Cassia 1 & 2 News

Over halfway through the term, the children are settling in beautifully to our Cassia rhythms. It is lovely to see their personalities blooming and to witness the deepening of play as the children build relationships with their teachers, each other, and their environment.

One of the key parts of our Cassia Day is rhythmic mealtimes. During morning play, we spend time preparing a healthy morning tea and setting the table beautifully to create the scene for a peaceful and delicious meal. We sit together, sing our blessing, and eat in silence for a few minutes before sharing some simple stories.

The food we eat is very important as it fuels our bodies and brains and helps create eating habits that the children will carry with them into adulthood. Having regular meals at the same time each day helps children develop strong digestive systems, and eating alongside adults sets a good example of how to eat (with your mouth closed, sitting up tall, etc.).

At lunchtime, the children eat from their lunchboxes from home. Again, we set the table, sing a blessing, and enjoy golden minutes where we eat in silence to truly taste and appreciate the texture of our delicious and nutritious food. The children unpack everything from their lunchbox onto their plate. When preparing lunchboxes, please be aware that simple food choices are best. Too many options can be overwhelming for children. Please simplify and reduce the choices to make it easier for children to manage.

We recommend wholemeal and whole grain breads, wraps, and crackers rather than white bread, as it is highly processed and less nutritious. 

If your child is resistant, start by packing a simple wholemeal sandwich without much else. They will likely be hungry enough to eat it. Add plenty of veggies—such as carrots, celery, capsicum, cucumber, or a veggie slice—to offer a vibrant and healthy selection. A date or bunch of grapes can also be a healthy sweet treat if you wish to include one. We encourage children to eat anything in any order, so it’s best if everything in their lunchbox is healthy.

Please do not send any highly processed foods such as Nutri-Grain, cakes, biscuits, salty crackers, pretzels, muesli bars, yogurts or yogurt drinks high in sugar, or juices. We send home packaging and leftovers so you can recycle and see what has been left uneaten.

Please feel free to see Rose or Maz if you have any questions or concerns about lunch foods.

Wishing you a beautiful week.