Frustrated with snacks at otherwise wonderful arlington preschool

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s LAA, the director for defensive because, in my experience, she gets defensive. It’s helpful if you say the school you’re talking about because we might have experience there. LAA is a wonderful school but the director does get defensive (in my experience) if she feels like she’s being challenged.

I agree. I’m an LAA parent and the director can be a little defensive when someone disagrees with her. The staff have hinted this too. That being said the school is well run, communication is excellent and the teachers are top notch. I agree that the snacks aren’t that great and I wish they would eliminate the take home snack. But in the grand scheme of things it’s a minor issue. It’s so difficult to find a trustworthy care provider and I’ve heard some scary stories. OP not sure if you are talking about LAA, but believe me we have it good. Kindergarten is a lot worse and since kids are in school for 13 whole years including kindergarten maybe it would be best to focus your efforts on improving the food offered in APS. My understanding is that it is is much better than before but there is a lot of room for improvement.

The take home snack probably cannot be eliminated because the school has to, under VA licensing requirements, provide a snack or meal every X number of hours as long as they are open (even if most of the kids have gone home). I think it's every 3 hours. So if they have lunch at noon and their afternoon snack at 3, and they are technically open for pickup until 6:30, then they are required to have another snack...so the easiest thing for them to do is just have some sort of simple, non perishable take home snack.

Makes sense. Thank you. My daughter loves the snack and it’s somewhat of a ritual for her and for everyone in the class so I would feel bad saying no to it. It does affect dinner though (probably cuz we live less than 10 minutes away) and I do wish it was healthier and lower in sugar. But like I said in the grand scheme of things it’s a good school and I’m not going to pull my daughter out because I don’t like the snacks. Can’t have everything and this school is close to perfect (for my family at least).

Yep, at least the school cares about following licensing rules, right? And I'm sure the snack being there is a positive for the kids who are picked up at the last pickup time (like 6:30 or 7) and still have a long commute home to go after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at LAA? I don’t understand why they don’t use Good Food catering company like everyone else. Parents rave about LAA but the things that count as a vegetable on their lunch menu (corn, Lima beans, iceberg lettuce) leave a bit to be desired. I didn’t even look at the snacks.

My friend’s son is at LAA. Her eldest went there too and is now in kindergarten. She did once mention to me how she wishes they used the Good Food Company like most of the area schools but seems happy with the school otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at LAA? I don’t understand why they don’t use Good Food catering company like everyone else. Parents rave about LAA but the things that count as a vegetable on their lunch menu (corn, Lima beans, iceberg lettuce) leave a bit to be desired. I didn’t even look at the snacks.

My friend’s son is at LAA. Her eldest went there too and is now in kindergarten. She did once mention to me how she wishes they used the Good Food Company like most of the area schools but seems happy with the school otherwise.

Good Food also serves corn, lima beans and iceberg lettuce. (Have we seriously gotten to the point where we complain about corn, lima beans and iceberg lettuce?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you at LAA? I don’t understand why they don’t use Good Food catering company like everyone else. Parents rave about LAA but the things that count as a vegetable on their lunch menu (corn, Lima beans, iceberg lettuce) leave a bit to be desired. I didn’t even look at the snacks.

My friend’s son is at LAA. Her eldest went there too and is now in kindergarten. She did once mention to me how she wishes they used the Good Food Company like most of the area schools but seems happy with the school otherwise.

Good Food also serves corn, lima beans and iceberg lettuce. (Have we seriously gotten to the point where we complain about corn, lima beans and iceberg lettuce?)

Our daycare uses the Good Food Company. They definitely serve corn and lima beans so I'm not sure what PP is talking about. Also, corn and Lima beans are super healthy and have a lot of fiber. They aren't fancy vegetables or trendy but that doesn't mean they are not healthy! Putting all that aside, I've been very impressed by the menu at Good Food Company. They serve whole fruits every day (as opposed to the canned fruits our previous daycare served) and everything is whole grain. The lunch is high in vegetables and there is a lot of variety. I also haven't noticed anything with added sugar on the menu. Not everything can be organic and fancy but the kids are getting a good quality meal and that's all that matters!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a daycare, not a preschool. Preschool doesn’t happen in the summer and isn’t full-time. This is totally normal for daycare.

It’s a full year full day preschool. They don’t take anyone under two.

LOL. Honey, if it goes all summer it's daycare. What do you wish they would serve that would have the same price and convenience of what they serve now?

Not OP. What’s the difference? My DD goes to a full day preschool with a summer program that we enroll her in. Minimum age is 3. They follow a Montessori curriculum. Just because it operates throughout the year doesn’t mean it’s not a preschool. OP good snacks are possible. Our school caters from the good food company which provides the snacks as well. No saltines (yuck) , pretzels or anything you described. Perhaps suggest using them?

Well, if its existence is designed to cover the workday its a daycare.
But the main difference here is that a preschool usually have families bring in snacks and here the daycare is providing multiple snacks per day.

Lady. Every single preschool thread devolves into this argument because of you stupid self conscious SAHMs who are trying to feel better about not having jobs. Just shut up. Why don’t you just get it that preschool comes in many different forms. You are insufferable. Just SHUT UP if you are not going to answer the question. You have been reported to the site mod. I hope he deletes your posts and bans you.

Wow! You seem a bit touchy in this topic. You think someone should be banned because their definition of daycare makes you uncomfortable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a daycare, not a preschool. Preschool doesn’t happen in the summer and isn’t full-time. This is totally normal for daycare.

It’s a full year full day preschool. They don’t take anyone under two.

LOL. Honey, if it goes all summer it's daycare. What do you wish they would serve that would have the same price and convenience of what they serve now?

