I can confidently say that the decision to send Finn to preschool was a great one! He seems to really enjoy the experience, it provides some consistency in regards to childcare and routine and I adore the school and the staff.

He goes three days per week from 9-1 (ish…they are flexible with drop-off and pick up times, especially for the toddler class). The biggest challenge has been pushing his nap back to 1:15-1:30 and some days I find that he’s almost overtired for it and it can be hard to get him down. I know he’ll continue to adjust to this schedule. In the meantime, if he seems off or needing extra rest, we’ll pick him up a little closer to the noon side of things for that early nap.

Finn is in the toddler class and all of the kids in there were one when the school year started. Some have already had second birthdays since the start of school, some won’t have a second birthday until next summer. They have two teachers and eight students in his class. It is the sweetest thing ever to see them playing and interacting. On Monday when I picked Finn up, they’d had music class that day. Last week you might remember they had a visit from the firetruck. I love that he’s getting to have these experiences.

They eat lunch every day around noon. They all sit together at this low table with toddler chairs. This has been a bit of a big ask for Finn and from what I understand he would rather get up and wander around the room. I’m certain that he’ll continue to adjust and improve with time.

So I pack a lunch for him every day, even though I know he might only eat 25% of it at the moment if I’m lucky. I’ve been snapping photos of his lunches since school started knowing that I would write a post sharing them. This is the lunchbox that I use. Oh and FYI, I did a school label pack from Name Bubbles to label all of Finn’s preschool stuff from his lunchbox to his water cup to his shoes and more! (I don’t even recognize this person that I am now…ordering labels…haha)

Okay, here are the lunches! I’ll do this again in a couple of months, hopefully with a better report that he’s more interested in his lunch.

WHAT’S IN FINN’S LUNCHBOX

ALDI sweet potato and spinach/kale bites (these are an exact knockoff of the Dr. Praeger’s veggie bites), half of a carrot/oat/banana muffin, mini peanut butter crackers, cheddar bunnies, apple slices.

Sliced turkey and cheese, graham crackers, grapes, pea crisps. Finn L-O-V-E loves graham crackers. These pea crisps are also a favorite.

Italian olive oil breadsticks from Trader Joe’s (Finn likes these a lot…easy to hold, not too hard/crunchy, crispy), string cheese, a slice of turkey, sun gold tomatoes, grapes, scrambled eggs.

Pea crisps, apple slices, half a carrot/banana/oat muffin, peas, mac and cheese.

Italian olive oil bread sticks, string cheese, peanut butter and mashed banana, grapes.

Italian olive oil bread sticks, cheese, roasted acorn squash, grapes, meatballs.

More breadsticks, a snack pack of colby-jack cheese (he really likes this shape/flavor of cheese), half of a carrot/oat/banana muffin, bananas, cottage cheese scrambled eggs.

Turkey, half of a carrot/oat/banana muffin, cheese.

WRAPPING IT UP

They also eat a snack every day but the teachers do a rotation where each day a classmate will bring snack for the whole class. I’m not sure what he’s eating for snacks but I’ve sent things like applesauce squeezables and pea crisps, those colby-jack cheese sticks that Finn likes along with fig bars, bananas and goldfish crackers, etc. Luckily, the allergies in his class are minimal.

It’s also worth noting that I do pack things in Finn’s lunchbox that I know there’s a slim to none chance he will eat…mostly veggies and fruit. He’s still not into them. My hope is that through the power of suggestion seeing other kids eat all sorts of different things, maybe he’ll try something I pack. Who knows!?

QUESTION

Talk to me about the kinds of things you pack or serve for toddler lunches. Would love your ideas!