When does your all-day student eat at school?

[KrisM]

DS1 starts full-day kindergarten tomorrow. He'll get the bus at 8:30 and school starts at 8:40. They have a snack at 10:15 and lunch at 1 pm. School ends at 3:42pm.

Suggestions for snacks were half a sandwich or half a banana, etc. Something small.

I'm thinking my kid is going to be incredibly hungry by lunchtime. We eat lunch here about 11:30 and he'll eat 2 grilled cheese or a box of mac n cheese, plus fruit and a cheese stick, for example.

I'm thinking I'm going to send a whole banana tomorrow and see how he does.

Lunch just seems awfully late to me.

[JBaxter]

Starts at 8:20 lunch is 11:15 off the bus at 3:15 no snacks

Did I read it correctly he will eat a BOX of mac&cheese or 2 grilled cheese sandwiches? WOW hes a big eater.

Nathan has usually cereal for breakfast

I pack pb&J w/ no crust
personal bag of pirate booty
horizon choc milk
apple sauce cup

He has a snack when he gets home but isnt starving.

[cdlamis]

That does seem late for that age. DD is in 2nd grade, starts at 8am, and eats at 11:50. At our school, the younger grades each first.
Also, a 1/2 banana seems so small!

[egoldber]

First, that's a long day! Sarah's school was 9:10 to 3:40 last year, yours is a full half hour longer.

It varies year to year. In first grade she ate lunch at 12:10. In second grade it was 11:40. This year they are scheduled for 11:45. But some kids eat as early as 11:00 and some as late as 1:45.

[KrisM]

Starts at 8:20 lunch is 11:15 off the bus at 3:15 no snacks

Did I read it correctly he will eat a BOX of mac&cheese or 2 grilled cheese sandwiches? WOW hes a big eater.

Nathan has usually cereal for breakfast

I pack pb&J w/ no crust
personal bag of pirate booty
horizon choc milk
apple sauce cup

He has a snack when he gets home but isnt starving.

Yes, he'll eat an entire box of mac n cheese or 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. He eats a ton in the morning/lunch time and not so much at dinner. He'll have 2 bowls of Raisin Bran for breakfast and still have a snack and a big lunch. He's 43 inches and 40 lbs, so I don't know where it all goes.

I have to pack snack seperate from lunch. I don't know if he'll need at snack at 4 when he gets home.

[KrisM]

That does seem late for that age. DD is in 2nd grade, starts at 8am, and eats at 11:50. At our school, the younger grades each first.
Also, a 1/2 banana seems so small!

School is only K-2. I'm not sure when the older kids eat.

[s7714]

If he normally eats a lot, I'd definitely send a whole banana for snack.

I was really afraid my DD would get cranky adjusting to the school snack and lunch schedule, because like you we eat our snacks and lunch a lot early at home. She amazingly adjusted without much problem, but I think it's because she's a big breakfast eater, so she had a good tummy full of food to last her all morning long.

When I was volunteering in the classroom, you could really tell some of the kids were starting to drag by the time snack rolled around, but they rarely acted hungry when lunch came up later. (They did eat their lunch, but they didn't get in that "I need food" slump like they did before snack.)

I'd also recommend having a good snack ready at pick-up time (or when he gets dropped off). My DD is usually famished when she gets home for some reason, even though she eats all her lunch. (I've tried giving her more lunch, but she never eats the extra since she wants to go play!)

[hobie]

We also just started kindergarten in Aug. My guys start at 8:00, snack is at 9:00, lunch at 11:00, and they're out at 2:30. My guys eat hardly anything at school, because they are too excited to go play. I make sure thay have a good breakfast (oatmeal with fruit), and a snack on the way home. I send a pb&j with the crust cut off (usually a bite or two are left in the box), or 2 cheese sticks (sometimes only one gets eaten), a cereal bar, and a small box of crackers/dried fruit/chocolate bunny cookies.

Have your DS keep the leftovers in the bag, so that you know how much he eats. If he eats it all, great, if not, you'll have a better idea of how much to pack so that it doesn't get thrown out.

[SnuggleBuggles]

That does seem really late!

In kindergarten ds started school at 8:30 and they ate lunch at 11:15, snack at 1:45, dismissal at 2:30.

First grade, 8am start, 11 lunch, 2:30 snack.

Second grade, 8am start, snack at 10:30, lunch 12.

Beth

[KrisM]

I guess it's not just me who thinks it's a bit late in the day.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

[alexsmommy]

Starts at 8am, lunch at 11am - more like 10:40am on Wednesdays for K-2, 3-5 eats at 11:30/11:10 on Wednesdays.

It does feel late, but kids tend to adjust - maybe mimic the time at home too to help his body clock change to that time to feel real hunger.

[ett]

1pm does seem late but I guess that's why they have the snack at 10:15am. They're probably suggesting something small so that snack time doesn't take up too much time.

