Back-to-school time is always a perfect time to get nostalgic about your own days in the classroom, but things have changed a lot since you were the one sitting behind the desk. From hand-operated (gasp!) pencil sharpeners to everyone’s favorite folders, scroll down to re-discover some of the school supplies you probably couldn’t live without.
Scented markers made your papers smell delicious. Lucky for kids everywhere, they're still going strong and available anywhere school supplies are sold.
Bento boxes with Instagrammable food art have replaced plastic lunch boxes packed with fruit roll ups and gummy sharks (don't forget your matching Thermos!).
Our family just returned from our annual week at the Jersey Shore. Nothing recharges us like a day on the beach, listening to the rhythmic sound of the waves, breathing the salty air, and soaking up Vitamin D. However, it’s hard to ignore the shocking headlines about our fragile oceans that are increasingly in peril. So, what can our family do to help the oceans right now?
Here are 10 simple ways to help the ocean starting today:
1. Use Metal or Glass Water Bottles
Water is an important step to giving your body the hydration it needs, but plastic water bottles often pollute our oceans. By opting for a glass water bottle, it’ll help alleviate the pollution in our oceans, but also saves you money by not buying water. It’s also important to note that most plastic bottles are actually not reusable because they can release toxins from heat, so carrying your water in a glass bottle is healthier for your body as well!
2. Use Metal or Wood Utensils
Also, most fast-food restaurants and food trucks give plastic utensils as a means of easy and cheap clean-up, but it’s doing a lot of harm. Plastic utensils such as plastic straws often get into our oceans, causing massive health problems for our ocean animals.
Our family now brings a backpack with us on just about every outing filled with metal water bottles and a few reusable sporks that we got at a camping store.
3. Stop Using Styrofoam & Plastic Cups
Hot coffee or tea in the morning is essential for many people, but cutting out the styrofoam cups can help our oceans breathe a little better. Styrofoam is not biodegradable, making it nearly impossible to dispose of it in a safe way. Getting a thermos to fill up with coffee or tea (at home or at a store) can be a painless step that can help our oceans and ocean animals.
4. Bring a Tote Bag
On recent trips outside the country, I noticed that most stores don’t provide plastic shopping bags, and expect you to use reusable tote bags instead. Sounds like a good policy for our country, too! In the meantime, getting a sturdy tote bag can make sure we’re cutting out plastic bags when we don’t need them. Tote bags are affordable and available in an array of sizes, fun prints, and colors to choose from. Be sure to keep one in the car, and have reusable shopping bags ready for trips to the grocery store!
5. Cut Up Six-Pack Rings & Masks
The plastic that keeps together cans and other drinks may seem like a tiny harmless thing, but our marine and ocean life end up getting stuck in the way too often. If you’re really craving that product and it contains these rings, just make sure to cut them up because it makes sure our animal friends don’t get tangled up in them.
Also, be sure to cut the straps on disposable masks, as people have found a number of seagulls tangled in them!
6. Avoid Buying Plastic Packaging
You’ve probably heard about “dead zones” in the ocean consisting of vast seas of plastic garbage. Buying plastic-free packaging can help us cut out ocean pollution. Choosing products that contain easy to recycle packaging such as paper can make sure we’re not consuming a lot of plastic as shoppers. It is also important to note that only 9.5% of plastic is reduced, which means around 90% of our plastic consumption ends up polluting the earth.
7. Travel the Ocean Responsibly
Make sure to research any cruise, kayak, or boating service before you go on your journey to make sure that the services aren’t harming our oceans. There are many eco-friendly options to choose from, so go on ahead and search!
8. Volunteer: Help Clean Up Beaches!
Does your family go to the beach every summer? The tides often carry debris and waste into the ocean which affects ocean water quality and ocean life. Find out if your favorite beach has any “clean-up” events for volunteers. Volunteering is a great way to strengthen your connection to the beach, and is very rewarding. Helping to clean up the pollution on the beach can also bring a huge impact on our oceans.
