The family room weekly planner

With our children heading back to school, returning to the routine of drop-offs, pick-ups, packed lunches and homework is a daily challenge.

To help with the balancing act, we’ve put together a weekly planner for you to download, print out and stick on the fridge. We’re hoping it will help you to stay organised and keep one step ahead of the busy demands of family life.

If you haven’t already tuned in to Susan’s Back To School radio show, click on the tab at the top of the page to listen on demand.

Click here to download our family room weekly planner

School Lunch Solutions

Well friends, in the northern hemisphere our school year is upon us again. Most of us only have a few days before routine hits and our lazy summer fun is but a distant memory. In preparation for the days, weeks, months ahead, we, thefamilyroom, have come up with a few easy solutions to eliminate some of the school day stress plus keep our children healthy.

I hope you enjoy these workable suggestions and that your children love them. Remember, they are ALL familyroom tried and true.

Enjoy,
Susan

School Lunch Ideas:

• Salads are a great alternative to sandwiches. Sophia (my eldest) has NEVER been a sandwich person so I’ve had to come up with new things all the time. Just remember to include the dressing in a separate container because it can and will wilt and become ‘sludgy’.
• Wraps are great and you can use lavash bread, tortillas or even do a lettuce wrap.
•  The good ole hard-boiled egg (must be left in the shell and shelled at school outside by the garbage/bins). My eldest loves the egg option and couldn’t care less about any offence it may cause.
• Canned baked beans or spaghetti.
•  Bagels with cream cheese.
• Tuna/Chicken/Egg Salad – mix with mayo and a little salt and pepper and onions if you can chop them small enough to hide them (adds great flavor). Put in a little Tupperware container.
•  Popcorn preferably air popped.
•  I give heaps of chopped veggies in zip-lock bags, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas etc. Couple this with a hummus dip or veggie dip in a separate container . . . yummo!
•  Fruit – apples/bananas/peaches/pears and other fruits you can chop and put in containers such as: watermelon, rock melon, cantaloupe, grapes, etc.
•  Another really good option (if you have time) is muffins. I make oversized muffins, which is a great substitute for sandwiches. Little muffins are great for morning and afternoon tea as well. Remember muffins don’t have to be sweet – savoury muffins are yummy!
•  Homemade rice pudding (way better than the bought and it’s so easy to make) just go easy on the sugar and it can almost be eaten like a meal. Chuck in some sultanas or whatever fruit you want and you’ve got a meal fit for a Scottish King and it’s budget-wise. All you need to do is pop your left over rice in a pot with some milk and let it simmer away whilst you clean up after dinner and zip, zap, zoom it’s done.
• Olives and feta (if your children like them).
•  For the avocado lover send the entire thing with a plastic knife and spoon. This is a very filling option.
• Homemade sushi – this is for the more adventurous. Although seemingly time-consuming, sushi is surprisingly easy and quick to make (we will post another sushi recipe very soon to help).
• Left overs – let them be your best friend. Nothing like warm stew on a cold day or home made mac and cheese. Soups are a great option as well.

I think I’ll stop for now. I hope this has helped you ‘keep it exciting’. I would LOVE to hear back from you through our comments – remember something you do may really help someone else.

Tagged as: Susan