Herlyn Cresino

Professor Goodwin

EDEC 435

6 December 2017

Plan Assignment

Statement of the Problem

The lunches served in schools are often frozen, unhealthy, and unappetizing. Therefore,

we need to improve the quality of food that is being served in order for them to be healthy and

nutritious for young children. For some children, the lunch that is served at school is the only

meal that they will have for the rest of the day. Some children and families rely on school

lunches because of low socioeconomic status or the inability to provide food on the table.

Because of this, we need to ensure that children are practicing healthy eating habits and are being

served high quality, nutritious foods that will benefit them while they are learning.

Background Information

School lunch programs date back to the 1940s and have improved immensely since. At

the time, the main concern for lunch programs was the surplus of agricultural products rather

than a focus on nutrition (Woyshner, 2010, p.408). However, malnutrition was a common issue

and healthy children reflected how prosperous and successful the U.S. was. Free meals were also

limited to certain groups of children. Those that were left out were the poor African-Americans.

Groups like the PTA and Black Panthers fought for African-Americans to receive free school

lunches (Woyshner, 2010, p.409). According to Woyshner, Today nearly thirty million children

in 98,000 schools eat lunch, and nearly 60 percent of school-aged children nationally get free

lunches (Woyshner, 2010, p.408).

 Objective

Studies have shown, Healthier meals could raise student achievement by about 4

percentile points on average (Andersen, 2017). There is an evident correlation between healthy

eating and academic performance which emphasizes the importance of providing nutritious

foods. Healthy meals will not only benefit childrens overall well-being, but also their ability to

focus and study in school. Most children arent eating the proper amounts of fruits and

vegetables that they need on a daily basis. If they are not receiving it at home, then they should at

least be consuming those amounts in school. Children spend a majority of their day in school so,

by taking advantage of that time, we could incorporate healthy eating habits throughout the day.

School gardens are a great way of implementing and bringing awareness to the value of fruits

and vegetables. I believe that by building a school garden, we could educate students about

healthy eating and incorporate the fruits and vegetables that we grow into our school meals.

Having a garden also creates a sense of responsibility, community, and togetherness because

everyone is doing their part in looking after the fruits and vegetables that are being grown.

Ethical Responsibility

As advocates for young children, it is our responsibility to provide them with high quality

care and services. It is also our responsibility to create and maintain healthy environments that

support the whole child in all areas. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct states that it is our

responsibility, To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster childrens social,

emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their

contributions (NAEYC, Ideal 1.5). By providing nutritious foods, we are preparing children for

success in school. They are able to learn and focus more when they are consuming foods that are
beneficial for their brains and bodies. Therefore, it is our role to ensure that we are providing

healthy, nutritious foods to support their development.

Barriers and Challenges

One of the main challenges of this issue is the lack of funding because building a school

garden is a huge investment. It would be more likely for the garden to be successful in higher

quality schools as opposed to schools in poor neighborhoods. This is simply because of how

challenging it would be to find resources for the supplies and materials needed. Financial support

is a necessity in this situation. Money would be required for materials, training, maintenance, and

more (Davis, 2017). A lack of funding and resources is the main barrier in preventing this issue

from being resolved.

Parent, teacher, and community support are important for a school garden to be

successful. Davis explains, ... many participants felt they lacked much of the knowledge and

support needed for a successful gardening program (Davis, 2017). One of the challenges is

volunteers and teachers not having the background information and training to properly care for

a garden. This is important for maintenance as they will be the ones guiding and supporting

children. Money is also needed in order for teachers to go through proper training to ensure the

wellbeing of the garden.

Another challenge is the availability of space in the school environment. Depending on

the area, we could accommodate to that space by choosing a limited amount of fruits and

vegetables to be grown. Growing and maintaining a garden is also time consuming. Finding time

throughout the day and during vacations could be difficult in caring for the garden. Along with

that, weather conditions have a heavy influence on the success of the garden (Davis, 2017). Cold,
rainy weather is not the ideal condition for growing fruits and vegetables. Building a school

garden can be limited to certain areas because of weather conditions.

Stakeholders

The main stakeholders for this issue are the administration, school district, and teachers.

They are responsible for making important decisions such as, building a school garden. Their

beliefs, values, and perspectives reflect on the school environment that they create. The

resources, activities, and food that are provided are based off of the decisions they make. If they

have a strong belief in the benefits and importance of providing healthy, nutritious foods in

school, then it will make my proposition easier for them to agree with. They would be open-

minded and accepting of the idea of building a school garden if we shared the same perspective

on the issue.

Another stakeholder for this issue are the children. The children are the ones who are

going to be consuming and looking after the school garden. Therefore, its important for them to

understand the value and importance of growing, maintaining, and being responsible for the

fruits and vegetables. Children will most likely be curious and intrigued in helping with the

garden. They will learn to have a sense of responsibility which is a great life skill to have. Their

curiosity could be brought into the classroom through connections to science or math lesson

plans. Most importantly, they are the ones who will be benefitting the most and their

perspectives are important for this issue. If the children arent passionate or interested in a school

garden, it wont be beneficial for them. But by teaching them the value of healthy eating, I

believe they will learn to appreciate the food that we grow and provide for them.

Parents have an important perspective on this issue because they may not be able to

provide their children with healthy, nutritious foods. This could be due to low socioeconomic
status or lack of resources. As a result, parents may appreciate the idea of a school garden

because their children will be exposed to fruits and vegetables that they may not be receiving at

home. On the other hand, there may also be parents who dislike the idea of having a garden

because of regulations or safety. Their concerns could be that they dont want their children

consuming foods that they cannot oversee. If several families disagree with the garden, it can be

difficult to proceed. However, if parents supported the idea, it could benefit the entire

community.

