Start Your Engines for National School Breakfast Week, March 4-8! National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) is the perfect opportunity to promote breakfast and show why it's the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast is a great way for students to start their morning off on the right foot and help provide enough energy to last throughout the day. It also helps boost overall health and academic performance in school.
Getting your students to understand the importance of breakfast can sometimes be difficult, but getting them excited about it doesn't have to be!
Here are some ideas to get your students fired-up for NSBW 2019:
Transform the cafeteria
Add some fun decorations that will catch your students attention like the School Breakfast Racers found here on page 5. Labeling tables with different racer names or decorating tables like racecars will help make your cafeteria feel like it's the pits of a big race! Cafeteria staff members could even dress like they're a driver or wear something racing related to bring more excitement and fun!
Incorporate themed breakfasts
Create a special menu for the week or give each meal/day a different name. All of the themed days can lead up to the big race day on the last day of the week. You could also give each item a fun name. Peas can be little tires, carrots could be drag cars, cheese burgers could be race car haulers, and milk or juice can be racer fuel and race car fuel. You could even serve breakfast for lunch one day! Check out how one district planned, and implemented a Super Hero themed breakfast at school!
Have a raffle
Each time a student eats breakfast they'll be entered for the drawing at the end of the day or week. The more times they eat breakfast, the higher their chances are to win! Having students dress up as a driver or someone on a racing team to win a price will also spark interest and each day you award a winner, or, at the end of the week award one winner.
Use coloring sheets and puzzles and other fun activities
Printing out and placing on cafeteria tables will help engage students and raise awareness about NSBW. It will also keep them busy and give them something to bring home to show their parents. These fun printable Look and Cook sheets can be a fun way to get your students involved at home as well!
For more ideas and tips that can help promote National School Breakfast Week, download SNA's free 2019 NSBW toolkit.
Also, don't forget to share your celebrations on Facebook using #NSBW2019 so other schools can see your fun festivities. We hope you have a fun and successful National School Breakfast Week!
National School Breakfast week isn't the only time to focus on growing your breakfast participation. Check out a couple of our popular breakfast-related blogs to help inspire ideas and grow your program:
- Which School Breakfast Service Model is right for your district?
- 4 Important Considerations Before You Start Breakfast In The Classroom
