You can always tell what we had for dinner, or what fruit/veggies I have prepped, and how late I slept by what makes it into the lunchbox that morning...
fresh pineapple + red pepper spears + avocado hummus (from Trader Joe's) + baked blue corn chips + a mozzarella stick + a cup of yogurt for a treat
yogurt smoothie + shredded carrots (leftover from a recipe the night before) + freeze-dried berries + a few gingersnaps + cream cheese and jelly on whole wheat bread (made exciting with cookie cutters)
a cup of yogurt + fresh berries + a slice of cornbread from dinner the night before + a bunch of veggies + a fruit leather
a fruit leather (can you tell I stocked up that week?) + a cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese + cucumbers + blueberries + peas (fun to pick up apparently..)
Hey Eila,
ReplyDeleteYou always have such great ideas, I wanted to share one with you. It's actually not mine-- it's the nightly "homework" from Luca's Montessori school. (He's 6, by the way, in 1st grade).
So the homework is... kids have to make their own lunch. Parents can (and should) discuss choices and options, but kids do all the getting stuff out of the fridge/cupboard, cutting/slicing/assembling/packing, etc.
I've talked to other parents at the school (his classroom has kids from 6-12 years old) and-- across the board-- they all love doing the work. Every day. It takes time, for sure-- Luca's pretty pokey about it and at first he needed help with the knife, etc. He can't cut pretty carrot sticks like I can, so he eats them in hideous ragged chunks, but he doesn't care. On the few nights where we've been short on time and I've offered to make it for him, he's begged me to do it. He's really proud about it. And now he knows, without me asking, that he needs a main protein with or w/o a carb, at least one veggie, and and a fruit. And a healthy snack.
I should add that, as a Montessori school, it's the ONLY homework they have, ever, so I don't know if it's practical for busy families with other homework and a lot of other activities, but I think he's been really empowered by it, and I *love* not having to make his lunch every night. And it makes our mornings easier, too, b/c when I did used to pack it for him, I often waited til the morning and then everything was always rushed.
For what it's worth!
Keep up the great blog! xo