Breakfast Participation Boosters for September
September 8Biscuit & Gravy Day
/September 22
Elephant Appreciation Day
Down Home Biscuit & Sausage Gravy
Southern Orange Juice
Milk / Elephant Ears
(flour tortilla w/cinnamon & sugar cut in half with cut edges to outside)
Sausage Trunk
Trumpet Juice
Elephant Tusk Milk
Decorate with straw bales for chairs; decorate with the front porch setting from the activities placing a couple rocking chairs to sit on
Activities:
Reminisce with students about their favorite teacher, something they did over the summer, etc.
Let the students “relax” by going fishing for food items then placing them in the appropriate group on the food guide pyramid
Have a “Southern drawl” contest
Have the art class or teacher make a front porch setting
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear overalls, straw hat, Aunt Bee’s apron with flour on face / Decorate with flags, signs, posters of elephants; an elephant made out of fruit (see website, Elephant Appreciation Day)
Activities:
Have the students do the Tail-Up Elephant Parade on their way to class
Have a trumpeting contest .. who makes the best elephant sound alike
Have students make elephant garnishes
Have the students guess how much food and water an elephant needs in a day
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear elephant ears, trunk
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for October
October 8World Egg Day
/October 20
School Bus Safety Day
Ham & Cheese Omelet
Assorted Juice
Milk / Stop Sign Breakfast Pizza
School Bus Yellow Banana
Safety Milk
Decorate with posters from the American Egg Board; egg facts; barnyard theme with chickens and eggs
Activities:
Have students vote on which came first, the chicken or the egg
Fly eggs to the moon (see resources)
Have an egg relay race
Have an egg decorating contest
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear an egg head, an apron or shirt containing eggs / Decorate with school busses, road signs, bus drivers names
Activities:
Invite the bus drivers to breakfast after their route
Write thank you cards to the bus drivers
Have a poster contest depicting bus safety
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear yellow, apron or shirt with school bus or stop sign
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for November
November 2Election Day
/November 21
National Game and Puzzle Day
Presidential Pancake Porky
Ballot Juice
Voting Milk / Twister Cinnamon Roll
Puzzling Fruit Cocktail
Monopoly Milk
Decorate with a voting booth; red, white, and blue streamers; vote here signs; vote for breakfast item signs (pancakes, eggs, pizza, etc.)
Activities:
Have the students vote for their favorite breakfast. Give students an “I Voted” sticker.
Have students hold their own Presidential election, voting to see which candidate the students would select for President.
Have the students vote for their favorite teacher/staff member with the winner receiving a bouquet of flowers or a pie in the face.
Study how the Presidential election works.
Servers’ Costumes:
Red, white and blue; I voted stickers; vote for breakfast item aprons/shirts / Decorate with board games, big Twister spots, Monopoly properties
Activities:
Have students vote for their favorite board game.
Play a quick game of Twister, Charades, Pick-Up-Sticks, etc. while students are waiting to go to class.
Have students put a floor puzzle together.
Play a live game of Clue using staff members/students in your school as suspects.
Servers’ Costumes:
Dress up like your favorite Monopoly piece or Clue suspect
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for December
December 5Walt Disney’s Birthday
/December 16
Boston Tea Party
Imagination Pretzel
Animation Cheese Sauce
Amusement Park Juice
Creator Milk / Cinnamon Scones
Fruit Tea (juice)
Tax Milk
Decorate with student sketches of animals and nature, pictures of Walt Disney and some of his work.
Activities:
Have students write a short biography of Walt Disney.
Have students draw their own animated cartoons.
Cover tables with butcher paper so the students can draw while they are eating, then display their artwork.
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear Mickey Mouse ears, paper and pencil nearby to draw a quick sketch, briefcase / Decorate with ceramic tea pots and china cups and saucers.
Activities:
Have students study about the Boston Tea Party
Serve students their juice in paper china cups so they can have their own tea party.
Servers’ Costumes:
Dress as Mohawk Indians, wear tea bags pinned to your apron
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for January
Happy New Year
/January 23
National Handwriting Day
Celebration Pizza
Rose Bowl Fruit
Resolution Milk / Writing Instrument French Toast Sticks
Cursive Applesauce
Calligraphy Milk
Decorate with streamers, party hats, noise makers
Activities:
Have a New Year’s celebration with students wearing party hats and counting down the time to start class
Have a “Rose Bowl” Jeopardy game with categories being history of New Years around the World, football teams winning the Rose Bowl, January trivia, Time Square, and Potpourri.