DS1 is in first grade and starts school at 9am. Lunch is after recess, which starts at 11:30 so I guess that they eat around 12. They get a snack sometime in the afternoon and school ends at 3pm.

Actually, I'm surprised that they still get snack in first grade since I don't ever recall having snack since first grade.

[kijip]

Around 12noon after a 9:15 morning bell. School gets out at 3:25. There is no snack. In kindergarten it was around 11:30 after a 9:05 bell and a 3:15 dismissal with a light class snack in the afternoon (crackers). He was STARVING for an afternoon snack when we picked him up each day.

[deenass]

School here starts @ 8:35 and gets out at 3:20. The kindergarten has the last lunch period (12:45), 1st grade eats at 12:30. Both K & 1st grade have an AM snack.

[sdjeppa]

DS started K this year. School is 8:00-2:16 (1:00 on Wed). Snack around 10am, lunch at 11:50, I think? I send a yogurt and piece of fruit, or cheese stick and crackers, etc. for morning snack, and then lunch is usually a sandwich, fruit or veggie or both, some type of cracker snack, and water. He usually finishes all of it.

[sarahsthreads]

DD's K/1 class eats lunch at 11:00, snack at 1:20. She gets on the bus at 8:30 but school doesn't actually start until 9:15 (they get off the bus at 9, the morning announcements are at 9:15). Dismissal is 3:15 and she's home at 3:45.

I was pretty happy to find out that lunch was early and snack was after, because otherwise I would expect that she would have eaten a large snack and not eaten much lunch. Yesterday she ate almost everything I packed for lunch and only about half her snack.

That would really be my main concern about a late lunch with snack before, would be that I'd have to pack something really extra healthy for snack - and like you said, it has to be separate, so it's hard to send something that needs to stay cold unless you're packing two insulated bags - because that would be her main meal of the school day.

Sarah :)

[kristenk]

School starts at 7:45. Lunch is at 10:30. Dismissal is 2pm.

I'm surprised at all of the classes that have a snack, too. I guess I'm more surprised that DD's school doesn't have a snack when lots of other schools do.

[wendmatt]

DD starts at 7.45, no snack and lunch at 11.20. I think they should have snack, it's a long time since breakfast as she gets the bus at 7.05. They did snack at her old school and school was 8.15, lunch at 11.30.

[egoldber]

Our school does not have snack after K.

[o_mom]

We have the opposite problem. He is on the bus at 8am and eats lunch at 10:15 am. They have a snack in the afternoon, but I'm not sure what time. Gets home at 3pm.

[kayte]

He'll have 2 bowls of Raisin Bran for breakfast and still have a snack and a big lunch.

Have you considered adding some protein and fats to his breakfast? (along with eliminating the extra sugar) It will keep him satiated longer and make it easier for him to concentrate at school as a onus. Perhaps eggs with cheese, a slice or two of bacon, some whole grain muffin or oatmeal with fruit or fruit juice?

[egoldber]

:yeahthat:

This is why I load Sarah up with protein at breakfast. She eats an egg, sausage, whole grain toast or waffle with cream cheese and milk. I also make sure she gets protein and whole grains at lunch and I pack a milk for lunch (vs water or juice) to make sure she gets protein that way too.

When she has an afterschool activity, I pack juice and a carby snack to give her a bit of a sugar rush at that point. ;)

[Momof3Labs]

DS1 is on the bus at 7:10am, school starts at 8am. I don't know what time they have their snack, but it is in the morning. Lunch is at 11:45, dismissal at 2:30 and he gets home around 3:10. He is starving by the time he gets home!!

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

My son is in 1/2 day, but he goes to after school care, so he is there 8-5:45.

School starts at 8 and snack is at 10am. Suggested snacks were 1/2 sandwich, cheese sticks, fruit, etc. Most kids have very large snacks - like lunch size.

My son has been eating yogurt, cheese stick & apple crisps, cheese stick & whole grain crackers, mini-muffins, etc. Today is 4 homemade zuchinni choc chip mini muffins. He gets water to drink. Hmmm... todays snack is lacking protein, I should probably get some milk boxes to have with carby-snacks.

There's does not have to be seperate from the lunch, so he always has the option to eat more from his lunch. I do label his snack, though, so that he knows what it is. The teacher asked that the kids who do get lunch (after school care kids) know what is their snack, otherwise they sometimes have the problem of the kids eating everything at snack and then having nothing for lunch. :)

Lunch is just after 12.

He gets an afternoon snack around 3, provided by the after school care.

[KrisM]

Adding protein sounds good. He normally gets his own breakfast, so cereal works well :). I'll have to come up with something for him to add to that.

Our school does snack through 2nd grade. He'll be in a different school at 3rd grade and I don't know their policy. My neighbor's son is 2nd grade and they have a 9am snack, 11am lunch, and a 2pm snack.