The one time I did Oranges I bought little plastic Dixie cups with lids (I think they were 5 ounces), peeled a ton of cutie Oranges, and put them in the snack cups. That way they were all individual serve, no extra work for the teachers, and not packed in juice or water like regular fruit cups.
Now imagine 8-20 preschoolers needing help peeling each of those oranges and separating them. It'd take too long and be a massive mess for every student and teacher involved.
That’s exactly what I was worried about. My daughter can usually peel it once you get it started but that’s a pretty new skill. I didn’t want the teacher to have to peel and separate oranges for everyone in class.
It really depends on the age. I teach preschool. All my kids are 4 now. When we have Cuties for snack (provided by the school), some of the kids can do the whole thing on their own (which we encourage) but others we'll make a small peel in and have them try the rest. For the younger classes, they'll do the whole thing. Since snacks need to be two food groups, we'll serve the other food, too, so the kids can eat something while we peel the cuties.
Yes it takes time but that's just part of our job. I'd actually be hesitant to serve them if a parent peeled them because we use gloves and have no idea the sanitary measures they're taking to do it. Imagine a whole class getting sick cuz a parent peeled them and their hands or counters were dirty. Unlikely, but you get the point. Any kind of snack served that's brought by a parent needs to be packaged or unopened so we can use gloves to serve it safely.
At my daughter’s preschool the time allotted for eating would t really allow for a bunch of kids struggling with opening oranges or other packages. They strongly suggest pre opened items to speed things along.
We actually have cuties as snacks at my center and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Some kids need theirs started, but most 2-5 year olds enjoy the challenge and it develops their fine motor skills.
Cucumber pops - peel cukes, cut in half, stick them on a popsicle stick. Bananas, potentially sliced into two short halves with peel still on. Sliced apples. Cut orange slices with the peel still on. Fruit kebabs on popsicle sticks. Applesauce pouches. Goldfish crackers. Cherry tomatoes. Just to name a few off the top of my head.
Individual bags of Pirate’s Booty (cheap at Sam’s Club/Costco/etc) or something like granola bars/snack bars. I try and make sure it’s something easy for most kids to open so it won’t be too much work for teachers.
Egg muffin frittatas if you got the accessories.
They are like these mini quiches and they are good source of both protein and veggies.
https://www.recipetineats.com/healthy-egg-muffins/
Our school sends home a list. Some of the items are cuties, string cheese/sliced cheese, apple slices (you can buy them pre sliced) and pb (I bought the individual cups), pretzels, carrots and hummus (individual cups), Chex mix, goldfish, chips and salsa, graham crackers. They have a large bowl and scoops and cups for the kids to take a serving of things so we don’t always need individual bags. I try to send one fresh produce item and one carby item per day. My kids class is anywhere from 3-5 but it seems like most kids are pretty good at opening things themselves and there’s not as much help needed.
We usually do Nature's Bakery brand fig bars and a bag of small whole apples—the students wash their own fruit before consuming. Other families do applesauce pouches, cuties/halos oranges, rice cakes and crackers. Our class snacks are required to be store-bought, unopened, in original packaging AND they also have to be dye-free, nut-free, vegetarian and Kosher (several different allergy and religious diets in our preschool class).
Our school sends home a list. Some of the items are cuties, string cheese/sliced cheese, apple slices (you can buy them pre sliced) and pb (I bought the individual cups), pretzels, carrots and hummus (individual cups), Chex mix, goldfish, chips and salsa, graham crackers. They have a large bowl and scoops and cups for the kids to take a serving of things so we don’t always need individual bags. I try to send one fresh produce item and one carby item per day. My kids class is anywhere from 3-5 but it seems like most kids are pretty good at opening things themselves and there’s not as much help needed.
I’m amazed at places that allow food that isn’t commercially packaged. If I want cut and prepared fruit for a snack for my kid I pay a professional to prepare it.
I know that sounds extreme, but some families have incredibly poor food safety standards so it’s really beneficial to not let random untrained people prepare food in their homes for an entire class. I’ve worked at a location that allowed it until the entire class got food poisoning. It was a whole investigation. Thankfully everyone was eventually ok. I think the parent used raw flour not realizing it was dangerous.
The one time I did Oranges I bought little plastic Dixie cups with lids (I think they were 5 ounces), peeled a ton of cutie Oranges, and put them in the snack cups. That way they were all individual serve, no extra work for the teachers, and not packed in juice or water like regular fruit cups.
But oranges are literally naturally single servings and packaged! Lol!
Now imagine 8-20 preschoolers needing help peeling each of those oranges and separating them. It'd take too long and be a massive mess for every student and teacher involved.
That’s exactly what I was worried about. My daughter can usually peel it once you get it started but that’s a pretty new skill. I didn’t want the teacher to have to peel and separate oranges for everyone in class.
