School Lunch

My boys have always been on the later school schedule.  That means that they don't leave in the morning until 9:00.  That has always given me plenty of time to fix lunches and for the boys to take their time getting up, finish homework, clean their rooms and argue.  It also allows me to not be so rigid on bedtimes.  Because of this,  I have always enjoyed the later school schedule and have requested it each year.

Last year, Owen begged and begged me to change to the early schedule.  He is one of my kids that has no problem getting up in the morning and did not like to see half of his class get to leave in the afternoon an hour before he did.

I debated for awhile and sat down and talked to my kids about the changes that would be made.  They all agreed (more or less) that they wanted to change to the early bird schedule.

There were two things I knew I would need to do in order for it to work.

1) Get the boys to bed on time.  Period.  No one will do well if they are tired and cranky and have a hard time getting up in the morning.  I tackled that problem early summer when we swapped rooms so everyone could be asleep at the appropriate time.  It is up to me to enforce the bedtimes now that school has started.

2) Do all the prep work (lunches, homework, showers etc.) the evening before. All that they would need to do in the morning is wake up, dress, eat and go.

Simple right?  Well, that is the plan, but it is always easier said than done.  But ultimately I know it is up to me to make sure these 2 things happen.

The past month I have been evaluating how to make lunches easier.  I also know that whatever I do, it needs to be simple.  If it is not simple, I will not keep it up.

I've looked on Pinterest and other websites for healthy ideas on what to pack and how to pack.  Along with the laughable ideas, (cold aspargaus and salmon for lunch?  Sandwiches cut to look like bunnies?)  there were several healthy food ideas that I am working on adding to the lunch menu.  But the big change  is to pre-package all my lunch food for the week.  Sandwiches go in the freezer and fruit and veggies are cut up and stored in the fridge.  I have allotted 2 drawers next to the fridge for all the dry food.

I have no idea why I have never thought to do this before.  Maybe because I have had plenty of time to make lunches in the morning and it hasn't been an issue.  Who knows.  But this is what we are going to try out.  Sunday night will be prep night.  The boys can help me and we can chop, make and bag everything for the week.

Here's to a new school year!