Back to School: Lunch-Time Options

CONCEPT: PKU Diet, Meal Planning, Making Healthy Choices

 

BRIEF SUMMARY

Children complete a worksheet that deals with different aspects of eating lunch at school.

 

OBJECTIVES

After completing this activity, children will be able to:

  • identify and list appropriate foods for a sack lunch
  • identify appropriate foods from a school lunch menu and list foods that could be used to make the lunch more complete
  • describe strategies for addressing "lunch time dilemmas"
    (e.g., with food, formula)

 

METHODS

Set the stage :
Talk about the children's school lunch routines.

  • Who eats lunch at school?
    • Do you buy your own lunch?
    • Do you take a lunch from home?
  • If you take a lunch...
    • What do you eat?
    • Who packs the lunch?
    • Do you help decide what to eat?
  • Do you drink your milk at school?
    • Where do you keep it?
    • Where do you drink it?

Complete the worksheet:
Distribute a worksheet to each child. Allow them time to work through it, then review the answers together. Discuss similarities and differences in planning strategies. Reinforce that there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to do it, but it is important to think about the scenario beforehand to be prepared to make good food choices while at school.

Role playing:
For a role playing activity, write these scenarios on notebook cards (prior to the activity) and distribute one to each child. Ask each participant to act out the scenario listed on their card.

  • A friend asks you, "What does your milk taste like? Why do you drink it?" What do you say?
  • This is what's for lunch: chicken, green salad, fruit cup, roll. What will you eat?
  • What can you eat from this sack lunch: sandwich with low protein bread, carrot sticks, applesauce, onion rings?
  • Somebody brings chocolate cake to celebrate a birthday. What do you do?
  • Your teacher says, "Why don't you try these peanut butter cookies?" What do you tell her?

Discuss the scenarios. How would others have handled the situation? What other situations have come up at school--around school lunch, food, or formula?

Distribute the parent handouts to families.

 

MATERIALS

 

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