Cablevision’s Power to Learn—$20,000 for Classroom Projects

Working with DonorsChoose.org, Power to Learn will match donations for qualifying classroom projects in the areas of health, fitness, and nutrition.  To qualify, schools must be in the areas serviced by Cablevision. To get started, go to the DonorsChoose site, select “Get Started", check for your eligibility, and then set up a DonorsChoose account. There’s a teacher’s online tutorial to help you. Although DonorsChoose is available to all public schools in the United States, the Power to Learn matching grant is open only to schools in the Cablevision region.

Fight Child Obesity with Education

With the growing problems of childhood obesity, educators throughout the nation can do their part in solving this problem by helping children understand why eating the right foods is important. PBS LearningMedia offers a variety of resources on nutrition including a video from Idaho PTV about the absorption of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. The video asks students, “What does your body need?” and explains why food like sugars don’t give the nutrients needed. Another PBS resource covers the role of Genetics in Obesity. Some people lack a chemical in their brains that doesn’t tell them when they have eaten enough.  These people are always hungry and always eating, and therefore, gain too much weight. However, people who do not have this problem can also become obese if they eat foods, such as fast foods, that are too high in unhealthy fats and sugars. PBS Learning Media also includes close to 500 resources related to health and physical education. You can search these by media type such as audio, document, images, interactive, and video. 

Move over Potatoes

We hear comments about unhealthy school lunches and snacks, but what is being done about it?  Is it possible to offer vegetables, like broccoli, instead of French fries? The Department of Agriculture wants to do so, but those who produce potatoes aren’t happy about it. Harvard School of Public Health’s Nutrition Source UPDATE says that potatoes don’t count on its Healthy Eating Plate. Some people are worried that offering a wider variety of vegetables would be too costly, but the cost of healthcare for those who aren’t eating properly would be much greater according to Harvard Health.