no snack time in kindergarden

[lovetomom]

My DD started kindergarden this week and she's in the afternoon program. It's only 2 hours long. In February the kids switch to a morning program, that's 3 hours. When in the afternoon program the teacher doesn't allow for a snack time, but when they switch to the mornings they do.

My DD loves school but she says she starving. She eats a good lunch before she goes to school but is a grazer and usually snacks often.

What would you do?

[ABand3]

Two hours is really a short time to be able to do a snack with a roomful of kids. My son went to afternoon K and was gone for 3 hours with no snack. He was so busy in K he didn't notice how hungry he was until he got home. I made sure I had a snack ready to go for him.

[Zach'smom]

Ds's kindergarten is 2 hours and 40 minutes. He is gone for about 3.5 hours when you include the bus ride. He doesn't get a snack either. The first week he was starving when he got off the bus. Now he has adjusted. He eats a good breakfast before he leaves and eats lunch when he returns.

Continue feeding her a full lunch and have a snack ready when she comes home. She will adjust.

[bobandjess99]

Your child might be used to grazing, and that's great (probably a more healthy way to eat, IMO), but really will adjust to the fact that during those 2 particular hours, there is no eating.

[CarrieMF]

I agree that she'll adjust. She's also old enough to understand that she won't be getting snack therefore she should eat more dinner so she doesn't get hungry.

[mommy68]

I think with it only being 2 hrs long that she should be able to make it. Maybe you could pack her a snack to eat in the car on the way there each day.

My DD has breakfast and then a snack an hour after arriving at school and then lunch a couple hours later and then nothing until she comes home at 2:45pm each day. She has gotten used to not eating as much while in school for 6 hours each day. They adjust.

[jeca]

I think its' odd. DD's preschool class inly only in session from 1200-245 and they still get snack even on early release day where they get out at 145. I think she could handle it though she can have a snack as soon as she gets home.

[Kirsten]

If kindergarten is only two hours, I can understand that it would be hard to carve time out for snack. And I don't think it is unreasonable that kids go two hours without eating; it is such a short time.

I'd give her a big breakfast, big lunch, snack to eat in the car on the way to school, and snack to eat in the car on the way home. Big dinner. I can't imagine that wouldn't take care of it.

[karne]

Do you drive your dc home from school? I used to do this, and I found a special lunch box for the car that I would put a healthy, not too filling snack in for the (short) ride home. I think that eating snack was nurturing and social for my dc, so it was definitely missed when it wasn't part of the program any longer. The snack waiting in the car definitely provided a good transition from program to home, by the way.