Kindergarten snacks

[namasteak]

Apparently we have to send “24 individually wrapped snacks at the beginning of the month” every month. They have 5 minutes to eat them and it can not require refrigeration. Any suggestions?

[ds1013]

goldfish or pretzel packs?

[lauren170]

Z bar or some other bar with a bit of protein
I think there’s shelf stable yogurt smoothie pouches?

[dcn]

Applesauce pouches or cups.
Bags of popcorn
Fig bars

[CloudBee]

Ugh. Public or private?

I try to aim for protein heavy snacks. Or at least pair something like fruit with milk in a thermos. Shelf stable stuff is just not filling. It's fluff. Or loaded with sugar.

I would suggest fig bars, but ONE bar in the pack is a serving, not both.

You can buy reduced sugar Quaker granola bars.

Nature Valley granola bars (in green wrapper) are nut free. But I think that 1 bar in the pack is also considered 1 seeing.

Goldfish and Cheez-Its are low sugar, a little high in fat, and have SOME protein. So I would probably go that route. Pirates botty or Skinny Pop is another option.

Why can't everyone just send their own snack on a daily basis? Sometimes I even load DS up on calories and protein at school if I know we have a crazy afternoon / evening of activities and I plan for a light dinner.

[namasteak]

Aug 16, 2019 11:50:35 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Ugh. Public or private?

I try to aim for protein heavy snacks. Or at least pair something like fruit with milk in a thermos. Shelf stable stuff is just not filling. It's fluff. Or loaded with sugar.

I would suggest fig bars, but ONE bar in the pack is a serving, not both.

You can buy reduced sugar Quaker granola bars.

Nature Valley granola bars (in green wrapper) are nut free. But I think that 1 bar in the pack is also considered 1 seeing.

Goldfish and Cheez-Its are low sugar, a little high in fat, and have SOME protein. So I would probably go that route. Pirates botty or Skinny Pop is another option.

Why can't everyone just send their own snack on a daily basis? Sometimes I even load DS up on calories and protein at school if I know we have a crazy afternoon / evening of activities and I plan for a light dinner.

Public! Idk why we can’t just send our own snacks every day.

[CloudBee]

I don't want to get you riled up if you're okay with accepting this setup. But I would 1,000% push back on this.

I am fine with my kid eating a cupcake or treat when a classmate has a birthday. But I am not okay with other parents selecting my child's snack 5 days per week. Applesauce is not an appropriate school snack for my kid. It's a glorified apple juice. Same with fruit snacks, which I'm sure other parents will bring in.

The teacher may "think" she's making her life easier. But she's got to end up with a few kids every day who don't eat what's provided and are hangry. And kids who aren't able to make it to lunch on a single back of fruit snacks and their water. So many children are naturally wired to calorie load earlier in the day, and eat light in the evening. This is why I put a lot of care into what I pack DS for snack and lunch at school.

[nicolewi]

We have to send snacks daily. Most kids bring pre-packaged stuff. They almost don't have time to eat anything particularly healthy. You see a lot of Costco options!

--granola bars
--bags of Goldfish, pretzels, other snacks
--Clif Z-bars for kids
--Pretzel with cheese dip packs
--Mini pretzel sandwiches with cheese or Ritz Bits sandwiches
--squeezy fruit pouches
--the "healthier" fruit roll-up thingies--fruit strips--like the 100% fruit ones you can get
--little bags of cookies from boxes of pre-packaged snacks
--raisins?? My kids don't love them
--Little Bites Mini Muffins--my kids love getting these for a treat
--the Smart Pop popcorn bags from Costco are too big for my kids, FYI. They can't eat it in time.

[CloudBee]

How do kids not have time for snack time in kindergarten? Doesn't it almost exclusively take place in the classroom? This public school teacher is dictating packaged snacks, and says they only have FIVE minutes to eat? Mealtime is a social activity. Not a race.

DS's teacher last year gave the kids as much time as they needed. And she would just start reading or teaching / talking even if kids were still eating. I volunteered in the classroom quite a bit, and the kids who were finished could read, walk around and mingle, or the teacher would just start engaging the class while kids finished up. NBD and a very natural flow from snack time back to lesson time.

nicolewi, - "They almost don't have time to eat anything particularly healthy." ?? How can a kid not have time to eat cheese and grapes? From my experience the kids who need help opening their snacks are the ones with pre-packaged items, not the ones pulling an apple and container of cheese out of their bags. The kids with granola bars and packaged crackers always seem to be the ones waiting for help and slowing down snack time.

[dcn]

I dunno, my kid didn’t even have snack time in kindergarten so I wouldn’t really worry too much about this. Though, I am kind of surprised they want people to send snacks in with allergies etc. to worry about.

Also my son eats school lunch sometimes and I find it a nice break from packing a lunch for him so maybe I’m on the other side of the spectrum and you can take my comments with a grain of salt lol.

[hocus2]

Aug 16, 2019 12:09:40 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

How do kids not have time for snack time in kindergarten? Doesn't it almost exclusively take place in the classroom? This public school teacher is dictating packaged snacks, and says they only have FIVE minutes to eat? Mealtime is a social activity. Not a race.

  My kids always have a working snack so they do something while they have snack. It isn't social. They get time to talk mostly at lunch and recess and maybe turning art which is once a week.

[nicolewi]

CloudBee, cheese & grapes are fine, but OP can't send that. I also sometimes sent cut-up berries or a cheese stick--also things she can't send. My kids don't have time to eat an apple or carrot sticks--those take them forever to eat. I helped in K sometimes last year, also, and they usually did have only about 5 minutes while the teacher was reading a story. Varies by class. My son had a lot more time for snack as they made it a regular part of the day, and would all sit at a table spot for snack time.

[Patsy Baloney]

Hm, that is tough! I'd probably err on the side of goldfish, pretzels and bars of some kind.

If your kiddo's teacher is looking for feedback, I would suggest what our school does: kids bring a snack daily, and teachers ask parents for donations of snacks to cover for kids in case of a missing snack. Apparently, the school snacks were so good, my kid was openly hoping I would forget to pack her snack, lol.

ETA - this is interesting to read how other schools do snacks! Ours is in sequence with recess - kids go out and run for 20 minutes, come inside and pick out their milk or water for snack break, and then eat their snacks and relax for a bit. 

[namasteak]

Aug 16, 2019 12:02:40 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I don't want to get you riled up if you're okay with accepting this setup. But I would 1,000% push back on this.

I am fine with my kid eating a cupcake or treat when a classmate has a birthday. But I am not okay with other parents selecting my child's snack 5 days per week. Applesauce is not an appropriate school snack for my kid. It's a glorified apple juice. Same with fruit snacks, which I'm sure other parents will bring in.

The teacher may "think" she's making her life easier. But she's got to end up with a few kids every day who don't eat what's provided and are hangry. And kids who aren't able to make it to lunch on a single back of fruit snacks and their water. So many children are naturally wired to calorie load earlier in the day, and eat light in the evening. This is why I put a lot of care into what I pack DS for snack and lunch at school.

It’s not the teachers decision - all 9 kindergarten classrooms at the school are like this. Snack is after lunch so thats something at least.

[Patsy Baloney]

Oh, I thought of another thing - what about perusing the 100 calorie snack packs in the store? I would think there would totally be some animal crackers version, Ritz, etc. A little junkie, but a small portion of junk.

[thebreakfastclub]

My son does not have to bring individual packages, but it must be non messy and shelf stable.

I usually give pop corn or pretzel sticks with some craisins on top in a small container. Sometimes he finished up lunch during snack time.

I would not like to have to do prepackaged, but the snack itself is not an issue with me.

[ohgillian]

That's a ridiculous policy that practically forces you to feed your kid junk.

I would probably send my kid in with 24 baggies of the peanut-butter filled pretzels that I buy at costco in the large tub. Or 24 baggies of pistachios that I'd pre-shelled. Or homemade lara balls (date and nuts, basically, but they're quite sweet). None of those are awesome but given the constraint, I'd be comfortable with them for my kid.

[oswin]

Aug 16, 2019 11:50:35 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Ugh. Public or private?

I try to aim for protein heavy snacks. Or at least pair something like fruit with milk in a thermos. Shelf stable stuff is just not filling. It's fluff. Or loaded with sugar.

I would suggest fig bars, but ONE bar in the pack is a serving, not both.

You can buy reduced sugar Quaker granola bars.

Nature Valley granola bars (in green wrapper) are nut free. But I think that 1 bar in the pack is also considered 1 seeing.

Goldfish and Cheez-Its are low sugar, a little high in fat, and have SOME protein. So I would probably go that route. Pirates botty or Skinny Pop is another option.

Why can't everyone just send their own snack on a daily basis? Sometimes I even load DS up on calories and protein at school if I know we have a crazy afternoon / evening of activities and I plan for a light dinner.

Sorry, I'm laughing at this. My kids almost always eat both fig bars. We've switched to Z bars now, and DD's favorite are the Protein Z bars and what we're sending in with her for snack. The main drawback is they're expensive and not 100% nut free (it says "may contain", since some of the flavors have nuts).

[oswin]

Aug 16, 2019 12:02:40 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I don't want to get you riled up if you're okay with accepting this setup. But I would 1,000% push back on this.

I am fine with my kid eating a cupcake or treat when a classmate has a birthday. But I am not okay with other parents selecting my child's snack 5 days per week. Applesauce is not an appropriate school snack for my kid. It's a glorified apple juice. Same with fruit snacks, which I'm sure other parents will bring in.

The teacher may "think" she's making her life easier. But she's got to end up with a few kids every day who don't eat what's provided and are hangry. And kids who aren't able to make it to lunch on a single back of fruit snacks and their water. So many children are naturally wired to calorie load earlier in the day, and eat light in the evening. This is why I put a lot of care into what I pack DS for snack and lunch at school.

My interpretation was that each kid brings their own snacks, they just bring them once a month instead of daily. Not that each kid brings snack for everyone one day/month (which wouldn't work because food restrictions).

[ohgillian]

Aug 16, 2019 12:59:32 GMT -5 oswin said:

Aug 16, 2019 12:02:40 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I don't want to get you riled up if you're okay with accepting this setup. But I would 1,000% push back on this.

I am fine with my kid eating a cupcake or treat when a classmate has a birthday. But I am not okay with other parents selecting my child's snack 5 days per week. Applesauce is not an appropriate school snack for my kid. It's a glorified apple juice. Same with fruit snacks, which I'm sure other parents will bring in.

The teacher may "think" she's making her life easier. But she's got to end up with a few kids every day who don't eat what's provided and are hangry. And kids who aren't able to make it to lunch on a single back of fruit snacks and their water. So many children are naturally wired to calorie load earlier in the day, and eat light in the evening. This is why I put a lot of care into what I pack DS for snack and lunch at school.

My interpretation was that each kid brings their own snacks, they just bring them once a month instead of daily. Not that each kid brings snack for everyone one day/month (which wouldn't work because food restrictions).

Yes, that's how I read the OP too -- not that the food would be pooled and shared communally. At my kids' public school, students are strictly prohibited from sharing food with others, both at snack and at lunch. 

[boiler717]

Aug 16, 2019 13:02:41 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Aug 16, 2019 12:54:46 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

That's a ridiculous policy that practically forces you to feed your kid junk.

I would probably send my kid in with 24 baggies of the peanut-butter filled pretzels that I buy at costco in the large tub. Or 24 baggies of pistachios that I'd pre-shelled. Or homemade lara balls (date and nuts, basically, but they're quite sweet). None of those are awesome but given the constraint, I'd be comfortable with them for my kid.

This is a bit much

Why do you say that?

[dontlook]

Aug 16, 2019 12:54:46 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

That's a ridiculous policy that practically forces you to feed your kid junk.

I would probably send my kid in with 24 baggies of the peanut-butter filled pretzels that I buy at costco in the large tub. Or 24 baggies of pistachios that I'd pre-shelled. Or homemade lara balls (date and nuts, basically, but they're quite sweet). None of those are awesome but given the constraint, I'd be comfortable with them for my kid.

Please make sure there are no allergies if you go this route.

Some of you sound a bit crazy. If you don’t want to feed your kid crackers or whatever that’s fine but let’s not act like it’s not a normal snack option in many households.

And quite a few preschools around us do community snack so it wouldn’t be so strange to carry that over to K.

My kids have snack time each day. I’m not sure how long but they usually eat while reading or finishing up a work sheet. I send goldfish, bagels, belvita bars, pretzels, saltines, ritz, granola bars, veggie straws, dry cereal, whole fruit like peaches, pears, apples, bananas. Hopefully that will give you some ideas.

[dontlook]

Aug 16, 2019 13:13:46 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Aug 16, 2019 13:02:41 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

This is a bit much

Why do you say that?

Because goldfish might not be a fruit or veggie but it’s not like making kids eat Oreos every day for snack.

[hermione]

Has it been said the snacks are shared? My friend also has to send in 24 snacks at the beginning of the month. But they all go in her son’s snack box and he chooses one each day.

His teacher does this because there is far less kids (parents) who forget a snack this way.

[Patsy Baloney]

You guys are going to make Goldfish crackers frown.

[Ashley&Scott]

We did class snacks in K too. There was a rotation, when it was your turn you supplied snack for the whole class. Our school is nut free, snacks were required to be store bought & shelf stable. Some of the things we sent were: goldfish, applesauce pouches, Skinny Pop popcorn, graham crackers...

[boiler717]

Aug 16, 2019 13:16:22 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Aug 16, 2019 13:13:46 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Why do you say that?

Because goldfish might not be a fruit or veggie but it’s not like making kids eat Oreos every day for snack.

Oreos and goldfish really aren’t that different from a nutrition standpoint. It’s not wrong to want to avoid a daily processed snack and offer an alternative that meets the rules.

[namasteak]

Aug 16, 2019 12:59:32 GMT -5 oswin said:

Aug 16, 2019 12:02:40 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I don't want to get you riled up if you're okay with accepting this setup. But I would 1,000% push back on this.

I am fine with my kid eating a cupcake or treat when a classmate has a birthday. But I am not okay with other parents selecting my child's snack 5 days per week. Applesauce is not an appropriate school snack for my kid. It's a glorified apple juice. Same with fruit snacks, which I'm sure other parents will bring in.

The teacher may "think" she's making her life easier. But she's got to end up with a few kids every day who don't eat what's provided and are hangry. And kids who aren't able to make it to lunch on a single back of fruit snacks and their water. So many children are naturally wired to calorie load earlier in the day, and eat light in the evening. This is why I put a lot of care into what I pack DS for snack and lunch at school.

My interpretation was that each kid brings their own snacks, they just bring them once a month instead of daily. Not that each kid brings snack for everyone one day/month (which wouldn't work because food restrictions).

Everyone brings their 24 prepackaged snacks at the beginning of the month. Then all of the snacks go in 1 big container and the kids get to pick what they want each day.

[boiler717]

Anyways, I would bring an enjoy life individually wrapped snack. Lentil chips, seed bar, fruit and seed pouches, protein balls. The protein balls are a little high in sugar but all have good fat/protein component and are allergy friendly.

[ohgillian]

Aug 16, 2019 13:14:30 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Aug 16, 2019 12:54:46 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

That's a ridiculous policy that practically forces you to feed your kid junk.

I would probably send my kid in with 24 baggies of the peanut-butter filled pretzels that I buy at costco in the large tub. Or 24 baggies of pistachios that I'd pre-shelled. Or homemade lara balls (date and nuts, basically, but they're quite sweet). None of those are awesome but given the constraint, I'd be comfortable with them for my kid.

Please make sure there are no allergies if you go this route.

Some of you sound a bit crazy. If you don’t want to feed your kid crackers or whatever that’s fine but let’s not act like it’s not a normal snack option in many households.

And quite a few preschools around us do community snack so it wouldn’t be so strange to carry that over to K.

My kids have snack time each day. I’m not sure how long but they usually eat while reading or finishing up a work sheet. I send goldfish, bagels, belvita bars, pretzels, saltines, ritz, granola bars, veggie straws, dry cereal, whole fruit like peaches, pears, apples, bananas. Hopefully that will give you some ideas.

I'm not the OP, and the things I listed are not what we send for snack. The question was what to send within the constraint that it must be shelf stable.