Reusable Snack Bags for Kindergarten

My son has used reusable containers in his lunch box since he was in daycare. Not a problem. In fact, I am considering buying some new ones as they are a bit beaten up at this point - he is starting 3rd grade. One water bottle. They have water fountains and sinks. She will be fine. Enjoy - it's a great year :)

I didn't have much luck with the bags. Never seemed to have one when I needed it and used the small containers more, though we did use them some. It's silly but I found myself preferring to have clear bags and containers to quickly eyeball what was in her lunch. DD did bring them home, and never lost her ice pack. I did put labels (Mabel's Labels will stick for a long time, but apply it when the ice pack is dry) on most of those things. If your DD is not going to have a snack time, then don't send 2 bottles. She will likely be too busy or not allowed to drink the water later. Encourage her to drink her water at lunch and to eat all of her lunch so she is not grumpy in the afternoon. My DD will chat and be hangry later. I send my DD in with a lunchbox and all the leftovers and containers go back in there, and that goes back to the classroom to come home. I think if you give her a reusable bag or box vs paper, she will be able to remember. What does the school say about snacks? You might also send in a funtainer (by Thermos), figuring that she may have more in that container than she will drink at one time.

Less is more... send her with disposable baggies for snacks.

Send 1 water bottle. There are ample fountains available for children to refill a water bottle if needed.

Could you send her with a lunch box that has the water bottle and snack in the bag? Just teach her her to put her trash back in the lunch box and tell her you will throw away her snack trash at home.

Maybe write her name on the reusable snack bag.

When my kids take water to school, they use reusable bottles. I put name labels on them. I may use a disposable water bottle for a field trip.

Some kids are really good at keeping track of their stuff. Others will lose 3 lunchboxes per year. Label stuff like that learn where the Lost & Found is located. Your child should put a reusable snackbag in her backpack when she is done.

Why can't she use the drinking fountain? Don't they send a box of snack stuff and then the teacher puts out the snacks every day for the whole class?

Her school doesn't do lunch for the kindergartners? I wouldn't like that. Kids that bring their lunch often sit and watch the rest of the class all eating the same thing and forget to even eat their own food. I've seen it happen a lot in the younger kids.

When all the kids bring their own lunch they all watch to see what the others have then they eventually, if given enough time, will eat part of their own lunch.

Just don't send more than 3 items. More is overwhelming. And don't send weird food, the other kids will make fun of her. If she only likes PB&J that's pretty normal. If you send a lot of special foods all the kids will stare at her food and then make fun of her.

Please just keep in mind that no one will be sitting with her and making her eat. She'll take a few bites then run off to play with her friends.

Easy foods like a half sandwich, cut up fruit in a cup or a yogurt in a tube, and a drink. She won't have time or the inclination to eat more than that.

I send 2 thermoses, one with water for snack and one with milk or water for lunch.
My kindergartener eats snack in the classroom and they have the chance to return containers and water bottles to their backpacks. If your daughter doesn't have the same opportunity, then it's got to be disposable.

Definitely only one water bottle--she's going to have enough trouble keeping track of that one, much less a second one, and she can always refill it. In terms of the snack bag, maybe you could send it in her lunch box and train her to put it back there? My kids got very good about replacing the disposable plastic bags back into their lunch boxes so I could use them again the next day...

Start with some cheap snack bags first. Just tell her not to throw it out. If she does, you'll have one to replace it. Tell her exactly where she has to put it when snack is over - a specific pocket in her backpack or in her lunch box.

Make sure they are all same - color, size, pattern, picture.

I actually bought a few zipper pencil holders (on sale for $.50 that year) and put my son's snacks in that. He forgot/lost 2 or 3 over the first few weeks, but after that he got used to putting it back in his backpack and I've never had a problem with him throwing away his resusables (snack, sandwhich and lunch sacks)

Around Christmas he got a pencil holder with his favorite movie on it and learned to take care of it through the rest of the year.

I always send 2 bottles ofdrinks for son - 1 for his lunch and 1 bottle of water to drink through the day. His teachers have always had small refrigerators in their classrooms to keep the drinks cold.

Relax! You will be able to change what you send and how as you see what works and doesn't work. Don't try to be perfect. I would use disposable bags at first and see if she's able to return them to her lunch box before using a reusable one. I would use disposable bags at first anyway because everything is new to her. It takes time to build a routine.

I purchased hot lunch from the cafeteria for my daughter and granddaughter because it was easier for both of us at that age. When I did send a lunch I only included items that would be OK if lost. Zip lock bags can be reused. They're not as pretty but just as functional as reusable bags.

When my girls were in public school, we did use the reusable snack bags, and my kids didn't lose them. The teachers are pretty good about coaching the kids to put the bags in one spot when they're done eating (at least, at our school, they were - and most kids had reusable containers). I would just send one water bottle (the reusable kind), and your daughter can fill it up at the drinking fountain or at the classroom sink if she runs out.

Remember to label everything from the snack bags to the water bottle to your child's sweater/jacket... if you hope to get it back, label it! That way if your child does misplace it, you can find it again in the lost and found. :)

I use zip-lock since I don't know that my kids would not throw out others! Plus the bags would get gross fast, and bacteria, etc. just isn't something else I want to add to the deal with list.

My kids get one milk with lunch daily. And, I send a water bottle for all-day. My one complaint is that the kids don't have a chance to drink enough water and stay hydrated for adequate health and learning. I understand teachers don't want potty-breaks all day, but my child is afraid to drink too much for fear of having to pee. I find that sick and awful. I am not sure what to do about it. I cannot force the child to drink.

I do offer a lot at home. Milk, water, and sometimes even juice since they really like that. Hydration is one of my things that really is important.

Oh, and we have water bottles you can re-use and wash in the dishwashwer but 30% of the time I can't find it or it's not clean the day I need it (we have 4 kids in school) and we end up using the plastic throw away bottles. But I do re-fill those a few times.

My daughter, now in 2nd grade, has managed for three years now with:
1 clean-able snack bag (smaller lunch box) and snack water bottle. I generally put her snack in small tupperware containers so she just puts them back in the bag.
1 lunch box with, yes, another water bottle.
The only trash from her snack and lunch is a Z-bar wrapper and a small piece of aluminum foil that wraps around a cookie :)
It's worth the effort to reduce the trash. Kids throw away an appalling amount of garbage at school.

My daughter had 2 cooler bags - a large one for lunch and a small one for snack. I would put snacks in a zip lock and about 90% of the time she would bring the zip lock home. Often with food in it, since she could save what she did not finish. I tried using containers, but she sometimes had problems opening them (and Miss Independence did not want to ask an aide for help 😊 ).

Both had drinks, sometimes water sometimes milk etc. and the thermos always came back home as well.

I bought 4 reusable bags last year my two girls (preschool and first grade then). I bough them each a snack bag and each a sandwich sized bag. They are pretty expensive on Amazon but I have always been pretty environmental (cloth diapers, etc.) so I spent the money. Well, I am now down to only two bags and those things are expensive. They also take overnight or longer to dry so you need to plan ahead. I am not sure if I will buy more. I did see some at Walmart but there was no price on them and I did not look to see what the bags were made of (BPA free, etc.). I think if they were made of a good material (not made in China) and not too expensive I would try them again but I would propbably not buy them again from Amazon. I am thinking of buying the girls a bento box instead to put in their lunch box. I have found that the reusable plastic containers come home more often than the reusable snack bags.