First Day of Kindergarten Lunch! - August 27, 2008

(clockwise from upperleft) Yellow watermelon, which I didn't even know existed until we tried it at Trader Joe's (TJ's) and Irena (the best-est demo lady ever!) explained it's been around for years. TJ's honeyed sesame sticks, TJ's triple ginger cookies. A spiderman fork, which is sitting on top of four little bite-sized pieces of mint flavored Zone Perfect bar. I added the almost half Zone Perfect bar because I knew he would eat it first, and I wasn't sure how he would manage his time allotment during lunch. Pineapple mixed with cubes of Niman Ranch's cured ham steak (it is $9.98/lb on their website, but $5.49/lb at TJ's, which is cheaper than the deli meat I usually buy at the grocery store). Full-size carrots, which I now take the two minutes to peel and cut after reading this article in May - and yes, I do notice a difference now compared to the baby carrots! Red seedless grapes. Drink: 60/40 water/applejuice.

Lastly, a note to Nugget, letting him know I was thinking about him on his first day ( I was limited to what I could write - there are very few words he can read), and a spiderman napkin lovingly hemmed by his Oma (dutch for grandmother).

Wow - my son's first real day of Kindergarten! Lunch Nugget is back up and running. Some folks have wondered in the past about "trading lunches", sharing, or other methods school children use to get rid of their own food and obtain the food of others. Something that has changed, at least in Kindergarten, is the ongoing emphasis that NO ONE shares food - ever - and you only eat the food that is yours. The nurse even visits every class on the first day before lunch to talk about food allergies to the class.

At home, we have been talking to Nugget about managing his tree-nut allergy while at school, and how important it is never to eat anyone else's food. Since he had a scary and severe reaction last year, and he vividly remembers it, he took our words to heart both at home and at school. The only thing is, he was so concerned the first day in the cafeteria (also his first experience in a cafeteria setting), that he sadly isolated himself from the other students, telling a teacher he "didn't want to get allergic." The teacher reported he told her that very kindly when she suggested he move closer to classmates, but he was too concerned to be comfortable next to a classmate. Keep in mind, his allergy is not airborne and we have emphasized he can sit next to others - I think it was all just a little overwhelming for him. When I learned about his first lunch experience, it just tugged at my heart.

I am so grateful the teacher, school nurse, and cafeteria manager work so closely together, and seem to communicate openly and regularly with each other and with the parents. I had no idea what to expect prior to actually experiencing firsthand being a parent of a Kindergartner. Unprompted, the school nurse told me she checked on Nugget during lunch today, encouraged him to sit closer to classmates, and he seemed to be a little more comfortable than the day before.

I'll add as a side note that for all the parents of allergic children, depending on your school policy, there are a number of extra forms you will need to have filled out in addition to pharmacy-labeled medications and a number of extra snacks/desserts/treats for the school nurse to keep in her freezer for celebrations. One of the reasons this entry has taken me longer to post is that I was unprepared for the hours trekking back and forth between doctors, allergists, pharmacy and school to have everything in order "just in case." Thankfully, it is done and hopefully entirely unneccesary!