For some of us, the lazy days of summer are over. For others, there’s a couple more weeks of summertime fun left before the craziness of the school year begins. Nonetheless, for all of us, the stressors of school are upon us. We’re back to worrying about reading and writing, math and science, and then, there’s lunch and snacks.
Has this become a stressor for any of you? I’m glad that I started the conversation about eating school lunch with my son last year when he was in kindergarten. Here is our approach: We treat the cafeteria like a restaurant so he learns that it’s a privilege for him to choose his meal each day and I look forward every day to hearing my little food critic’s review of the food! I encourage each of you to eat a school lunch with your child in the next few weeks and see what the new school lunches are all about. I bet many of you will be pleasantly surprised.
Now what stresses me more than lunch this year is snack time. We received a letter indicating that each student is responsible for their own snack each day. Ugh! This is exactly what I was trying to get away from with buying lunch. I don’t want the responsibility of thinking about, buying, preparing, and remembering snacks each day. Thank goodness for Pinterest!
It turns out, with the help of Pinterest and discussing healthy options with my son, we’ve had a pretty good first week of snacks. We’ve sent grapes, homemade zucchini muffins, graham crackers with peanut butter, apples, and strawberries. Howie has loved them and is excited for what next week brings. I love that each day, he’s receiving a little healthy snack full of brain fuel and made with love.
This stressor has turned into something positive, something I look forward to preparing most evenings. I’m eager to see what kinds of creative ideas I’m able to find through websites like The OrganWise Guys and how Howie likes them. I’ll keep you updated on my favorites and ask that you do the same for yours. After all, we’re all in this together!
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, WellConnect LLC.