9. Support Organizations That Help the Ocean
By donating, helping, or spreading the news, you can help make sure that our ocean is protected. Every bit of help counts and there are tons of ways that a person can help. Do a little research on sites like CharityWatch.org and find a top-rated organization or charity that helps the ocean.
10. Learn about the Biodiversity of Our Oceans
The world’s oceans contain millions of marine species, but that number is in decline. Learning about biodiversity and what affects oceans is a powerful tool, and it’s also incredibly interesting!
I'm Missy, a mother of three and a middle school drama teacher at a private school. I'm obsessed with my Vizsla (dog), traveling, and the musical Hamilton. I also enjoy writing and sharing fun parenting stories, which is what brought me here.
Are you counting down the days until your next road trip? Playmobil just debuted their VW line and we can’t wait to get on the road again. The iconic toymaker announced in September that two legendary Volkswagen vehicles would be given the Playmobil treatment in 2021 – the Playmobil Volkswagen T1 Camper Van ($63) and the Playmobil Volkswagen Beetle ($51).
Playmobil T1 Camping Bus ($49.99): The iconic red and white-colored van is equipped with a mini-kitchen, fold-down seating that converts into a sleeping area, and plenty of storage space. Remove the roof to access the camper’s interior, seating figures at the table or behind the wheel. Open the two side doors to reveal shelves for your non-perishable foods and a fold-down vanity with mirror. When you are ready to continue your adventure, pack away supplies in the truck and stow your luggage securely under the straps on the roof rack. Set includes two figures, van, luggage, map, camera, food supplies, thermos, cups, and other accessories.
Playmobil Volkswagen Beetle ($39.99): This classic compact car comfortably seats up to four figures. Use the roof rack to store your surfboard and beach bag, or remove the rack to access the car’s interior. The rear also opens for added fun. Set includes three figures, car, surfboard, cooler, beach umbrella and sand toys, and other accessories.
Both sets are currently out of stock on the Playmobil store, but you can request a notification for when they become available again.
Editor’s note: At the time of this writing, the vehicles had been released but are significantly less expensive on the Playmobil site than they are on Amazon so prices might not match right now.
Some schools used to let their students reheat their lunch with microwaves in the lunchroom. But the COVID-19 crisis has changed the game. A lot of parents are now looking for alternatives and best practices to make sure their kids can still enjoy a hot lunch at school.
What food can we pack in an insulated lunchbox container that will actually look appetizing? And, How to keep food warm in an insulated container until lunchtime? We asked Jessica, CEO, and co-founder of Teuko.com. She is a mom of 2 children who attend The Lycee Francais de San Francisco, where the microwaves were banned last year. She had to reinvent lunch packing and use an insulated container daily. Follow her real-life tips and tricks to prepare hot, easy, and delicious lunches for the kids at school.
Tips & Tricks to Keep Food Warm until Lunchtime
If you have decided to use an insulated container, there are a few tricks to know that will ensure that the food you send to school stays warm until lunchtime.
1. Prepare dinner with extra servings or prepare dinner and lunch at the same time, so that you can set portions aside in a food storage container overnight in the fridge. Match the capacity of the food storage container (glass container if possible) with the capacity of the insulated lunch container. It will make the transfer easier the following morning, and it will help avoid food waste!
We noticed that the small Glasslock containers had the same capacity as the Thermos Funtainer (10oz). Bigger Glasslock containers have the same capacity as other Thermos or containers like S’nack by Swell 24oz. We like to use smaller insulated lunch boxes when we add an extra side, and bigger insulated containers when there is only one main dish.
2. In the morning, reheat the insulated lunch container first. When you wake up, reheat your insulated lunch container. Boil water, 212C/100C (very easy with an electric kettle). Fill your insulated lunch container at full capacity, close it, and let it stand. You’ll have then plenty of time to eat your breakfast, get ready and or finish preparing the rest of the lunch.
3. Before leaving the house, reheat the lunch. Take what you prepared out of the fridge and reheat it until it’s super hot. We like to use a pan or saucepan, which takes about 5-7 minutes. You can also use a microwave, which takes about 2-3 minutes, but depending on your microwave oven, the final result (your kid getting a hot lunch) may not be as expected.
