it's a very bittersweet time of year for me. The end of summer, and time for back-to-school. I love, love, love having my kids home during the summer. It's so much fun taking them on outings and having lazy mornings. But about this time of year, I can tell they need to get back to their school routine. Their little minds need to be stimulated with all the cool things they learn at school.
Getting back to the school year routine means packing lunches...which is not my most favorite chore. So guess what...I give the job to my husband! He doesn't mind, and has a routine of helping the boys pack their lunches after dinner every night before school.
The only part of the lunch packing I do is purchasing the food to go into the lunches. This entails me asking the boys what they will eat and then stocking the fridge and cupboards for the week.
Packing a lunch with a good balance of healthy foods the boys will eat is sometimes hard to do. What they like one week, is not always the same the next. But some of the healthy food staples that are pretty consistent in our lunches are sandwiches, carrots, strawberries, prepackaged fruits like Del Monte Fruit Cups or Del Monte Bubble Fruit Cups that I get on sale at Walmart.
For snacks, I allow some chips or crackers, and for lunch, some sort of dessert (only one sweet treat allowed).
My middle son Kyle, especially loves fruit such as strawberry and mangos. I like that these are a healthy choice to include in his lunch.
My biggest goal in sending my boys back-to-school, is to send them with the tools to succeed and thrive in their schooling. Not only do they need nutrition to keep their mind and bodies working, but also the confidence to participate in the classroom and the support of their teachers.
Having a great relationship with their teachers is very important to me. I feel that when the teacher feels you (the parent) care...they care more about your child more. I always send a goodie with the boys for their teacher on the first day with a little note letting their new teacher know I'm there to help if they need it. So far, every year has been wonderful, and we are looking forward to many more wonderful school years to come.
Here is a short video of our nightly routine of our family packing lunches for school the next day. this is dad's job, and the boys help make sure he packs what they want.
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