School starts this week! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, our kids are going to a 4-day Classical School this year.
After homeschooling for the past 7 years, it’s definitely going to be a new season of life for all of us — with a new schedule, a new rhythm, and new challenges. However, we’re also excited for this change and new season for our family. It’s a decision that was made with much prayer and thought and careful consideration and we truly have a lot of peace that this is what is best for our family (for many, many reasons) for this coming year.
(Though, trust me, I will likely be an emotional mess when we drop the kids off at school tomorrow! It’s like I’m doing the first day of kindergarten times three!!)
Since this is a 4-day school, Mondays are at-home days where they kids are assigned projects and homework to accomplish at home. The school does this with the desire to give families a true Sabbath on the weekends — which I love.
Tuesdays through Fridays, we need to leave by 7:30 a.m. Our plan is for Jesse and I to continue getting up every week day at 4:45 a.m. to work out from 5 to 6:30 a.m. in our garage “gym”.
We’ll get the kids up at 6:30 a.m. and they’ll have 30 minutes to get dressed and ready for the day (they are packing their lunches and taking showers the night before to make mornings smoother). 7 a.m. will be breakfast and family time and then we’ll leave for school at 7:30 a.m.
We’ve been prepping for this new routine during the summer to make the transition easier. So I’m hopeful that things will be pretty smooth this week. We’ll see how it goes!
Breakfasts
Breakfasts are a big deal at our house. Not necessarily because of what we eat, but because this is the one meal we've committed to eat together around the table pretty much every single day.
Dinners are often somewhat grab and go or brown bagged — especially on the 3 nights a week the girls have swimming and skating. But breakfast, it's a given. We eat, we talk, we read together, we pray together, and we linger around the table. It's been a beautiful addition to our schedule + a great way to start the day!
Choose from:
- Oatmeal
- Smoothies
- Bacon/Eggs
Lunches & Snacks
We’re trying something for lunches during the school year. Our extra refrigerator is going to be 100% devoted to lunch items. We’re making up a big batch of freezer-friendly PB&J on the weekends and, in addition, I’ll have 4 different bins of items that the kids can choose one from — cheese sticks, snack packs, veggies, fruit, applesauce, chips, cookies, etc.
Each bin will have something different so that when they choose one item from each, they’ll have a well-rounded lunch. I’m hoping this makes things super simple and easy for them to put together their lunches at night.
Jesse and I are in charge of our own lunches and I’m going to have items on hand to choose from: fried eggs, toast, chips & salsa, yogurt, refried beans & cheese, salads, fruits, veggies, and/or leftovers.
Snacks: Chocolate Banana Muffins
Dinners
Jesse and I splitting up the cooking responsibilities for dinner this week. He's in charge of the first two nights (since I have busier work days on Monday and Tuesday this week). I'm in charge of everything else.
- Vegan Haystacks
- Smoked Chicken, Rice, Veggies, Fruit
- Hamburgers, Veggies, Fruit
- Breakfast for dinner: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes, eggs, fruit
- Crockpot Taco Soup, Homemade Biscuits, Fruit
- Dinner out
- Taco Lettuce Wraps, Fruit
Freezer Cooking
I'm doing a Freezer Cooking session on Wednesday where I'm combining dinner prep with freezer cooking. This means that I'll really only have to bake/cook one day this week. I'll be making the meat for Taco Lettuce Wraps, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Crockpot Taco Soup, and Chocolate Banana Muffins. Look for more details on how that goes later this week!
We spent $100 on groceries this week from Kroger and ALDI. Look for my post tomorrow with full details on what all we bought and how much we paid for everything!
Related Menu-Planning Posts:
3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand
Last Week’s Menu Plan
Last Week’s Freezer Cooking Session
Why I'm Back to Menu-Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Freezer Cooking
Why We Stopped Making Family Dinners a Priority
YEARS of Past Menu Plans We've Shared Here
6 Ways We're Keeping Our Grocery Budget Low
Why We More Than Doubled Our Grocery Bill
What's on YOUR menu this week? Tell us in the comments!