4. Transfer the hot food to the hot insulated container. Empty the hot water from the insulated container. Pour the hot food into the insulated container. Note that liquids tend to stay warmer than solid foods and that solid foods tend to stay warmer if you compress well and fill in the insulated container at maximum capacity.
5. Place everything in the lunch bag, close carefully, and voilà! Your kids will be very happy to enjoy a warm meal, especially during cold, windy, foggy days like what we have in San Francisco.
What Food Should You Pack In an Insulated Container?
Here are kid-approved hot lunch ideas popular on Teuko.com that are easy to prepare and that hold up well in an insulated container.
1. Hot Lunch Idea #1: Soup
If you are looking for nutritious and stress-free hot lunch recipe ideas, soups are a must-try. They actually allow you to get a nutritious and tasty meal in no time while not requiring any specific culinary know-how nor a recipe. Find below 4 of the most popular soup ideas you need to know for the lunchbox:
Hot or cold, tomato soups are perfect with grilled cheese for the lunchbox.
Peas and spinach make a simple and healthy green soup.
Mix zucchinis with your kids’ favorite cheese and enjoy. Our kids learned to love zucchinis by mixing the Laughing Cow creamy cheese, or brie.
The sweet taste of carrots will welcome any other vegetable or spice. Start easy with our carrot pumpkin puree.
2. Hot Lunch Idea #2: Pasta
It’s a no-brainer, pasta lunches will always make meal preparation simpler than ever. The good news is that pasta will always look appetizing to your kids, including in an insulated container. No need to make it complicated, think about mac and cheese, pesto pasta, bolognese, tuna pasta. Families like to add some veggies like carrots or peas to plain pasta. In any case, go and have fun trying all the varieties of pasta available: alphabet pasta, penne, shells…
3. Hot Lunch Idea #3: Scrambled eggs with cheese
Add a salad and some fruits, and you’ll get one of the kids’ favorite breakfast for lunch ideas that holds perfectly in any insulated container. Pro tip: scrambled eggs can be prepared at the very last minute in the morning, on the stovetop, or with a microwave if you are in a rush.
4. Hot Lunch Idea #4: Lentils or beans
It’s easy to enhance the taste of these foods by combining sausages, meat, carrots, tomatoes…Dinner leftovers work usually greatly mixed all together with beans or lentils!
5. Hot Lunch Idea #5: Rice, couscous, or quinoa
The most adventurous kids will certainly appreciate a mix of veggies like carrots, zucchinis, broccoli, and peas, combined with grains such as rice, couscous, or quinoa. This is also a great way to reuse leftovers of veggies at home. No time to cut and prepare veggies? Use tomato sauce that you can always improve with garlic, onions, or any meat left.
Isn’t it easier than you thought to send a hot and tasty lunch to school?
Teuko is the first platform that empowers families to simplify lunch packing. Using Teuko, they can find and share kid-approved lunchbox ideas, recipes, and tips, all in one place. Teuko is transforming the lunch packing experience by boosting inspiration and motivation week after week.
Grab your Lisa Frank lunch box and thermos. General Mills is kicking it back to the ‘90s with the relaunch of your favorite sweet snack. Dunkaroos, your favorite lunch table staple, is coming back this summer.
Speculation of the snack’s return started after Dunkaroos’ official Instagram account posted a picture of vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles on January 24.
“We’re thrilled to relaunch Dunkaroos in the U.S. after years of it only being available in Canada,” Jeff Caswell, president of snacks at General Mills, said. “For those who grew up in the ‘90s, the original cookie-frosting combo represents the taste, color and fun of being a kid during that decade. We know there’s a lot of love for Dunkaroos, and fans everywhere have been asking for it. We’re excited to help ‘90s kids relive all the best parts of childhood.”
Dunkaroos were first introduced in 1992 and then discontinued in the US in 2012. Dunkaroos will be on shelves at participating 7-Eleven stores in late May and rolling out to other convenience stores and grocery retailers nationwide in July. Packs will retail for $1.99.
Get your dipping fingers ready. Fan favorite, Vanilla Cookies and Vanilla Frosting with Rainbow Sprinkles will be here before you know it.
