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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What times do you serve meals?
spinnymarie 07:11 AM 04-15-2014
Got it, thanks blackcat!

Right now I'm serving breakfast, snack, lunch and another snack, and I know that when I eventually switch to the food program that they will only reimburse for three of those. Just wondering how you all schedule eating times and if you only serve food three times, and if it's realistic to think I can skip one of those snacks
Right now we are doing (approx):
Breakfast 7:30
Snack 10:00
Lunch 12:00
Snack 3:00
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TickleMonster 07:16 AM 04-15-2014
same times here
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Blackcat31 07:17 AM 04-15-2014
I am assuming you wanted this to be a separate thread and not a reply in the other thread...

Anyways, I serve a large snack at 9:00

lunch around 11:30-12:00 and

afternoon snack at 3:00-3:30

I do NOT serve actual breakfast because most kids don't eat immediately upon waking or arriving.

It's easier for me to serve a large snack (that I can count as breakfast) once everyone is already here.

Plus, you are right about the FP only allowing you to claim 3 of the 4 meals/snacks you serve.

You can however still use the 4th snack/meal as a deduction on your taxes.
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spinnymarie 07:21 AM 04-15-2014
Thanks, I'm having some real issues this morning!
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daycarediva 07:26 AM 04-15-2014
Breakfast 8am
Lunch 11:30
Snack. 2:30-3:00 (depending on when they wake from nap)


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CraftyMom 07:29 AM 04-15-2014
My meal schedule is the same as Blackcat.

I used to do breakfast at 8:00. However since I find that EVERY one of my dck's eats at home before coming I changed it. It was hectic (for me) to get breakfast together since I'm getting my own kids dressed and off to school. When I realized I was doing it for nothing because they all ate already I switched to a large snack later when things were more calm.

Do what works for you, adjust your times if you need to.

I also find that if they have a snack too close to lunch then they don't eat much lunch since they aren't as hungry.
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TwinKristi 07:36 AM 04-15-2014
Breakfast is at 7:30am with my kids before school, but if someone arrives by 8:30 I will still serve them breakfast. I only "record" in the FP one DCG for AM snack because she leaves by 2, but everyone gets a little snack around 9:30-10am. Then we do an early lunch at 11:30 and snack when the big kids get home from school between 2-3pm depending on the day. They get out at 1:30 on Wed and 2:45 the rest of the week. Occasionally I will serve everyone "dinner" if I have kids here til 5:30 but it's not really our dinner, just a late snack that fits in the dinner category for the FP.

B-7:30
AM-9:30
L-11:30
PM-3
D-5:30
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Kabob 07:44 AM 04-15-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I am assuming you wanted this to be a separate thread and not a reply in the other thread...

Anyways, I serve a large snack at 9:00

lunch around 11:30-12:00 and

afternoon snack at 3:00-3:30

I do NOT serve actual breakfast because most kids don't eat immediately upon waking or arriving.

It's easier for me to serve a large snack (that I can count as breakfast) once everyone is already here.

Plus, you are right about the FP only allowing you to claim 3 of the 4 meals/snacks you serve.

You can however still use the 4th snack/meal as a deduction on your taxes.
I want to switch to this since all the toddlers eat before they get here but the older kids are hit or miss. Either way most of them don't eat much and I feel like I'm interrupting our day every 2 hours for meals...

How would one go about communicating this change to the parents? I'm not sure they would like the change on days they want to be lazy about meals...
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jenboo 07:52 AM 04-15-2014
Originally Posted by spinnymarie:
Got it, thanks blackcat!

Right now I'm serving breakfast, snack, lunch and another snack, and I know that when I eventually switch to the food program that they will only reimburse for three of those. Just wondering how you all schedule eating times and if you only serve food three times, and if it's realistic to think I can skip one of those snacks
Right now we are doing (approx):
Breakfast 7:30
Snack 10:00
Lunch 12:00
Snack 3:00
I serve:
Breakfast 8:15
AM snack: 10:15
Lunch: 12:15
PM Snack: 3:30

If any child arrives before 8:15, they have not eaten that morning yet. I don't claim my AM Snack on the food program... They DCKs need all of these meals//snacks so I just tough it out. They can't make it to lunch without that AM snack.
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mema 07:54 AM 04-15-2014
I use to serve
B-745
S-930
Lunch-12
S-3

No one ate lunch. So now it's
B-8
L-1130
S-3
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NeedaVaca 07:55 AM 04-15-2014
I serve snack at 9:30, lunch at 11:30, snack at 3:00
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EntropyControlSpecialist 08:08 AM 04-15-2014
9:00 breakfast
12:00 lunch
3:00 pm snack

I am on the food program. They are supposed to eat before arrival and I know many do, if not all. It is why I pushed back the times originally.
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Blackcat31 08:29 AM 04-15-2014
Originally Posted by Kabob:
I want to switch to this since all the toddlers eat before they get here but the older kids are hit or miss. Either way most of them don't eat much and I feel like I'm interrupting our day every 2 hours for meals...

How would one go about communicating this change to the parents? I'm not sure they would like the change on days they want to be lazy about meals...
I just told my parents that I am serving a LARGE snack at 9:00 and if they felt their child needed to eat before then, they needed to feed them BEFORE arrival.

