Aims testing snacks, ideal for your kids.

Today, students all over the State of Arizona started their first day of AIMS Testing.  Grades 3rd through 8th take this standardize test every year to measure students progress in different subjects.  Testing can be stressful for some students as they will be focusing on remembering things they have been learning all year.  We want to give them every support possible.  
What can you as parents do to support them?  You can start their day off right with a nutritious and filling breakfast.  Kids can't focus if they are thinking about food, or distracted with a rumbling tummy.  
Ideas for breakfast are whole grain cereals, yogurt, granola, fruit, eggs, toast, and juice.  Change it up during the week.  Make sure to schedule and plan so that you have a healthy breakfast with time to eat.  I know how rushed a morning can be, I am a mom of four ages 10 and younger.  I like having a plan to look and prepare from, it saves me time and takes the guess work out.

Aims Testing takes up a majority of the day.  The kids have small breaks and you can talk to your teacher about snacks.  As the room mom, I asked parents to volunteer to pick an item and a day that they would like to donate to the class.  It is important to keep the snacks wholesome and simple.  Whole grains have more fiber which helps balance the carbohydrates, sugar.  You don't want the kids getting a sugar rush with no way to burn the energy.

Ideas for a tasty Aims snack schedule                                                                    
Monday- apples sliced, carrots, and whole grain crackers
Tuesday- grapes, celery, and pretzels
Wednesday- cucumbers, oranges, crackers with flax seed and grains.
Thursday- bananas, pretzels, carrots/ cherry tomatoes.

This was the schedule we put together for the class and I had a wonderful return of supportive parents signing up to take and item or two.  Sometimes there are snacks left over at the end of the week to have a celebration party.  

Try to stay away from fruit snacks, chips, snacks with high fructose corn syrups, white flours, and pastry items. 

Our teacher had a wonderful idea to have the parents write an encouraging note for the kids to open at one of the breaks today.    I am going to be writing encouraging notes for their backpacks and lunches throughout the week.  You can see my Pinterest board for great lunch note ideas!