Not OP. What’s the difference? My DD goes to a full day preschool with a summer program that we enroll her in. Minimum age is 3. They follow a Montessori curriculum. Just because it operates throughout the year doesn’t mean it’s not a preschool. OP good snacks are possible. Our school caters from the good food company which provides the snacks as well. No saltines (yuck) , pretzels or anything you described. Perhaps suggest using them?

Well, if its existence is designed to cover the workday its a daycare.
But the main difference here is that a preschool usually have families bring in snacks and here the daycare is providing multiple snacks per day.

Lady. Every single preschool thread devolves into this argument because of you stupid self conscious SAHMs who are trying to feel better about not having jobs. Just shut up. Why don’t you just get it that preschool comes in many different forms. You are insufferable. Just SHUT UP if you are not going to answer the question. You have been reported to the site mod. I hope he deletes your posts and bans you.

Wow! You seem a bit touchy in this topic. You think someone should be banned because their definition of daycare makes you uncomfortable?

NP here. I think their point is you are derailing threads to try to get people upset and instigate Mommy Wars. There is nothing better for the patriarchy than pitting women against women. Nobody asked you what you think they should call the place where their kids get a preschool education and also get cared for full time so their parents can work, and nobody cares.

[Anonymous]

my two year old goes to a daycare in DC. Not sure what company they use but the meals are all whole grain with lots of fruit and vegetable. Most of the snacks are whole grain as and there is always a fruit and then sometimes a dip or beans. I also like their birthday policy. They celebrate all the birthdays of each particular month on one day. That way treats are limited to once a month. We have been really satisfied with the food and their policies around food so far. That being said, the administration is a pain to deal with. So I guess you can’t get everything!

[Anonymous]

Just for the record, my kid goes to the River School, where preschool tuition for full day is nearly $40k. Snacks are provided by the school. There's a sign-up for parents (or nannies) to bring in snacks, and perhaps once every week or two there's a special snack, but not all the time. Since a class is maybe 12 kids, it's not reasonable for parents to be supplying daily snacks, especially since preschoolers snack multiple times a day. And many of the parents have effectively infinite money, so it's not a cost thing per se.

Snacks seem to be Trader Joe's or Costco stuff in quantity when supplied by the school, plus things like Goldfish, Wheat Thins, Saltines, and other kid-friendly crackers. They'll do Pirate's Booty (the Trader Joe's cheetos cheese-puff equivalent), Veggie Stix, Belvita biscuits and other things that have a vague nod towards being healthy, but they'll also do animal crackers. Parent-supplied snacks are often less healthy than the default school snacks, although that might be more likely to contain ethnic snacks, and fresh fruit.

Some processed carbs are not going to be the end of the world. The kiddos get plenty of healthy food at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Anonymous]

I’d really just let it go. It’s a snack not the main meal and none of those things are horrid. Everything in moderation is just fine. Load up on the fruits and veggies at home. Is this really the hill you want to die on or spend your time stressing about? In a few years or after you have a second (not to make assumptions but it sounds like you have one child) you will giggle at yourself. I know that I do now with my first being 4 and my second here. My kids are in daycare as much as yours and I’ve learned to let go because these lovely people are taking great care of my kids because I have to work. It’s a hard job and since I can’t do it I’m not going to micromanage.

[Anonymous]

OP - can you please provide us your meal plan for breakfast, dinner, and snacks you served at home this past week? And be honest about the snacks and what you eat when you go out to dinner or order in. Thanks.



***Honestly, as long as the kids are getting a good, healthy lunch, I don't care what the snacks are. They're so small, they don't have a huge impact on a child's overall diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a daycare, not a preschool. Preschool doesn’t happen in the summer and isn’t full-time. This is totally normal for daycare.

It’s a full year full day preschool. They don’t take anyone under two.

LOL. Honey, if it goes all summer it's daycare. What do you wish they would serve that would have the same price and convenience of what they serve now?

Not OP. What’s the difference? My DD goes to a full day preschool with a summer program that we enroll her in. Minimum age is 3. They follow a Montessori curriculum. Just because it operates throughout the year doesn’t mean it’s not a preschool. OP good snacks are possible. Our school caters from the good food company which provides the snacks as well. No saltines (yuck) , pretzels or anything you described. Perhaps suggest using them?

Well, if its existence is designed to cover the workday its a daycare.
But the main difference here is that a preschool usually have families bring in snacks and here the daycare is providing multiple snacks per day.

Lady. Every single preschool thread devolves into this argument because of you stupid self conscious SAHMs who are trying to feel better about not having jobs. Just shut up. Why don’t you just get it that preschool comes in many different forms. You are insufferable. Just SHUT UP if you are not going to answer the question. You have been reported to the site mod. I hope he deletes your posts and bans you.

Wow! You seem a bit touchy in this topic. You think someone should be banned because their definition of daycare makes you uncomfortable?

You must be one of the "that's not preschool, it's daycare" people. It's ridiculous. People post on these threads JUST to say that. It's annoying and it's not helpful and typically has nothing to do with the question being asked anyway. And I know people just post it to try to make women who have their children in full time care feel bad about themselves. It's not working - I'm very happy with my choices, it's best for my kids, it's best for me - now stop bothering us. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

This is definitely LAA. Its a wonderful school but unfortunately the food is much better at some of the other arlington preschools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my two year old goes to a daycare in DC. Not sure what company they use but the meals are all whole grain with lots of fruit and vegetable. Most of the snacks are whole grain as and there is always a fruit and then sometimes a dip or beans. I also like their birthday policy. They celebrate all the birthdays of each particular month on one day. That way treats are limited to once a month. We have been really satisfied with the food and their policies around food so far. That being said, the administration is a pain to deal with. So I guess you can’t get everything!

Our Arlington school does this too. Its a great idea!