When only my first child was in K-2, I was able to pack her lunch at night or in the morning, no problem. But now that my other two are now in Kindergarten & 1st grade, it's a little bit more work. They aren’t always taking lunches on the same days, so I knew I needed something to save my sanity. I’m all about giving my children responsibilities they can handle, which makes less work for me!
So I introduced the Pack-Your-Own-Lunch Station. And they loved it!
I got these containers at Walmart, but see they have something similar on Amazon!
This was a way for each of us to have control over what was in their lunchboxes. I provided the food choices, and they got to pick which ones went in each day. (Controlled choice)
This also ensured they would actually eat what was packed in their lunchbox. Don't you hate when the lunchbox comes home and there are warm cheese sticks??
We have 4 baskets: Dairy/Protein, Fruit, Vegetable, and Other. They take water for their drink, buy a school milk, or sometimes they get to take a juice box or flavored water pouch. If they would like a sandwich, they have to "order" it the night before so I know.
Not only is this saving me time and encouraging responsibility, it’s teaching them about the food groups and healthy eating habits
Each week, I try to change it up by including different items in each basket. I also look at the school lunch calendar to see how many lunches are going to be packed that week and plan accordingly.
Fruit
Dairy and Protein
Veggies
Other
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