Lunch crunch

This past week, all of the teachers had to eat with their classes in the cafeteria to ensure proper behavior. This was difficult for a number of reasons: 1) the unhealthy food the school was serving made me cringe (help us, Jaime Oliver!!), and 2) after spending all morning with the kiddos, I really just need to go sit in a dark and silent room for a while... maybe rock back and forth for comfort.

But there I was, digging into my kiwis and having meaningful conversations with the students.

And we have a very stereotypical lunch lady: she's mean. And not just mean with the kids, she's mean with the staff! We can't grab an extra "spork" without paying five cents. She even made a sign! If you go through the lunch line and you just want some macaroni, she'll charge you for the entire lunch. And no, this isn't district policy, this is HER policy.

But I digress.

Most of the kids at our school buy their lunch from the cafeteria, but a few bring lunch from home. I don't know if times have changed or if this is what is typical in our neighborhood (I suspect most of them are on free/reduced lunch). Do you pack a lunch for your child?

If you do, I came across something you might just love: Leo on the Loose has some fabulous lunch box notes you can print out, fill in, and tuck into your kiddo's bag for a nice little surprise. (Unless your kid is at that eye-rolling stage and all into looking cool in front of their friends. If that's the case, slip them a dollar bill in their lunch for the vending machine. It means the same thing as "I love you" only it won't produce any cringing!)

You can download them here.

12 comments:

Books That Heal Kids said...

our lunch ladies must be BFFs

Sharlene T. said...

And, so the year begins... have fun! heeheehee

Unknown said...

Awww! Those are cute! I will have to remember this idea when Little Butt goes to school.

Ginger Snaps said...

Down here in SC, we have to to eat lunch with our kiddies everyday. It's awesome... =)

Bethany said...

Does lunch lady also have hairy moles? That would be awesome!

Sioux said...

We used to have mean lunch ladies, too. If a kid got a tray but they were out of money in their lunch account, the lunch ladies would realize their mistake and run after them and snatch the tray out of the kid's hands. Now our cafeteria staff is nice.

At our school we aren't allowed to give out candy or soda, and for birthdays, the parents are supposed to send string cheese or some other similarly "festive" treat. However, they serve funnel cake for breakfast! I don't understand...

This will make you green with envy: we can have all the sporks we want. FOR FREE! In fact, sometimes I go in and grab a whole set for my class, when we do certain science activities.

Sherri said...

5 cents for a spork?? Oh man, that takes nastiness in the lunchroom to a whole new level.

Love the lunchbox notes...tempted to make some for myself, since the kids would be mortified at their age!

I used to send the daily Garfield comics in my son's elementary lunch box, with an added note.

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Aww, very cute notes.

Yeah I have the same type of lunch lady. Luckily, I avoid dealing with her at all costs and my aide last year managed to get on her good side for any problems we had. Unfortunately I have a new aide this year so we just may be dealing with her mean side again...boo!

Randy et Jan said...

What's a spork?? The computer just underlined it! Love you, Mom

Elissa Newton said...

You guys totally need my kid's lunch lady (but I'm not giving her up). She teaches the kids to line dance and does cooking classes after school!

I do sneak notes in there backpack to find at a later date! And I love these cut outs.

malia said...

First of all, your posts always make me laugh... I love that part about rocking yourself. And I so appreciate the tip about the dollar for the vending machine. Just recently my 7 year old has let me know there are some times that hand-holding with me is out of the question... so I fear a love note wouldn't be well received.

Charlotte said...

I pack my kids' lunches almost every day (they buy lunch about once a week). I have noticed that most of their friends buy. We live in an area where few qualify for free/reduced lunches, too. I don't know why.

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