How to Prepare for Your Tastebud Trekkers Classroom Visit

We are so excited to visit your class! In preparation for your upcoming visit, we ask that you read through this information carefully.

Sample Tastebud trekkers Schedule

15 Minutes - Introduction, Cooking Demo in the classroom, Wash Hands

15 Minutes - Students will work together to chop pears and prepare a personal cup of pear chia pudding

20 Minutes - While the pudding is setting, students will be led through a movement activity (outside if possible), discovering what “local” means

25 Minutes - Transition back to classroom, taste pudding & have class discussion

Classroom Visit Structure

The RVF2S educator will start by introducing themselves and lead a class discussion about what kinds of foods are seasonally available this time of year. Then they will bring out some locally sourced pears and share where they came from.

Next our educator will walk your students through the process of making pear chia pudding. We would like to have the students’ desks arranged in clusters so that they can work in small groups. Within each of these groups, we will pair students up with a buddy. Each pair will be given one pear to share, along with a cutting board and a crinkle cutter. At their workstations, pairs will take turns chopping their pears using the crinkle cutters and will add them to a bowl at their table. While they are not chopping, students will be assembling their personal cup of pudding (oat milk & chia seeds) and setting it aside to let it set. Once all of the students have completed these tasks, we will have them clean up their workstations.

While the pudding is setting, we would like to do a movement game (outside if possible) to delve into the meaning of "local" and discuss the benefits of eating local food. Then we will return to the classroom, practice mindful tasting as we eat our pear chia pudding and discuss what we learned.

Each student will receive a handout with the recipe and other fun pear activities to take home!

What We Need:

  • Desks to be arranged in workstation groups

  • It would be helpful if desks could be sanitized before we start, so that we can make sure our cooking surfaces are clean. We will be bringing cutting boards and wipes to clean up after chopping the pears.

  • Cleared back table/cluster of desks for us to set up our supplies and demo how to prepare the pudding.

  • Projector so that we can show some pictures from the farm where the pears came from (we will send you a Powerpoint/PDF before your visit)

  • Hand washing sink is best, but if your classroom doesn't have a sink, we can use hand sanitizer

  • Access to an outside area for the game while the pudding is setting - we can talk about what that looks like at your school.

  • Access to a sink in between classes for some quick dish clean up and prep for the next class.

Payment

The Tastebud Trekkers fee is $350 ($175 per class), each class can be up to 30 students. You will be receiving an invoice after your visit.

If you have any questions or concerns about your upcoming classroom visit, don't hesitate to contact us!