I am a mother of 3. The first two are girls and go to elementary school. My kids take lunch and snack to school. It saves us $500 a year per kids. That is the amount we would have paid the school for lunch.

Lunch

 

For their lunches, they each have a thermal stainless lunch box. My kids have used the same lunch boxes for two years now. The night before, when I cook dinner, even before I serve them dinner, I take 3 glass bowls (2 cups size) and serve the kids next day lunch. I close them and put in the fridge.  I made dinners that they can take to school for lunch the next day. Their lunch is not really leftovers. It is planned and included in the portion of dinner I cook.

In the morning, after I cleaned the bathroom and showered, I go in the kitchen and boil water. While the water is on the stove, I lay on the kitchen counter, their lunch containers, folded towels, their water bottles, and spoon or forks in the towels. When the water boils, I pour it in the thermal containers and close them. That keep them hot so that the containers don’t pull the heat from the food that would go in later. When I serve them cold lunch like salad, I leave the salad in the fridge the night before. I fill the thermal container with ice and water in the morning.  I have tested the containers to see how long they keep food hot. To do so, I poured boiled water in the containers and closed them. I let them overnight on my kitchen counter. In the morning, I poured the water out of them. The water was still hot after 10 hours. My kids go to school at 8:25 am and eat lunch at 11 am.  Therefore, I believe the containers should be able to keep their food hot for at least 3 hours. Any leftover lunch is brought back home and poured in the trash. That allows me to know how much food they ate and to adjust the portion I serve them for school to avoid waste. Beside cooked meal, my kids take snacks to school.

Snacks

Fruit

My kids take one snack along with their lunch. I have animal crackers in the pantry. I have fruit in the fridge. If I want them to take grape, I rinse the grape the night before while I cook dinner. I deep them in a mix of vinegar and water. I take the grape out of the vinegar solution and remove them from the stems. I fill 3 glass jars for the 3 kids. The jars are 1.5 cup size. I store their fruit in the fridge next to their lunch. My youngest one has smaller portion of food so I keep his food and snack on the top shelve and the two girls’ lunches and snacks are on two shelves below for days they are at home for them to grab their food and warm up themselves. During school time I keep the girls’ lunches and snacks on the top shelves as well. It makes it clear what they have to take to school without confusion. The glass bowls have plastic lid in orange and green. I use orange lids for the girls and green for the boys. If I have to serve them apple for snack, I get 3 apples in the morning while I boil water for the containers. I wash them with my lye soap and rinse them. I quarter the apples, takes the core out and if I want I slice them thinner and fill 3 glass jars the same I use for grape above. I put one jar next to the boy’s lunch in the fridge, and I put the girls’ jars next to their lunches in the fridge. If I want to serve them banana, I take 3 bananas in the morning (I store banana on the kitchen counter) and put by the girls’ thermal containers on the counter and the 3rd banana on the counter for the boy.

 

Crackers, cookies:

If I want them to take crackers or cookies for snack, I usually package it the night before or in advance. I have lunch bags I use. I have 1 cup glass jar I use as well. When I use the sandwich bag, I pack more than 3 bags. I store the packaged snacks in a small crate I have in the pantry easy for the kids to grab a snack. When I use the jar or the glass bowl, I pack just 3 jars or bowls. I put the snack on the kitchen counter next to the thermal containers and one on the side for the boy. Sometimes, I make popcorn on Fridays for movie night at home or weekend and I fill sandwich bags for snacks during the week.

Drink:

My kids take water to school in their water bottles. Sometimes, I serve them homemade kefir. When I drained fermented milk off the kefir cultures, I add sugar and fill small 1 cup canning jars and put in the fridge by the lunches.

