my students but they are days with special problems. On those days, there may be nothing to eat. Some students are home alone while a parent is working or getting treatment. Frankly, my students need to learn how to feed themselves.
My students desperately need to learn about the cost of food and how to cook for themselves.
My students need some peanut butter, tuna, dried beans and other food. Every week, I am going to "cook" in the classroom and show my students how to create low-cost, nutritious, healthy snacks and meals.. My students will practice reading "recipes" while they learn about food. They will also learn math as they measure the beans, rice and spices to make take-home packets to share with their families. They will learn about financial literacy as they learn the cost of food items.
My wonderful first graders need to learn about financial literacy as well as nutrition and good eating habits. The food and supplies from this grant will enable my students to take the first steps toward healthy eating. Please donate and help my students.
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