Kindergaten Lunch***

My son's school has adult helpers that help the kids open packages. If I send something I know my son can't completely open I open it part way to make it easier and put it in a plastic container or bag. My son is going into 2nd grade and he has taken lunch. We do pb&j, pb&nutella, pb sandwiches, he also likes tuna sandwiches. We get lunchables sometimes. I always send some kind of fruit or veggie. Usually milk, sometimes chocolate milk or juice. I have him help pack and pick what he gets for lunch.

Our school has specifically asked that the kindergarteners be able to open their own lunch. We have been practicing a bit around here. We like to use reuseable stuff in our house for storing the food in. I think I may make or buy some of these...http://www.wrapnmat.com/ The look practical and easy to open. As for lunch ideas, a mama on here posted this website one time. http://easylunchboxes.smugmug.com/The-Best-Lunchbox-Syste...
We don't need the lunchboxes, but some of the lunch ideas look terrific.

Breathe... he will figure out how to open things -- he'll ask a friend or a teacher.
Put in what he likes.
My daughter, now a high school Junior, has always liked left overs... I heat it and put it in a wide mouth thermos. I give her a plastic fork, so she doesn't have to worry about bringing the fork home. She likes rice and pasta. We make sure we have left overs of her favorite meals so she can take it to school. Chicken in wine is one of her faves!
How about hard boiled eggs, almonds, raisins, sandwiches of any type -- even cucumber if he likes it. I liked eggplant parmesan on my sandwiches... Chicken nuggets in a thermos, cut up fruit, a crunchy snack, a cookie or two, anything...
YMMV
LBC

Does he eat pita bread? Mini pita pockets are great or use a regular sized pita and don't stuff too full. You can do ham and cheese, meatballs, chicken and veggie or even full meals. They're also good for mini pizzas. Chicken nuggets, carrot sticks, celery sticks, whole apples/pears (buy organic, wash and the skin is good fiber), grapes. You can pack it in separate Ziploc bags, perhaps they are easier for him open or he can practice to open it at home.

There are a ton of ideas on Martha Stewart or Real Simple. Check it out!

With a lot of NYC schools, PB&J's are no longer allowed due to nut allergies. Not sure about the rest of USA.

When my kids went to Kindergarten and they wanted a packed lunch - i did several things:

PB&J or a Ham and cheese in a tortilla shell
cut up apples and oranges
pretzels
popcorn

anything that you fix at home, you should be able to put in his lunch...don't over think it - I know it's hard when this step happens!!! TAKE PICTURES!!!

The lunch ladies will help with opening things - at least ours do.

You have gotten some good ideas. My son took his lunch this past year and though there are adults in the cafeteria, there are only a few for about 100 children or so. The children may have to wait a while for help and then end up not having enough time to eat. I packed my son's lunch in a plastic container that he was able to open. He likes cheese sticks so I started it for him. I also found juice boxes to be easier than capri suns. I froze his juice the night before and used it to keep his lunch cool and it was thawed by lunch but still cold. Same with a gogurt.
You can ask your son for ideas of what he may like and make a list with him. Then check the list to see if there are items he has trouble with and practice with those.
One thing I learned - even if he eats really well at home, if your son is social then expect some lunch to be left uneaten the first few weeks! They are SO excited to visit and talk with friends at lunch that they usually run out of lunch time. Then they can be VERY hungry right after school. I tried to give my son some sort of protein snack after school to help with hunger but not fill him up before dinner. We also experienced a few tummy aches after school that turned out to be hunger related. My rule was that you bring home any food you don't finish - not to get in trouble but so I could see what was eaten and what wasn't. That was how I figured out the tummy aches :>)
Good Luck! Hope he has a GREAT year!

My girls like a sandwich, fruit, drink (water or Capri Sun) and chips. It's plenty, don't overpack. They either toss it or trade or leave it. The Kindergarten teachers had snacks last year (Cheerios/pretzels) to tide the kids over. But lunch was at 10:30 and eating breakfast at 8am. So when they come home at 2:30 they were hungry.

My kids are getting ready for 1st grade and still have trouble opening some things. I buy the baggies that don't zip because they have problems with the ones that do zip and if they are able to open them, they usually rip it and spill the contents.
I pack a fruit, some veggies (baby carrot sticks or shredded carrots, zucchini cut up into small pieces, baby tomatoes), and a main item (1/4 sub roll with cheese, peanut butter and jelly cut with cookie cutters into cute shapes, mac and cheese in a thermos, soup in a thermos, cheese sticks cut into bite sized pieces with crackers, tuna with crackers or a tuna sandwich, left over pasta in a thermos). I also include some type of treat like a small kid sized handful of little cookies or 3 regular sized cookies, goldfish crackers, a handful of chips (with sandwiches), cinnamon pita chips, a granola bar, a nutrigrain or a small bag of snackwell's popcorn. My son usually eats about 1/2 of what I pack because he is very social and spends his time chatting. When I pick them up after school, he opens his lunchbox and eats some of what he didn't at lunch. My daughter is not as social and eats most of what I pack. But 30 minutes to eat is not that long for little kids!

Get a insulated lunch box and use a cold pack to keep food fresh. Put food in something easy to open like a ziploc bag, or try out containers to see what is easy for him to open.

We've done...
-fruit cut up-strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, orange slices
-cheese cubes, string cheese
-sandwiches or tortilla wrap w/ pb & j, turkey and cheese, ham and cheese, salami
-cottage cheese

Also you can pack a kid friendly thermos with soups, mac & cheese, pasta, chicken nuggets or leftovers.

The trick with thermos' is to put hot water in the thermos and leave it in for 5-10 minutes. Empty it and put in your heated food. This will keep the food warm until lunchtime.

I can't help you there. My son is a big meat eater and every thing has to be heated up. Where my son went to VPK, they heated every thing up for the kids. I don't like the fact that he's going to have to buy school lunch but we will see. It's hard because I always buy items without preservatives in the meat. Kids are so big today but I have managed on keeping mine tall and slim. Maybe my son will have a new attitude if he doesn't like the lunches and he will have to make do with sandwiches. I can't serve him PB & J every day. If I could, I would.

What does he eat for lunch NOW? That's what I put in my son's lunches. Exactly what he ate at home. Because I knew he'd eat it elsewhere. Ziplock twist and seal plastic containers have been the hands down hit since he was a toddler (packed lunches in preschool as well). Goof for everything from pasta to sammies to soups. Although I bought a 'fit n fresh' salad container for his favorite salad meals, because it kept the dressing separate. Then twist and shake like a crazyman and eat with the fork that is in the lid.

For drinks, I put in a 20oz straw cup.

Here's what I got to put my soon to be kindergartner's lunch in:

http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10025083&amp...

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodontheGo/fo...

You may want to put some snacks in it and have him practice a couple times.

Ah! In a perfect world, all kindergarteners would be able to open all the stuff in their lunches! LOL

Too bad you can't hurry up fine motor skills.

Pack sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, carrots in a baggie and a little ranch dip, a banana or apple, and some cookies or goldfish crackers.

Or put the stuff in the compartments of a container like this:
http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-compartment-Food-C...