As our school is now using a Balanced Day schedule, we will be having two Nutrition Breaks. First break is from 11:00-11:40 am – this is a good time for several small, healthy snacks such as fruit, cheese, yogurt, crackers, veggies and dip. Second break is from 1:20-2:00 pm and will be treated like lunch – this is a good time for sandwiches, noodles, warm foods from a thermos, etc.
We strive to be a peanut/tree nut free environment at SCD! We have several children in our school with severe, life-threatening allergies and try to keep them as safe as possible. Please do not send any nut products to school with your child. A good tasting alternative to peanut butter is called Wow Butter – made from roasted soy nuts. There is also Sun Butter, made from roasted sunflower seeds (it is gluten, egg, dairy and trans-fat free). These are available in most grocery stores and often come with stickers you can put on your child’s lunch container to advise us that it’s not peanut butter (looks and smells very similar).
Check your child’s lunch containers/lunch bag – can he/she open them independently? If not, replace them, or have your child practice with them at home. Please label everything that you want returned home! See our Links page for lots of great ideas on kid-friendly containers and labels.
Teach your child how to open up packaged snacks – we have scissors available, but these are often difficult to manipulate with plastic packaging. Better yet, buy snacks in bulk and send to school in reusable containers
Slice whole apples to make them easier and quicker to eat, especially when children are experiencing wiggly baby teeth. I sprinkle my daughter’s apple slices with a little cinnamon so that they don’t look brown. This also saves the children from throwing most of their apple out unfinished.
Peel oranges and break into segments, then place into a container and send to school. Please peel hard-boiled eggs too. Most children cannot peel them independently (or quickly), and often have to wait before we are able to help them.
Give him/her several small healthy snacks to choose from instead of one large thing that they may refuse to eat. Sliced veggies/fruit, small crackers, pretzels, dried fruit, sliced cheese or meat, and yogurt are great choices. We will be having two nutrition breaks during the school day…
Send a labeled, reusable water bottle in your child’s lunch instead of juice boxes. The children can refill water bottles as needed throughout the day. There will be no access to the water fountains this year.
Please try to limit the number of sugary or pre-packaged snacks. Not only are they more expensive, and create more litter, but many are also loaded with preservatives and fillers. The children need real food to fuel their bodies for learning and to help give them enough energy to last the whole day.
Thanks so much for taking these things into consideration when sending food for your child. We will have the children bring home anything that is unfinished or only partially eaten so that you will know what he/she has consumed during the day.