Pencil Me In! I Choose to Support a Healthy Body and Planet II
My students need Sprout Pencils to get hooked on real food. Sprout pencils are pencils with herb seeds embedded in the eraser end so they can be upcycled and planted.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Miller's classroom raised $704
This project is fully funded
My Students
My students need Sprout Pencils to get hooked on real food. There is often a disconnect between real food and its origins on our planet. Processed food, fast food, and poverty all play a part and you find students who are unaware of the connections between 'real' food, health, and healthy soil.
Our school is a K-8 rural school in central California with a student population of 500.
We have over 50% of our children on free and reduced lunch. We have no immediate buildings around our campus. We are surrounded by woods and cow fields. All the students must ride the bus to come to school. Our student population is predominantly white with less than 20% ESL. Of those students most are Hispanic. Our students work hard and continue to strive for success. During the last few years they have worked hard to create a school garden. They use the garden for science, art, writing, and math.
My Project
My students need Sprout Pencils - pencils with herb seeds in the tips. It is easy to tell how a pencil will be used in a classroom. What is important in this project is to show how this pencil will be a culmination and an example of ingenuity and our master plan to involve our students in our school garden. Our school garden, like any, is a work in progress. This coming year I have several projects utilizing the pencil. First, I will be hosting Girls Lunch for the third grade girls. We will work on social issues- issues that are affecting them at school, as well as global issues- issues they will learn to discuss and have intelligent conversations, all through the lens of healthy eating and healthy choices.
In January and February we start our garden elective. I will focus on lessons about sustainability and blend in our Girls Lunch discussions. In the spring we will finally dedicate our garden during our school's sesquicentennial celebration where we will showcase our sprouted pencils.
My students are eager to Teach For The Planet.
They have slowly constructed a school garden and will work with their parents and each other once a month to build the final fence, install two gates, and plant the winter and spring crops. This project will literally 'connect the dots' via pencil or otherwise, between body health, real food, and health for our planet. This small environmental connection will grow each year with their interaction with our school garden.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Miller and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
