My Square Meal Lunch Boxes

It is true summer is almost over and it is time to start the back to school shopping. One of my least favorite things to do is shop for back to school items. Most items I feel are cheaply made thus the need to purchase a new one each year. I purchased this eco-friendly lunch box last year for my son and I am happy to say it is still in great condition. My Square Meal lunch boxes are beautifully made and the bento box is dish washer safe. The cool thing about these lunch boxes is you get a menu card with ideas of how to fill your lunch box. I LOVE THAT! So many times I was stumped for what to pack and the menu card was my savior. Would love to hear your back to school secrets.

Chinese New Year

Celebrate Chinese New Year with this Chinese paper lantern craft. It is really fun and easy.
Here is what you will need:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• ruler
• tape
• stapler
• pencil
• glitter, sequins or anything to decorate lantern

Fold your paper length wise and use your ruler to draw a line one inch across from unfolded end. Measure and mark lines one inch apart starting at folded end toward the stop cutting line. (see diagram below) Cut along lines to the stop cutting line. Unfold paper and tape lantern together. Add a handle and decorate.

Leaf Rubbing

Here is another fun fall activity you can do with you children. Go on a nature walk and collect a variety of fallen leaves. If you are able to identify the trees/leaves, even better. Lay your collection of leaves on a smooth surface, vein side up. Place a piece of paper over leaves. Shade lightly over the leaves/paper with a soft pencil or crayon. An image of the leaves should appear. My kids love doing this. They kept saying it's like magic and couldn't wait to make more leaf rubbing collages.

Spelling Practice

Practicing your spelling words is never a fun homework activity. Here are a few fun ways to spice up spelling practice. Crayola has great bath crayons; while your child is showering give them a "spelling test" and let them write the words on the tile wall. If you have a glass shower door you can write the words on note cards and tape them to the glass and let them trace the words for practice.

Lunch Ideas 2

We have only been in school for a week and I am already looking for more lunch ideas. I found this list of new lunch ideas on the Kraft Recipes website. Not only does this site give you lunch ideas it also has some quick breakfast ideas and some fun jokes to put in your little one's lunch box.

Get Organized for School

Start the week off right by planning ahead what your child will wear. With this helpful hanging closet organizer from Ikea you can place clothing in each bin for the week. You can even place days of the week labels on each bins so your child can practice reading the days of the week. This is a great way to keep your mornings quick and easy.

Bath Play

Looking for an educational way to let the kids play in the bath tub and clean at the same time? Have the kids play in shaving cream! You can draw different shapes, letters or numbers with the shaving cream on the tile and have them identify what you drew. You can have them smooth out the shaving cream once they have identified the object and have them practice writing the letter, shape or number. This is great for fine motor and cleans the tile at the same time.

Lunch Ideas

As the kids head back to school parents are faced with the difficult task of making healthy lunches. This is a constant struggle in our house with my little guy who is a picky eater. Remember when making your child's lunch you want to try and make the lunch look like a rainbow the more colorful the lunch is the healthier it will likely be. One of my favorite sites to visit for nutritional lunch ideas is laptop lunches you will find several ideas that even the pickiest of eaters will love. While you are visiting the site check out the bento boxes for your child's lunch box they are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags.

Back to School

Many of us are getting our little ones ready to head back to school. One of my all time favorite back to school books is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. This is a must read before the first day of school. It is a beautiful story of Chester the raccoon heading to his first day of school and his fears. Mommy raccoon comforts him with a kiss in the palm of his hand and reminds him that she is always with him. This book helps open the door for your child to talk to you about any fears or concerns they my have about the first day of school. For my own kids I will give them "forever kisses" a kiss with my lipstick on their hand so they can look at it and know I am with them. Another idea is to draw a heart on their hand the first day so they will know you are with them and place a note/picture in their lunch box. This makes the first couple of days easier.

Here are a few other great Back to School Books:

If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
Arthur's Back to School Day by Marc Brown
The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London