Serving breakfast WHILE tending to parents arriving and dropping off was too much chaos. I also had kids that arrived right as breakfast was getting over that would want to eat and if I served them, then my earliest arrivals that had arrived much earlier would want to eat again.... Ugh! It just got to be too hard.

Now I just tell my parents that my 9:00 snack DOES meet the food program requirements as a breakfast but it would not be served until 9:00 a.m. so that everyone was already here and I could give the kids my undivided attention during this time.

NO parent had issues with it at all.
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Heidi 08:34 AM 04-15-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I am assuming you wanted this to be a separate thread and not a reply in the other thread...

Anyways, I serve a large snack at 9:00

lunch around 11:30-12:00 and

afternoon snack at 3:00-3:30

I do NOT serve actual breakfast because most kids don't eat immediately upon waking or arriving.

It's easier for me to serve a large snack (that I can count as breakfast) once everyone is already here.

Plus, you are right about the FP only allowing you to claim 3 of the 4 meals/snacks you serve.

You can however still use the 4th snack/meal as a deduction on your taxes.
roughly the same here, except I serve Breakfast/Lunch/Snack and claim AM Snack/Lunch/Dinner.

I used to serve 4 meals, but then I threw away a lot of lunches
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GKJNIGMN 09:56 AM 04-15-2014
I used to serve breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack.

I skip morning snack now. I serve breakfast at 7:30AM, Lunch at 11:30AM and PM snack at 3:30PM.

We usually spend the morning going for a walk or at the park anyway so none of the kids have noticed. Occasionally I will serve the morning snack and then I just deduct it on my taxes.
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hwichlaz 10:05 AM 04-15-2014
Breakfast 7am and 830am
Mini Snack 10am
Lunch 12pm
Snack 330pm
Dinner 630 pm
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LoraJenkins 10:14 AM 04-15-2014
I do not serve breakfast. Here is my meal schedule:

9 am: morning snack
12 pm: lunch
3 pm: afternoon snack
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melilley 10:33 AM 04-15-2014
I serve:
B until 8:30 - most eat at 8
S 9:30
L 11:30/12 depending on what we are doing
S 3/3:30

It seems like a lot but my group will eat at every meal time!
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TaylorTots 10:47 AM 04-15-2014
7:20-8:00 Arrival/Breakfast
9:20-9:40 AM Snack
11:20-11:50 Lunch
2:15 Non-School Ager PM Snack
3:10 School Agers PM Snack

I split up my PM Snack as it gives my two school agers quiet time together to talk and wind down when they get here -- which is very needed.
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Tdhmom 10:48 AM 04-15-2014
Breakfast is 8am
Lunch is 11am
And snack is 2:10pm
All my kiddos (my own and dck's) eat pretty early dinners so late snacks never work for us. And I've never done morning snack...no one would eat lunch if I did, we have to take preschool at 12:10, so later lunch doesn't work for us either.
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Cradle2crayons 11:46 AM 04-15-2014
I serve breakfast at 7:00, am snack at 10:00, lunch at 12:30, pm snack at 3:30, supper at 6:00 and pm snack at 8:00.

I serve a dck at almost every meal and snack because I have one here m-f at 6:30 am, her and two more here some days at snack and lunch... Then at least three here for pm snack... Three here for supper... And three here for pm snack...

WHEW... Lol
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taylorw1210 11:56 AM 04-15-2014
I do not serve breakfast, but the parents are welcome to bring breakfast and I will serve it to the child upon arrival.

Most of my kids arrive between 7-8am.

I serve a large snack at 8:30/9.
Lunch at 11:00.
Another large snack at 3:00.

And then the kiddos are gone between 4:30-5pm.
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Crazy8 11:58 AM 04-15-2014
Bfast - 8:00
Snack - 9:30
Lunch - 12:00
Snack - 3:30
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Angelsj 12:14 PM 04-15-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I just told my parents that I am serving a LARGE snack at 9:00 and if they felt their child needed to eat before then, they needed to feed them BEFORE arrival.

Serving breakfast WHILE tending to parents arriving and dropping off was too much chaos. I also had kids that arrived right as breakfast was getting over that would want to eat and if I served them, then my earliest arrivals that had arrived much earlier would want to eat again.... Ugh! It just got to be too hard.

Now I just tell my parents that my 9:00 snack DOES meet the food program requirements as a breakfast but it would not be served until 9:00 a.m. so that everyone was already here and I could give the kids my undivided attention during this time.

NO parent had issues with it at all.
This is here exactly. Too much chaos. I call it breakfast, but I tell the parents it is at 9am, not before. So if your child is going to be hungry before then, feed them.
Lunch is 11:00 to 12:00 depending on the day (Wed runs late due to school issues)
Snack is 2:30-3:00 approximately
Supper is at 5:30
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Cradle2crayons 12:17 PM 04-15-2014
I think I may change up my schedule this summer because my two won't be up that early for breakfast and I'll only have one dcg here during that time... I'm writing down so ideas from you guys.. Thanks!!
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spinnymarie 12:28 PM 04-15-2014
This is great, thanks.
We tried it out today, eating breakfast later, at 8:00ish, lunch at 11:00 and here we are at 2:30 about to have a snack!
Glad to see this way works well for others, it seems like parents will feed their kids at least a cheese stick before they get here if they are too hungry.
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Tags:meal schedule, meal time
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