My kids go to a school where there is no cafeteria, so we have to pack lunches. Every. Single. Day. And while my husband is in charge of school day breakfasts, I still have the task of overseeing school lunches. As someone who thinks about feeding families for a living you it would be expected that this wouldn’t bother me so much, but packing lunches is a job I find to be extremely tedious.
Last year, when they were in 2nd and 4th grades, I decided that it was time for the boys to start packing their own lunches. There were definitely days when it didn’t go as planned, days when I threw up my hands and just packed the lunches because otherwise the boys never would have left on time, but for much of the year, they successfully pulled their own lunches together every day. And it was awesome.
Now that we have done it for a year in my house, I wanted to share the lessons that I have learned and thoughts on what I will do differently this year.
#1. Be clear on expectations, then step back.
Before the school year started, we reviewed what makes up a healthy lunch: one main, one fruit, one vegetable, one optional extra, and water. Time after time, I would notice them referencing the sheet I posted on our pantry door as they made their choices. For the most part, they did a tremendous job sticking to the guidelines.
Part way through the year, though, I noticed an occasional reluctance to add a vegetable. I reminded, cajoled, and generally got pretty nag-y about it. Surprise, surprise I made no headway with that approach. So instead we talked about it. I learned that they had grown sick of many of their favorites because they had chosen them over and over again. So we decided that we would generate a list of vegetables they would be open to having in their lunches and would work to do a better job of rotating through them. We also agreed that the first choice was to include a vegetable, but that when there wasn’t a vegetable option that appealed to them, they could have two fruits instead.
This year I will work to have a variety of pre-approved vegetables on hand, so that they don’t go onto a food jag and get sick of a go-to, and will also be more flexible with the fruit.
#2. Pre-prep for easy grabbing.
At the beginning of the year I was gung-ho about pre-chopping veggie sticks and keeping the freezer stocked with quick main dish options such as muffins (to go with cheeses or another protein), English muffin pizzas, and baked chimichangas. As the year went on, though, I started to slip and the supplies weren’t as readily available. This meant that then there’d be a morning scramble to get lunches pulled together and I’d end up in the kitchen chopping up carrots, which then would somehow turn into my packing the whole lunch.
This year, I am going to be more disciplined about stocking up the fridge and freezer each weekend so that we don’t fall back into that pattern.
#3. Leftovers are key.
My eldest is not a big sandwich fan so for years, we have struggled to find good lunch box foods for him. Quesadillas are a staple, as are bread and cheese platters. But this past year we also started doing a lot more leftovers. Some he’d heat up and put in a thermos and others he’d happily eat at room temperature.
This year, I will work to take advantage of this further. I plan to double recipes that I know he’ll want leftovers of when I cook dinner so that there is enough for lunch the next day.
#4. Teach them about leaks.
After a few leakage incidents involving yogurt, I had to make sure to teach my youngest which containers could hold liquids and which might leak. After that, the lunch boxes came home much cleaner, but despite our best efforts there were some further leaking incidents and I am still traumatized by the disgusting mess that was his lunch box.
So this year I am planning on stocking up on more leak-proof containers.
On top of the excitement and gratification I felt when I saw them packing their own lunches, there were two other unexpected benefits that I observed that I think are important to highlight. 1). The lunches came back more completely eaten. I think this was because they felt more ownership (and excitement) about what was in their lunches and because they know their stomachs better and actually packed less than I did. 2). By packing their lunches and repeatedly referring to our healthy lunch cheat sheet, they learned more about eating a balanced meal.
I’m not going to lie, by setting up our lunch packing system like this does not mean I am not completely free of the burden of school lunches. At times it can still feel like a lot of think about. But the benefits are real. They are becoming increasingly independent when it comes to lunch packing, they are learning lessons about healthy eating, and my mornings are a little less miserable. And that makes it 100% worth it.
Jessica Braider is a mother of two playful boys. As the CEO of The Scramble, an online meal planning service committed to helping busy families get easy, and delicious meals on the table, she fulfills her passion for food and her love for working with parents to build happy families.
