Posted on April 15, 2011 - by Megan
Use Lunch Box Notes to Encourage Kids
When I was a little girl, my mom wrote notes to me on 3×5 cards and tucked them in my lunch box. Every day, I looked forward to reading my special note from Mom.
I’ve carried on that tradition with my kids. Though I don’t do use stickers, or draw as much as my mom did, I have found Lunch Box Notes are a fabulous opportunity to encourage my kids in a meaningful way. The best part is that it takes almost no time.
I recently posted on how to pack a lunch in 5 minutes here. I’ve made Lunch Box Notes just another part of that routine. I keep a stack of brightly colored Post-It notes in my kitchen drawer to make it fun and easy.
There are several approaches to Lunch Box Notes depending on your goals and the ages of your children
If you have little kids or children just learning to read, less words and more pictures are probably best.
Perfect for younger ones and those just learning to read.
Whether or not you children attend Christian school, lunchtime offers a chance to fill their hearts with God’s Word as well as their tummies with good food.
Use Lunch Box Notes as a way to feed Scripture to your children.
As a mom, it’s easy to feel like words of encouragement take a back seat to words of correction and instruction. And yet, our words are life to our children. They need our encouragement and affirmation. It is critical that we recognize what makes them special and notice what God is doing in their lives. Lunch Box notes are one way to be intentional about this.
Encouraging words speak life to our children.
I didn’t realize how much this meant to my kids until one day I joined them for lunch at school. Their friends asked me, “Are you the one who always writes those notes to Felicity?” Apparently, she reads her notes aloud to her friends during lunch every day. I had no idea. I think the small things matter more than we know.
How are you intentional about encouraging your kids throughout the day? What gets in the way?
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25. Apr, 2011
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My name is Megan Hyatt Miller. I'm a little Emmilou Harris, a little Bonnie Rait, and a dash of Paula Dean—mostly because I identify with her unbridled use of butter and ample hips. I am passionate about living and telling a good story. I'm a wife, a stepmom and and an adoptive mom. I am passionate about adoption, racial reconciliation, and creating beauty and a sense belonging for those I love. To learn more, click here. Thanks for stopping by.
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April 15, 2011
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Kristina said:
I love this! I to put notes in my kids’ lunch boxes! Such an encouragement for them!
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April 15, 2011
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Pauline said:
Oooh – I was just thinking about being more intentional about this! Thanks for the tip to leave notepads in easy reach when packing lunches. I’m going to make a goal to do them all next week!
I recently read in a cookbook geared toward creative school lunches that the home-packed lunch is a little piece of home during the day, a point of connection. That sounds like a no brainer, but it was really revolutionary to me! It’s so easy to view lunches as “just lunches,” and miss the opportunity they have to stay connected.
Thanks for the reminder about this – I’d sort of slipped into seeing lunches as only a point of stress for me during hubby’s current deployment.
Be blessed,
Pauline
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April 16, 2011
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Gail Hyatt said:
As a mom, I loved doing this!! It sort of forced me into stopping and entering your world for a while.
I could visualize you in the lunch room and hoping that finding the little note would make you feel special and maybe even a little grateful that you had a mom who loved you and was thinking about you all throughout the day.
SO many kids will never know that.
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April 16, 2011
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Pauline said:
Okay Gail and Meg… Way to convict me!
Seriously, between both of you framing it like you have, it’s touching a place I want to do better!
So will stock my drawer with supplies today and make it easy to be faithful in this small deal.
Great post and conversation.
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April 18, 2011
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Bethany Planton said:
My mom used to do this every once in a while for me too! At the time, I did not appreciate enough, but those sort of notes make all the difference.
I don’t have children yet, but I do a similar thing for my fiance. Many days I send him an email with encouragement for the day, and a couple of times he has remarked how much those emails me to him.
These types of things always remind me of this quote:
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
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July 7, 2011
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Chad Smith said:
This is a GREAT idea! I can’t wait for school to be able to do this : ) Thanks for the idea, Meg.