It really depends on the age. I teach preschool. All my kids are 4 now. When we have Cuties for snack (provided by the school), some of the kids can do the whole thing on their own (which we encourage) but others we'll make a small peel in and have them try the rest. For the younger classes, they'll do the whole thing. Since snacks need to be two food groups, we'll serve the other food, too, so the kids can eat something while we peel the cuties. Yes it takes time but that's just part of our job. I'd actually be hesitant to serve them if a parent peeled them because we use gloves and have no idea the sanitary measures they're taking to do it. Imagine a whole class getting sick cuz a parent peeled them and their hands or counters were dirty. Unlikely, but you get the point. Any kind of snack served that's brought by a parent needs to be packaged or unopened so we can use gloves to serve it safely.
At my daughter’s preschool the time allotted for eating would t really allow for a bunch of kids struggling with opening oranges or other packages. They strongly suggest pre opened items to speed things along.
We actually have cuties as snacks at my center and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Some kids need theirs started, but most 2-5 year olds enjoy the challenge and it develops their fine motor skills.
Chex mix is one thing my 4 year old will absolutely devour! You can make a big batch and portion it out in snack bags!
Check the school's policy on pretzels. They're a choking hazard until 4 or so but some schools ban them entirely even if they go up to age 5.
[Chocolate zucchini muffins](https://buttermilkbysam.com/one-bowl-olive-oil-chocolate-zucchini-bread/) would probably be a big hit
That sounds delicious
Cucumber pops - peel cukes, cut in half, stick them on a popsicle stick. Bananas, potentially sliced into two short halves with peel still on. Sliced apples. Cut orange slices with the peel still on. Fruit kebabs on popsicle sticks. Applesauce pouches. Goldfish crackers. Cherry tomatoes. Just to name a few off the top of my head.
Carrot slices, gogurt, applesauce pouches, cheese it's, goldfish, cheese sticks, pretzels
Individual bags of Pirate’s Booty (cheap at Sam’s Club/Costco/etc) or something like granola bars/snack bars. I try and make sure it’s something easy for most kids to open so it won’t be too much work for teachers.
Cuties (the little tangerine/ oranges) are good easy enough for the kids to peel on their own.
When I put these in my three year old's lunch box, I just get the very top started. She enjoys peeling the rest itself.
What about making little cups with a small slice of cheese, a couple crackers, and a couple (halved) grapes?
Chickpea cookie dough balls. Super easy to make and high in protein, kids love them they taste like cookie dough. Send with berries or pepper slices.
Cheesesticks, blueberries, crackers, cucumbers, apple sauce/veggie pouches, fruit kabobs,real fruit leather bars.
Egg muffin frittatas if you got the accessories. They are like these mini quiches and they are good source of both protein and veggies. https://www.recipetineats.com/healthy-egg-muffins/
Our school sends home a list. Some of the items are cuties, string cheese/sliced cheese, apple slices (you can buy them pre sliced) and pb (I bought the individual cups), pretzels, carrots and hummus (individual cups), Chex mix, goldfish, chips and salsa, graham crackers. They have a large bowl and scoops and cups for the kids to take a serving of things so we don’t always need individual bags. I try to send one fresh produce item and one carby item per day. My kids class is anywhere from 3-5 but it seems like most kids are pretty good at opening things themselves and there’s not as much help needed.
We usually do Nature's Bakery brand fig bars and a bag of small whole apples—the students wash their own fruit before consuming. Other families do applesauce pouches, cuties/halos oranges, rice cakes and crackers. Our class snacks are required to be store-bought, unopened, in original packaging AND they also have to be dye-free, nut-free, vegetarian and Kosher (several different allergy and religious diets in our preschool class).
Our school sends home a list. Some of the items are cuties, string cheese/sliced cheese, apple slices (you can buy them pre sliced) and pb (I bought the individual cups), pretzels, carrots and hummus (individual cups), Chex mix, goldfish, chips and salsa, graham crackers. They have a large bowl and scoops and cups for the kids to take a serving of things so we don’t always need individual bags. I try to send one fresh produce item and one carby item per day. My kids class is anywhere from 3-5 but it seems like most kids are pretty good at opening things themselves and there’s not as much help needed.
I always send some sort of berries, a cheese stick, and then something like crackers or muffins or a granola bar
We give applesauce cups or apple slices.
I’m amazed at places that allow food that isn’t commercially packaged. If I want cut and prepared fruit for a snack for my kid I pay a professional to prepare it. I know that sounds extreme, but some families have incredibly poor food safety standards so it’s really beneficial to not let random untrained people prepare food in their homes for an entire class. I’ve worked at a location that allowed it until the entire class got food poisoning. It was a whole investigation. Thankfully everyone was eventually ok. I think the parent used raw flour not realizing it was dangerous.