Planning for School Morning Breakfasts and Lunches
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Once upon a time, a long long time ago, on an early school day morning, making breakfasts and packing lunches could either make or break our day. I’m talking about how we could be running on time and suddenly the world falls apart because someone tiny doesn’t know what they want for breakfast. And then a few minutes later the world falls apart again when that same someone tiny doesn’t know what they want for lunch. And before we all know it, everyone is suddenly running late for work and school AND in grumpy moods. Sound familiar? Thankfully, I’ve figured out a way over the years to make the entire process as painless as possible.
Problem Solved: Plan Ahead
I’m a teacher and a planner at heart. I LOVE, like really really LOVE, to plan things out. I like knowing what’s coming next (nope, I don’t know where my kids get this from..haha), so it makes sense that I’d plan meals out too. Thankfully, I’ve discovered as the kids have started school over the years that my mad planning skills can save us precious time in the mornings. Let me show you how I do it.
A Menu! A Lovely, Glorious Menu!
It all begins with this menu! Every two weeks, I print a blank one of these out. Then the kids and I sit down together and fill it in with the items we have on hand. I prepare a lot of the breakfast items ahead of time over the summer or on boring rainy weekends and then stick them in the deep freeze…breakfast burritos, muffins, cinnamon rolls, waffles, pancakes…ALL of that can be made ahead and frozen, then warmed up in the microwave for a quick breakfast.
Lunch takes a little more planning if the kids want something that I don’t normally keep in the house. But I just make sure to sit down and plan with them BEFORE I go to the grocery store. That way I can buy the items I need.
It’s important to note that I don’t necessarily make the kids stick to the day of the week for their lunch or breakfast choice. Let’s say that it’s Sunday night, and I ask them what they want for breakfast on Monday morning. Let’s say they want cinnamon rolls. You can look at the menu and see that cinnamon rolls is on Friday. But it’s no big deal. I can just cross cinnamon rolls off the menu after the kids eat them. The days of the week columns just help me make sure I have enough meals planned.
To save time in the mornings, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask the kids what they want for breakfast the next morning the night before. Then I make sure to have their breakfast prepared a few minutes before they wake up in the morning. That way, all they have to focus on is sitting down to eat when they wake up. There’s no waiting on anything or time lost while they sit down to play on their iPad while waiting for breakfast and then have a fit when it’s time to get off the iPad to eat. Or was that only in my house? Letting the kids pick what they want gives them a sense of control. It also ensures they’ll eat it because they picked it out, and by using the menu, you know you have the items on hand. Win-win for both of you!
The kids also decide what they want for lunch the next day the night before. (You can read how this makes your morning go smoother here. You don’t want to miss this article. So if you haven’t read it, please do.) The same rules apply for lunch as they do for breakfast. It doesn’t matter if it’s Monday, and the kids want chicken nuggets, veggie, and a fruit that’s listed under Wednesday . They can still have that. I just mark it off the menu once they’ve had it so we don’t repeat it again.
Grab your free menu download here.
Are you eager to give this a try? If so, grab your free digital download of a blank menu below. Just click on the picture to download a PDF of the menu. Then come back and let me know how it goes.
