Hello Families!
Welcome to September! We are just one full day away from our return to the center for the start of the 2019-2020 year. With the start of this new year I wanted to take the opportunity to remind returning families, and share with new families our centers expectations for your child’s mealtimes and snacks.
If your child is under one, families will need to provide everything your child is eating and drinking. Be it formula or breast milk; purées or solids. Before your child turn one you may want to start looking at the snack menu to see what your child will soon be eating. It is recommended that your child first tries new foods at home.
Once your child turns one, but not before, your child can join the centers snack program. Morning snack is at 9 am in all classrooms and afternoon typically at 3 pm once children begin to awaken from their naps. If your child will be late or miss a morning snack opportunity please make sure to provide them snack before they arrive. If you’re picking up at during the afternoon snack time, typically we are able to send the snack with you for your car or bus ride home. Breakfast and dinner are served at home.
Now we can’t forget about your child’s main meal while they are in our care, of course I speak of lunch! We use lunch in our program as a time to come together, talk about our mornings, discuss the similarities or differences in our meals, and help prepare the children for their afternoons. It’s generally a very enjoyable, albeit messy time for everyone. We do have some state guidelines that must be followed for the snacks we serve and meals that you are sending.
Meals should be in an appropriate quantity for your child, a variety of foods offered, and labeled! This means, a fruit, vegetable, protein and grain are provided. Labels should provide your child’s name, date, and the contents of each item, or container provided. Unlabeled items cannot be served. We encourage you to send the healthiest meal that you can. For many families it is leftovers from the night before. Other times you might have the time to make a meal that is just for your little one. We will offer a bit of every item you send at meal/snack times. No item maybe held back until others are eaten.
Below is the states nutrition requirements for infants:
Here, you’ll have the states meal (lunch) requirements for children ages 1 and up:
Lastly, I have attached the snack menu for the month of September. If you have any questions about meals and snacks, any lead teacher or myself can help!