Packing school lunches is a task almost as relentless as cooking dinner, and sometimes as thankless for even the savviest of foodie moms—which is why shortcuts and hacks are an essential survival tool. We’ve got 22 school lunch ideas that’ll take the panic out of the morning pack. Keep reading to see them all.
Whether it’s doubling up a Sunday roast or spending some time getting ahead by cooking up a big chili dish, prepping before the school week gets underway can save you time and trouble. Check out these lunch box ideas for big cook-ups.
2. Use a Thermos
Try to get the kids eating from a thermos at least once a week; it’ll give you the option to reheat leftover soups, stews and rice dishes for lunch.
3. Keep the Thermos Warm Until Lunch
That genius idea to get kids to eat leftovers won’t be so genius if the food is cold by the time lunch rolls around. Instead, pour boiling water into the container and let it sit while you make the rest of the lunch. Then, dump the water and fill the Thermos with warmed-up food.
Prepped ahead portions of pasta, frozen veg, and leftover chicken can be pulled from the freezer on a weekday morning for an instant lunch. It’ll be freshly defrosted by midday and keeps everything else cool.
5. Pack Non-Perishables ASAP
You’ll only have to focus on the sandwich/main meal/dairy portion in the morning.
6. Keep Single Serve Condiments
Single serve condiments from take-outs and restaurants don’t need to be ditched. Pop a packet of ketchup in to liven up the cut veggies or bacon bits.
Apples are more likely to be eaten if they are cut up, and this rubber band trick will keep them from going brown. Or, use the Real Mom Nutrition suggestion of rubbing a combo of lemon juice and OJ or pineapple juice on the slices.
8. Wooden Spoons
Forget sending the little ones to school with metal spoons. Use wooden ones for pudding or yogurt, it’s more environmentally friendly than plastic and you don’t have to worry about lost utensils.
photo: Emily Myers
9. Food with Natural Containers
Work with nature—hard boiled eggs, bananas, and clementines are lunchbox friendly foods that come in their own organic containers.
10. Pinwheel Sandwiches
Pinwheel sandwiches are one of the easiest lunch box ideas (and can be frozen ahead of time). You can bet the kids will unravel what you’ve carefully rolled, but the good news is it will probably end up being eaten!
Plenty of moms, including Shannon Sargent at Clean Eats & Treats, swear by the idea of “snack stations” where kids can pick out what they want. Dedicate a space in the fridge or pantry using toy storage bins, and pack it with snacks or use this genius hack, which reuses a hanging shoe organizer with see-through pockets as a snack wall.
12. Easter Eggs
Pop six plastic Easter eggs in an egg box, each one stuffed with something different like popcorn, sunflower seeds, granola or crackers.
No Post-It note nearby? Scribble on a banana instead.
14. Mini Kebabs
Create a totem of fruit, veg, cheese squares, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, folded salami, micro sandwiches and more. Snip off the end of the skewer if you’re worried about anyone at the lunch table getting poked.
Meal prep is awesome, but if you need to whip up a quick sandwich, grab a pizza cutter to slice off those crusts in seconds.
16. Family Chalkboard
Put lunchtime options on a chalkboard or family whiteboard so the kids can see what will be in their lunchbox.
17. Put the Lunchbag and Snacks within Reach.
Time is everything when it comes to the morning rush. Hang their lunchbags in plain view, with a caddy below, and your kids will be able to easily toss in the snack for their lunch. Take a peek over at Hi, Sugarplum to see how to make it happen.
18. Pack Chicken Nuggets in a Thermos
If you’re looking for fun kids school lunch ideas try cooking chicken nuggets in the morning and throw them in a thermos to keep them nice and toasty.
Short on containers? Grab cupcake liners and use them to separate different items in larger plastic containers so you can have a sandwich, chips nuts and fruit in the same place.
20. Freeze Your PB & J
One of the easiest kids school lunch ideas is to make a week’s worth of frozen PB&J sandwiches. Use different jams, butters and even pieces of bread for variety.
If your kids need an extra dose of veggies, try frozen smoothies. You can sneak veggies like beets and spinach into them.
