RED CHRISTMAS: the make-your-own-lunch mat

Today was the day . . . THE day . . . the first day of kindergarten When my oldest started preschool last fall, I immediately started dreading kindergarten. That's right . . . I've been dreading the first day of kindergarten for an entire year. Yikes!

But my beautiful and brave daughter handled herself wonderfully, and I could not be more proud.

Check out the pics:

I have two goals as we begin this part of life's journey:

To avoid chaos and craziness in the morning. Okay, I know chaos and craziness cannot always be avoided, but I can try. Right? Tell me that I can try . . . please!
To help my daughter take an active role in getting herself ready for school.

So here's one little trick I've implemented to help my 5 year old pack her own lunch and to make sure that said lunch is well-rounded nutritionally.

The Make-Your-Own-Lunch Mat

Here's what you need:
1 - package of laminating film or at least two sheets
1 - print outs of a food pyramid
2 - sets of individual pics that represent items from the food pyramid and lunch options*
1 - card stock page cut to about 1/4 of an inch smaller than the laminating film
1 - glue or tape
1 - roll of clear packaging or Duck tape

*My daughter and I did this project together, so we looked through pictures on my computer and she chose the ones she wanted.

Here's what you do:
1) Glue or tape food pyramid on one side of card stock

2) Press onto laminating page. Push firmly.

3) On the other side, glue or tape individual pictures into groupings. I did fruit, veggies, whole grain and protein. These are the four basics that I wanted to focus on. My daughter knows that she has to pick one item from each of these categories for her lunch.

4) Press this side onto laminating page making sure to match edges. Push firmly.

5) Now use clear packaging tape to secure the second set of pictures to clear containers that will hold lunch options. Again, the boxes are divided into fruit, veggies (this pic was taped on the veggie drawer in the fridge), whole grains and protein. (Check out the plastic fruit I pulled from the play kitchen to remind her that there grapes and strawberries in the fridge.)

6) Store mat and food storage containers in a place that your child can reach. I also have one container that has baked chips and organic Honey Bunnies (similar to Teddy Grahams). She gets to pick one of these for her lunch too - either baked chips or Honey Bunnies, but not both.)

7) My daughter pulls out the mat and picks one choice for fruit. She places her choice over the fruit picture on the mat. Then she moves on to protein . . . covering each picture as she goes until all the pics are covered. I help with any cutting, sandwich making, etc., but for the most part she can do this herself.

And she LOVES doing it! We've only done this three times (once for practice, once last night and once tonight), but it's been a huge hit so far.

Implement lunch-making into your bedtime routine, so that lunch is made and ready to go without any fuss in the morning. Insert ice pack and any cold containers right before heading out the door.

A fun, practical crafty project . . .

craft on!