Our School day Routine

Last school year I woke my kids up at 6:30am. I plan to wake them up at 6 am this school year. I wake the boy up as well because he wakes up by the time the girls are ready because of the noise in the house. So I found it better for me to wake him up at the same time as the girls. I brush their teeth, shower them and comb their hair. The girls hand wash their underwear as soon as they get in the tub before I shower them. The girls each has a container that contains 5 outfits for school, 5 socks, and 3 underwear. So it is easy for them to grab an underwear, pants/short, tops and socks, and a sweater from the container and close it. They put their clothes on their bed and get ready. After shower, I put dabs of oil on their skin and ask them to rub it in. then they get ready. I have to remind them to get dress often time as they like to chat. Sometimes, I would send one of them in the living room and the other would say in their bedroom to allow them to get ready. While they get ready, I help the boy to get ready and I serve them cereals. I like to warm the milk first in the microwave and add cereals to it. Sometimes, I make porridge in while I cook dinner and put their portion of porridge in 2 cup glass jars and store in the fridge. In the morning, while they get ready, I warm up their porridge. When I want to serve them omelet, I make the omelet the night before while I cook dinner. In the morning while they get dressed, I warm up the omelet and toast bread. Sometimes I remember to get the butter out of the fridge before I wake them up. If not, when I plate their breakfast, I put the cold butter on the plate next to the toasted bread and put the warm omelet next to it. I call them to come and eat their breakfast. Sometimes, I insist they sit down and eat their breakfast even if they are not fully clothed. After, breakfast, the girls wash their bowls and wipe them. They fill their water bottles with water and leave it by their thermal containers. If the snack is in the pantry, then I remind them to grab one snack in the snack crate and put by the lunch container.

I leave home at 7 am or 7:30 am for work and my husband takes over. 20 minutes before they leave home for school, he reminds them to grab their school bags and lunch bags. He warms up the girls’ lunch in the microwave, dumps the hot water out and put the hot food in the thermal containers and closes. He reminds the girls to put their lunches, snacks, spoons, towels in their lunch bags. They girls do that and put their lunch bags and water bottles in their school bags and leave the bags at the door along with their shoes and their jackets. We keep shoes in the basement. The kids have their school bags on top of their school clothes totes. They have their jackets in their closet. Their lunch bags stay in the kitchen on a shelf by the microwave.

 

The rice would be warmed up and transferred to the thermal container. Kefir drink would stay in the glass jar.

 

My husband drops them at school by car or by foot as the elementary school is a blog away. They start school at 8:25am. After school, the kids leave their schools papers on the dining table, put their shoes and their school clothes in the basement, their lunch bags in the kitchen and their school bags on their school totes and their jackets in their closet. They take turn to empty their lunch bags into the sink and wash their containers and leave them on the counter for me to come and check.

When I come home, after washing my hands and changing clothes, I check the containers to see if they are clean before I put them away. I clean my kitchen counter. I ask them about their school day while I start to dust the floor and remind them to pick up their toys. I start dinner. While I cook dinner I ask them to read and I do math with them before dinner is ready. While I cook, I sort through their papers. Some go in the trash, some are kept to redo the assignments on them, and the rest with blank space at the back are stored in a box in the basement for their scrap papers. The kids are allowed to keep few papers (art work) on their book shelves but no more than 5 papers per kid. After dinner, my girls wash their bowls and clean up their table. I brushes their teeth. They lay down in the living room to wash cartoon movies on a DVD player on a tablet. Last school year they went to bed at 8:30 pm. I intend to send them to bet this school year at 8 pm. During summer, they go to bed at 9:30 pm.

Field Trip Lunch:

When one of the girls has a field trip, I serve both of them the same meal. In the morning I heat up French steak rolls in the oven and take out of the oven to cool—two rolls /kids. I leave a quart size zip bag / kid along with snack in sandwich bags and their water containers and a towels. I make a cut lengthwise in the bread. I butter the bread very well and put back in the bag before I leave home. The butter stay in the fridge until I am ready to put in the bread. It doesn’t spread well. I just add chunks inside the bread.

I don’t butter the boy’s bread.

Getting my children ready in the morning and get myself ready for work at the same is a challenge but we make it work. Kids don’t have sense of time and it can be challenging when they want to play first and get ready later. I send my kids to bed at 8 pm during school year and 9:30 pm in summer time. 1 month before school, I send them to bed at 9 pm and 2 weeks before school starts they go to bed at 8 pm. A week before school starts, they go to bed at 8 pm and I wake them up at 6 am and shower them, serve them breakfast before I leave home for work. This process helps them and myself to get back on schedule before the beginning on school.