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!

Tagged as: school snacks