Long Term Goals

My long term goal is to build school gardens and implement the fruits and vegetables that

we grow into our school lunches. I would hope that having this garden will encourage students to

practice healthy eating habits. This long term goal would also hopefully help decrease the

obesity rates amongst young children which has been an increasingly common issue.

Short Term Goals

The first of my three short term goals is to create an educational poster that shows what

the school garden will look like. It will include a list of the fruits and vegetables that we will aim

to have. It will also have easy to read information about the benefits and long term effects that

the garden will provide for the children. My second short term goal would be to develop a lesson

plan which shows how the garden could also be implemented into the classroom. It will be a

hands-on activity for Kindergarten aged children to show that no matter what age, any child can

participate in the project. My last short term goal is to write a letter advocating for a garden to a

teacher to gain supporters for my issue. It is my opportunity to show how passionate and strong

my beliefs are in providing healthy, nutritious foods to children through the garden that we can

create.
 Tactics For Short Term Goals

The educational poster will be used like a flyer to help spread the word of what I am

advocating for. It could be posted on bulletin boards, sent home to families, and to the entire

community. By doing so, it helps bring awareness to the issue and what we can do as a

community to resolve it. The lesson plan will be given to teachers to show how the garden will

not only benefit childrens physical development, but also their science skills. Kindergarteners

learn best through hands-on activities so, this lesson plan will be perfect as it could easily be

included into their daily routine. Lastly, the letter will help me gain supporters and bring

awareness to building a school garden. By working with the teacher, she could help me bring this

issue to attention to the principal or director of the school. I would hope that through my

convincing words, they will be open-minded and accepting towards me ideas.

References

Anderson, M. D. (2017, March 22). Do healthy lunches improve student test scores?

Davis, K. L., & Brann, L. S. (2017). Examining the benefits and barriers of instructional

gardening programs to increase fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-age children.

Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2017, 1-7.

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct. (2011).

Utter, Denny, & Dyson. (2016). School gardens and adolescent nutrition and BMI: Results from

a national, multilevel study. Preventive Medicine, 83, 1-4.

Woyshner, C. (2010). School lunch politics: the surprising history of America's favorite welfare

program. by Susan Levine. History of Education Quarterly, 50(3), 408-410.

 Short Term Goals

Educational Poster
 Why we
need school
gardens
Benefits
Reduced obesity rates
Less frequent fast-food consumption
Increased fruit and vegetable consumption
Higher student achievement
Improved healthy-eating habits

Fruits & Vegetables

Includes
Blueberries
Eggplants
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Strawberries
Peppers

Why this matters-long term effects

Many children are not receiving the sufficient amount of servings needed of fruits and
vegetables
Some families need support in providing their children with healthy, nutritious foods
Increased awareness and knowledge of the importance of nutrition
Creates a sense of community, togetherness, and working with others as a group
 Lesson Plan

Growing in the Garden

Lesson Plan for Kindergarten, Science
Prepared by Herlyn Cresino

OBJECTIVES

1. Students will understand the structure and build of different plants.

2. Students will understand the effect weather has on the way plants grow.
3. Students will understand how much water plants need and why its important for their growth.

EDUCATION STANDARDS

1. Students know how to observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and
behavior of plants and animals (e.g., seed-bearing plants, birds, fish, insects).
2. Students know how to identify major structures of common plants and animals (e.g., stems,
leaves, roots, arms, wings, legs).
3. Students know changes in weather occur from day to day and across seasons, affecting Earth and
its inhabitants.

MATERIALS NEEDED

1. The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

 2. Watering Can
3. Soil
4. Magnifying Glass

SUMMARY

1. Read a book
2. Observe outside
3. Water plants
4. Analyze appearance
5. Have a discussion
6. Art project

LESSON OUTLINE

1. Teacher will read The Tiny Seed to the children.

2. Go outside to observe the plants in the garden.
3. Analyze what dry soil looks and feels like.
4. Have the children touch the soil with their hands.
5. Children will water the plants one by one with the teachers help and guidance.
6. Have the students gently touch what the soil feels like now that its wet.
7. Observe the weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.)
8. Students will go back inside and have a discussion.
a. What they observed
b. What the weather was like- how it affects the plants
c. Why water is important for the garden
9. Students will draw the plants they observed.

ASSESSMENT

Students will have a class discussion with the teacher about what they saw or observed. This gives them
the opportunity to share ideas and perspectives. They will be given art materials to make a garden of their
own, including the weather. This shows what they learned, observed, and analyzed during the activity.
 Letter

Dear Mrs. Miller,

My name is Herlyn Cresino and I am a student at Sonoma State University. I am taking a

leadership and advocacy class on behalf of children and families in which I have to advocate for
a certain issue or topic. I have chosen to advocate for healthier, nutritious foods in schools
through building a school garden. I strongly believe that it will be very beneficial for students.
For some families, they are unable to provide their children with healthy foods because of lack of
resources. By building a school garden, it will expose children to various fruits and vegetables
and makes them willing to try new foods. It also lowers obesity rates and improves academic
performance. I believe building a school garden reaps numerous benefits for our students and I
would love to have your support in making this plan happen.

I understand that there is a financial barrier and it can be difficult to gather money for this project
to happen. However, I believe that with your help, along with the community and external
resources, we can make this school garden happen. We can gather help from volunteers and
donations which supports my plan that will ultimately be beneficial for the entire community.

I am looking forward to your response and am hoping we can further discuss this project.

Sincerely,

Herlyn Cresino