Lemonade Math

Root Bear Float Experiment - States of Matter

I want to do this with my class as an end of year delicious science experiment...



Printable Sheets here

Poverty: Why are our children still hungry?

One of the schools I work at has a breakfast program, but it struggles to stay running and was recently saved by 'adopt a school' sponsorship. Our amazing youth worker prepares smoothies each morning for students who arrive hungry.

This article caught my eye, I wonder why Canada is the only G8 country without a program in place for our hungry students?

This morning, one in seven Canadian children went to school hungry. In the poorest communities that number can reach 50 per cent. Despite this, Canada is the only G8 country that does not have a national child nutrition program in our schools.

Many people don’t realize the extent of hunger in Canada. In a developed country like ours, it can be easily overlooked. Every month, nearly 900,000 Canadians receive assistance from food banks — 38 per cent of them are children and youth. These youth frequently go to school on an empty stomach.

READ MORE HERE.

This needs to change! This is not about money, it is about priorities. 

Healthy Festive Fun treats for Halloween

Looking for healthy treats for your Halloween party? These are fun, healthy and still festive

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net via Amanda on Pinterest

Home Ec: Checking In #homeecteacher

Wow, October is half way over, I feel like I am finally getting my head wrapped around the ins and outs or teaching Home Ec again! I meant to post more sooner, but just haven't had the time... but I want to post more! As a new home ec teacher, I am learning so much and want to share it with others who may find themselves teaching home ec, but also to seek ideas from those of you more experienced home ec teachers =)

My job share partner teachers M-W and typically does the recipe and demo with the students along with the lessons. My Thurs and Fri is typically cooking/lab days and on off weeks continuation of the lessons.

We are doing just foods/cooking, not sewing, which I have taught in the past (Sock Monkeys for 6/7s, PJ pants for 8s)

I wanted to share some of the labs we have made. I didn't get photos of the cheese scones, quesadilla, fruit tarts or berry muffins, however, I do have some of our other labs....

Grade 6/7s did fruit crisps... messy but delicious!

Grade 8s did pizza pockets. Dough was Day 1, Stuffing was Day 2

Grade 6/7s made personal/co-operative pizzas

My face says it all... this was my FIRST lab day, It felt so great to see all the students enjoying their muffins!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - these were so yummy!

So, although things are VERY busy, they are going very well! I am really enjoying Home Ec and as first term comes to an end in a couple weeks, I feel like second term will be a blast now that I am used to my new position!!

Article: What Teachers Eat For Lunch Matters More Than You’d Think

What Teachers Eat For Lunch Matters More Than You’d Think

by Dawn Casey-Rowe, Social Studies Teacher and Learnist Evangelist

 

Back to school season makes me think about lunch.

“You’re supposed to be thinking about teaching,” you might say. Lunch might not seem like an academic topic, but it is–students who are not well nourished do not learn effectively. While some schools have rejected prepared foods in favor of salad bars, chopped veggies, homemade items, and farm to table, these options simply aren’t available for many of our children. The history of school lunch is interesting. Though the first school lunch was provided in New York City in 1853, lunch programs were expanded during the Depression, feeding children and helping farmers to take price-lowering surplus off the market. This created the the standard school lunch, available at prices students could afford, leading to many hungry children being fed.

Some of the resulting items are not as healthy as we might like in today’s health-conscious environment. The good news is that many schools are addressing this. Still, parents often choose to encourage healthy eating by packing lunch for students, saving money in these tough economic times as well. When I was a student a million years ago, it wasn’t cool to bring a lunch. I ate several years of jelly sandwiches supplanted by several more of soup in thermoses, followed by four years of high school cafeteria lunch.

 

Healthy eating isn’t just an issue for kids–it’s an issue for adults, too, and critical, because we provide the example. Our students and children see how we eat. They emulate us. Healthy lifestyle habits set foundations for success. This is one of the most important issues in school today, in my opinion. I can’t teach effectively to students who haven’t eaten–this happens all the time. As a teacher, I don’t get apples, I toss them to hungry students. Every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Learnist Resources For Healthier Eating At School

Waste-Free Lunch

The United States generates mountains of waste related to school lunches, and not every school recycles. Reduce the waste using the waste-free lunch philosophy. Packing a waste-free lunch isn’t that hard. You need a few items that will save you money in the end–and they are very cool for school.

School Gardens

School gardens interest students in food. When students, especially little ones, see their food grow–the miracle of watching the seed grow into the food on the table, they become interested in trying new healthy foods. Although I’m still waiting for this to be true for my son, it’s certainly true for my students.

Packing a Healthy School Lunch

Packing healthy lunch doesn’t need to be burdensome. It can be fun, too. This board has suggestions and recipes to help you, so that lunch doesn’t get old quick.

Kids and Healthy Food

This board discusses the issue of kids and healthy food, including the fact that the number one school meal is chicken fingers and french fries–hardly the place we want to be on a regular basis. Healthy school lunches is becoming a large political grassroots movement. How is your state doing?

Healthify Your Lunch

Kids’ habits are generated and reinforced by adults. Here are some ways to make your own lunch great. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or just interested in health, we can all do a little better. Get a new lunch box, plan out the menus, and have fun! Chances are, you’ll be able to keep a little bit more money in your wallet as well.

Source: http://www.teachthought.com/interest/what-teachers-eat-for-lunch-matters-more-than-youd-think/

Science: Pizza Cells

Source: journey2excellence.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I don't know if I could eat this, but it looks like a fun way to learn about cells no? If you like food ans science here is another one...

Source: teach.genetics.utah.edu via Amanda on Pinterest

Enviro-Lunch Kits

I have seen a few of these cool lunch boxes lately while TTOCing in different Primary classes. I like that there are different compartments for food, it makes eating healthy lunches more fun and is environmentally more friendly.

I looked into them some more and found the website for Planetbox. Although they are a bit pricey ($40-60+ depending on what add-on's you get) I can see the savings financially in purchasing them:

Their website says:

Why does your product cost what it does?Most of us are used to the low cost of buying things made out of plastic and designed to be used and thrown away fairly quickly. Our product is different. We use a high quality, expensive material, and our products are intricately engineered to function well over time. All this costs more than the throw away items we are too used to consuming. We realize that this is a significant investment for many families As you know, this is something that you and your child can use every weekday for years to come. It is a high quality product that is not cheap to produce. Our sincere hope is that people will find the investment was worth it for their family.

Even though PlanetBox might cost more up front, will it save me money in the long term?

Yes! By replacing wasteful, single use plastic and paper containers, you will save money over the lifetime of the product. Also, your PlanetBox allows you to buy food in bulk, which is cheaper and less wasteful than single use containers. For example, a 1 oz prepackaged bag of cheesy crackers costs 87 cents, but 1 oz of those exact same crackers taken from a 12 oz box costs 43 cents – half as much!

I plan to look into other lunch kits similar to this and see what is out there first...

 This website has a great comparison of several "bento box" style lunch kits.

Still, thist is absolutely something I would like to get for my daughter's lunches (and mine too!)

Here is their website if you want to check it out:
http://www.planetbox.com/index.html

Here are some more photos from the website: