{"id":501,"date":"2017-09-12T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/?p=501"},"modified":"2017-09-14T10:13:29","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T14:13:29","slug":"packing-the-perfect-lunchbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/12\/packing-the-perfect-lunchbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Packing the Perfect Lunchbox"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By: Alex Chiu<\/p>\n

Just one of the many wonderful things about Montessori education is that everything that happens in the classroom is viewed as a learning opportunity. Consider the simple act of having lunch. In a Montessori setting, the children learn how to follow multi-step instructions to take part in setting up and preparing their lunch spaces. This includes retrieving their lunchboxes from where they are stored to setting out their placemats and food, to eating politely, and finally throwing away trash and cleaning up. It\u2019s a lot to remember and complete for our younger students, but they learn the routines quickly and perform the tasks beautifully every time they have lunch at school.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to ensure your child can enjoy eating and socializing during lunchtime at school is by having him or her help to prepare lunch for each day. Providing your child with healthy choices and allowing him or her to decide which to bring on a given day gives your child some control over what he or she brings in to eat and teaches responsibility in getting the lunch packed and ready for school. This begins with including your child in purchasing his or her first lunchbox and continues throughout the year as he or she works together with an adult to pack that beautiful box with daily meals.<\/p>\n

Here are some teacher suggestions (or \u201csecrets\u201d) to packing a perfect lunchbox:<\/p>\n

1. Label everything! Especially at the beginning of the school year, the children are learning whose lunchbox belongs to whom, and often the children see that their classmates have the same containers or placemats. Not only does labeling all items help your child recognize his or her name, it also helps to make sure all items that belong to you return home!<\/p>\n

2. Consider your child\u2019s lunch \u2018space\u2019. In a Montessori classroom, children learn to organize their workspaces on a floor rug or table. The same holds true during lunch. Many Montessori classrooms encourage children to use placemats during lunch because the placemats offer the children a visual context in which to organize their lunch and maintain their space among the others sitting at the table. Some teachers have their students make their own placemats to use during lunch, some provide a plastic or vinyl placemat, and some may request that parents send in a cloth placemat to be washed at home as needed for the children\u2019s lunchtime routines. Ask your child\u2019s teacher if a placemat from home is needed.<\/p>\n

3. Consider reusable containers. While plastic disposable baggies are easy and light, they are not the best choice for our environment. Since lunch is another learning time in the Montessori classroom, children are encouraged to pack in an eco-friendly way. Not only do you help the planet by packing reusable containers, but you also help your child practice fine motor skills for opening and closing lids. Children learn to match sizes and shapes of containers and lids, and they gain a special awareness when deciding what will fit into different sizes of containers.<\/p>\n

4. What about the food?! Montessori children do learn about health and fitness, and preschool is not too early to encourage varied and healthy food choices. While each child has his or her preferences, teachers find that children enjoy a small portion of a variety of foods rather than one large main dish. You might think about sending in a small container of carrots, olives, or cucumbers sliced and paired with a favorite cheese or dip (hummus or ranch dressing). Another Tupperware might be filled with grapes, berries, or apple slices. Still another may provide your child with favorite crackers and a few sliced cold cuts. Having several small portions of different types of foods gives children choice and variety, and creates a \u2018picnic\u2019 type of meal which most children really enjoy.<\/p>\n

5. Keep it cold (or hot)! Be sure to put foods that need to stay hot in an airtight thermos. Use an icepack to keep cold foods cold. Most schools do not have the space for refrigerators or microwaves in the classroom, so it\u2019s always helpful for parents to take charge of sending the food in the safest manner.<\/p>\n

Most teachers encourage students to repack any foods that were left uneaten. It\u2019s important for parents to pay attention to what comes back home in the lunchbox at the end of the day. Perhaps your child is tired of a certain food or is packing too much to be eaten in a given lunch period. Talk with your child about his or her lunchtimes. Ask what his or her classmates enjoying eating, who he or she sits beside, and what special routines the class has for lunch. We may think it\u2019s \u2018only lunch\u2019, but in Montessori, lunch is an important part of the school day, too!<\/p>\n

Photo from the howwemontessori.com website \u2013 a perfect example of a Montessori lunch!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  By: Alex Chiu Just one of the many wonderful things about Montessori education is that everything that happens in the classroom is viewed as a learning opportunity. Consider the simple act of having lunch. In a Montessori setting, the children learn how to follow multi-step instructions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[28,69,87,1],"tags":[26,17,10,38,73,4,52,78,140,9,18,35],"coauthors":[13],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7icff-85","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1414,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/08\/independence-in-the-early-childhood-montessori-classroom\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":0},"title":"Independence in the Early Childhood Montessori Classroom","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development \u201cHow does he achieve this independence? He does it by means of a continuous activity.How does he become free? By means of constant effort\u2026Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest,and in order to reach not only freedom, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Care of Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Care of Environment","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/care-of-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Independence6.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1235,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/29\/the-absorbent-mind-supporting-mcas-youngest-learners\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":1},"title":"The Absorbent Mind: Supporting MCA\u2019s Youngest Learners","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"December 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bernadette Fasolas, Director of Hiring and Montessori Educationand Tori Inkley, Executive Director \u201cAbsorbent Mind\u201d is a term coined by Dr. Maria Montessori to describe the natural absorption of information by a child from birth through the age of 6 years. 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