22. Print Lunch Notes Every Month
If you want to give your kiddos a little extra encouragement without having to remember to write a note every morning try printing a bunch of them at the beginning of the month so you’ll have them on hand.
When you have backpacks to find, lunches to pack and permission slips to sign, school mornings can feel like a big shift in gears from lazier summer schedules. And by the time everyone is home and ready for dinner, cooking may be the last thing you have the energy for. If you’re looking for ways to ease up on the weekday kitchen chaos, here are ideas and tips for making lighter work of morning breakfasts, packed lunches and weeknight dinners.
1. Carve out prep time on the weekend. An hour or two of weekend meal prep can go a long way toward making busy weeknight dinners feel more doable. Start by making a list of tried-and-true meals you know you can pull together quickly and that your family enjoys. Save this list (and add to it) as time goes on, and you’ll soon have your own cheat sheet of easy go-to dinners you can rely on when your calendar gets packed.
– If you have a little time: Plan easy favorites for dinner, go shopping and wash some produce when you get home.
– If you have more time: Chop vegetables, cut up fruit, cook grains and make one or more meals to freeze and reheat later in the week.
Timesaving tip: Organize your shopping list by the sections (cold case, produce, bakery) in your favorite grocery store. It’s more efficient and you’re less likely to forget something.
2. Gather lunch-making supplies in one convenient spot. There’s something incredibly disheartening about facing a tumbling tower of mismatched Tupperware before you’ve had your full morning allotment of caffeine. Make things easier (and maybe even entice young ones to help out) by gathering all the necessary lunch-making supplies in one spot. Here are some essentials you may want to include:
– Reusable water bottles
– Unbreakable food storage containers or bento-style boxes
– Small, spill-proof containers for sauces and dips
– Insulated thermos for hot foods
– Reusable plastic or metal flatware
– Reusable snack bags
– Paper or reusable napkins
– Masking tape and a permanent marker for writing names on everything
3. Make the kids’ dishes accessible. Encourage young helpers to set their own place at the table (or even grab their own breakfast) by positioning a set of tableware in a lower cabinet or drawer. This one simple change can empower kids to help themselves and takes one more task off your own plate.
Timesaving tip: Want to improve access without having to rearrange the entire kitchen? Just grab one plate, bowl and cup for each child in the house and stack them somewhere they can reach. Fill a mug with flatware, stack up a few napkins, and you’re set.
4. Plan ahead for weekday morning ease. You are probably already well aware of your family’s particular pain points in the morning — consider what these roadblocks look like and face them head on.
– If your family is always running late: Put a big clock in the kitchen and set it ahead by 10 minutes. Can’t people just look at their phones, you might ask? Sure, but with a giant clock on the wall, they’re more likely to use it to keep track.
– If your family tends to skip breakfast: Find one or two appealing options that can be prepared the night before and keep them stocked in the fridge. A blender filled with smoothie ingredients and yogurt parfaits in jars are favorites in my house.
5. Revamp the family command center. Think about what your family needs easy access to the most in the morning. Fielding last-second requests to print out school projects? Consider stationing a wireless printer in a lower cabinet. Always losing track of the hairbrush? Stash an extra in the drawer. What this is not the place for are random items and extras: so find another spot for the stray batteries, balls of rubber bands, appliance warranties and 10,000 extra pens (or is that just in my house?).
6. Clear a spot for homework and after-school projects. If your kids are likely to congregate in the kitchen while working on homework or art projects after school, embrace it and make space for it. Keep the kitchen table cleared and store a caddy of school supplies nearby so they have everything they need.
7. Stock a healthy snack station. Kids can be ravenous when they get home from a long day at school, so be sure to put the snacks you want them to reach for at an appealing child-height in the pantry or fridge. Some current favorites in our house include seaweed snacks, apple chips, cheese sticks, yogurt cups and fresh fruit.
Timesaving tip: Fill baggies with individual servings of snack time favorites on the weekend, when you’re feeling less frantic. Then on weekday afternoons, kids can just grab a bag on their own.
