There are a lot of creative homeschool moms in this world! This great idea from Machiel and is sure to lighten your load and give your homeschool some zip:
If you’ve got many young children at home, sometimes lunch can be a lot of work. And making the transition from school, to lunch, and possibly back to school is difficult and time-consuming. Or kids get hungry early, shortening your schooltime. Try having School Snacks instead of lunch!
School snacks are just healthy munchies served up on a fun tray. Instead of breaking momentum, school can keep right on going. Kids can snack while Mom reads to them, they listen to something, or everyone can have a school break and just enjoy. Sit on the floor, picnic style. No dishes or utensils to wash. No high chair. No mess. Very little clean-up (especially if you spread a tablecloth, picnic blanket or beach towels down on the floor first). Have some water bottles or sippy cups, plus napkins handy— and you’ve got lunch!
I buy cute, seasonal trays inexpensively on sale right after holidays. Those colorful plastic molded trays are usually less than a dollar, and are appealing to the kids. I bought a Valentine’s tray at the end of February, a shamrock shaped St. Patrick’s tray right after St. Patrick’s Day, and more, on clearance. These work great for School Snacks!
Heap your tray high with nutritious finger foods. Here’s some ideas:
Grapes
Carrot sticks
Cucumber chunks
Red or green pepper chunks
Celery sticks
Olives
Cheese chunks
String cheese
Peanuts
Raw walnuts or pecans
Blueberries
Strawberries
Chunks of whole grained bread
Mini muffins
Sprouted almonds
Whole grain crackers
Popcorn
Sunflower seeds
Whole grain croutons (doesn’t every kid wish you’d let them eat them off the salad?)
Raisins
Dates
Dried apricots
The idea is to load up your trays with healthy foods that are non-messy. Let the kids help themselves. These are nutritious foods we would use as ingredients in our meals anyway, only in their more natural state. And kids love the novelty of an indoor picnic eaten with their hands! If a child eats peanuts and fresh strawberries, it’s an improvement over peanut butter/jam.
Try School Snacks. Your kids will love it!
Comments on this entry are closed.