8. Keep a running grocery list where everyone can see it. Getting midway through a dinner recipe only to find you’re missing a key ingredient — or worse, waking up to find there’s no coffee in the house — is one of life’s greatest little annoyances. Avoid the problem (and, ahem, stop ponying up to the swear jar) by keeping track of items you need on a centrally located grocery list. A digital list can work well too, just be sure everyone in the household is synced up so you don’t miss a thing.
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Packing school lunch is one of my least favorite tasks as a parent. It has to happen every school day. And then happens again the following night.
Then, the lunches come home, often not eaten, with the kids complaining about what you packed and saying that they’re hungry.
It’s enough to drive you mad. It was a vicious cycle of frustration and angst. Quite frankly, it was sucking some of the joy of our lives. The kids were unhappy, too. They weren’t getting what they wanted out of lunch, either. We were packing the wrong snack or gave them the wrong drink. On top of that, packing lunches was a huge time suck for the adults. We’ve got limited time in the evening to take care of the household before we collapse from exhaustion.
Observations in hand, we pulled out the Innovator’s Compass as a way of exploring and changing this frustrating reality.
We started with wondering what was important to us about our kids’ lunches. We wanted to make sure that they were eating the right kinds of foods and had energy for the second half of the school day. We thought that variety was important; we quickly learned that it wasn’t important to them at all. They wanted things that they didn’t need help opening. The kids also wanted to make healthy choices, but within their own comfort range. And, of course, they wanted more snacks, partially because they didn’t want to be hungry either.
We also talked about why the parents were packing lunch. Somehow, we had just assumed that it was our responsibility. After all, we took care of prepping dinner, so why not lunch? My wife and I realized that this ran against a principle that we held off fostering independence for our kids.
Brainstorming about meals with our kids has been and continues to be a pretty interesting experience. Their suggestions are often things that we didn’t think of, in part, because they are observing their friend’s lunches. We’re so used to serving sandwiches that we never thought of putting mac and cheese in a thermos. They also thought of interesting combinations. Have you ever tried a chocolate spread and cream cheese sandwich? I haven’t, but my six-year-old thinks that it’s wonderful (and it has the same nutritional value as a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich).
Ideas in hand, we turned to our experiment. We put the kids in charge of packing their lunches. We had talked about what healthy choices were when we were generating our ideas together and we made a commitment to keeping those kinds of things in the house. With every lunch made, we tweaked things. Different kinds of lunch containers were purchased. The pantry was re-arranged to move their lunch foods lower, placing them within reach. After a freestanding cabinet toppled, lunch containers were moved to a more stable location.
We’ve continued to observe, discuss principles, generate ideas and try out experiments. Recently, lunches were coming back unfinished (at least the healthy parts) and we knew that we needed to reinforce our value of healthy choices since it was conflicting with their value of “let’s eat the junk food first.” We worked with the kids to identify more palatable healthy choices and they’ve helped us make the shopping list.
This will probably always be a work-in-progress, but we’re closer to having “hacked” the school lunch than we were before.
Trained as a school psychologist at Temple University, Ari supervises special education evaluations for preschool age children in the District of Columbia. He has previously worked as an independent school principal. Ari serves as an in-personal and virtual parent coach.
For busy parents, packing creative and healthy lunches is a never-ending and tedious task, second only to descaling the coffee pot and possibly removing soap scum. We’re loving this time-saving system dreamed up by our Marketing and Community Manager, Sara. As a single mom who works full time, Sara has her days down to a science, and lunches are no exception.
She started with a list of food ideas she knew her daughter would like, then planned out a week’s worth of her favorite meals.
She purchased five tupperware containers, then labeled each one with a day of the week and a list of ingredients for each day.
On Sundays, she lays all the containers out on the kitchen table and packs everything, including fruit in reusable containers and the non-perishables like crackers. If something needs to be packed at the last minute – like warm leftovers in a thermos – she puts a note in the box as a reminder.
All the boxes then go in the fridge, ready to be taken out each morning and packed. Packing lunch literally takes Sara 30 seconds – meaning she has more time for exciting things like nagging her daughter to put her shoes on.