Have the students write their New Year’s resolution on a New Year’s banner
Servers’ Costumes:
Party hats, streamers, noise makers / Decorate with Thank You notes from students, a copy of the Declaration of Independence
Activities:
Write a note or letter by hand to someone you care about or a pen pal.
Have the students write a Thank You note to their parents, teachers, food service employees, etc.
Teach students calligraphy
Servers’ Costumes:
Thank you notes pinned to shirt/apron, sign your name on your apron
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for February
February 2Groundhog Day
/February 26
Levi Strauss’ Birthday
Shadow Sausage Biscuit
Punxsutawney Fruit Juice
Winter or Spring Milk / Denim Blueberry Muffin
Riveted Yogurt
Blue Jean Fruit
501 Milk
Decorate with trashcans resembling burrows and balls with a groundhog toboggan hat resembling groundhogs; a winter and spring scene; shadows
Activities:
Play Toss the Hog or SSHH! Silent Groundhog (see resources)
Have the students predict if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow.
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear a groundhog toboggan hat, dress like a meteorologist / Decorate with different styles of jeans
Activities:
Have students write down all the brands of jeans they can think of in 1 minute.
Study the history of jeans
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear blue jeans
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for March
March 7-11 NationalSchool Breakfast Week
School Breakfast Great Performances
(Jodi, insert web address here for NSBW)
March 17St. Patrick’s Day
Blarney Stones & GravyShamrock Fruit
Leprechaun Milk
Decorate with green construction paper footprints sprinkled with glitter, Pot ‘O Gold, green clovers, Blarney stones
Activities:
Have the students guess how many chocolate gold coins are in a jar. The closest receives the jar.
Play Luck Leprechaun Says (Simon Says)
Play Pot of Gold Toss
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear leprechaun slippers, pipe and hat. Don’t forget your green.
Resources:
Breakfast Participation Boosters for April
April 7Metric System Anniversary
/April 29
Arbor Day
Kilogram Eggs
Centimeter Sausage Link
Kelvin Juice
Liter Milk / Cottonwood Ham Muffin
Orange Tree Oranges
Mother Nature Milk
Decorate with rulers or yard sticks showing metric measurements,
Activities:
Have the students guess the length of selected items using metric measurements.
Post the predicted temperature for the day in kelvins.
Have older students convert American units into metric units.
Servers’ Costumes:
Write different metric measurements on an apron, pin rulers to an apron / Decorate with trees, leaves, water cans, garden gloves, tools, seed packets
Activities:
Promote a paper drive to gather paper to be recycled and save a tree.
Plant a tree at school, in a park, or other special public place.
Have a tree trivia contest and give away trees to winners.
Have students try to identify pictures of different trees.
Servers’ Costumes:
Sun shade hat, gardener’s gloves, sunglasses, shirt/aprons with trees or seed packets attached
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for May
May 11, 2004National Etiquette Day
/Last Day of School
Soar Into Summer . . . But Fly Back Next Fall
Please PancakesThank You Cinnamon Apples
Manners Milk / Windy Muffin
String Cheese
Soaring Strawberries
Flying Milk
Decorate with “Please” and “Thank You” banners, show pictures of proper table settings
Activities:
Have a contest with students setting a table properly.
Reward students with a sticker, pencil, etc that say “please” and “thank you”.
Serve breakfast using seated service instead of buffet line.
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear a smile, tell the kids “thank you and have a good day”, wear signs saying “please” and “thank you”. / Decorate with kites
Activities:
Have the students bring a kite to school to fly during recess.
Have the students write their favorite breakfast menu on a kite shaped paper and decorate it. Hang the kites when the students return in the Fall incorporating their suggestions in your menus.
Have the students make a paper plate kite (see resources).
Servers’ Costumes:
Kites
Resources:
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Breakfast Participation Boosters for June
June 19Father’s Day
Donuts for Dad
Tie Fruit
I Love You Milk
Decorate with neckties, sport items, uniforms, thank you notes to Dad, student essays on Father of the Year
Activities:
Have students make invitations inviting their fathers to breakfast.
Essay on Father of the Year or thank you notes to Dad.
Have the students play a quick game of catch with Dad after breakfast.
Have the Dad’s tell a little about their jobs.
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear a tie, fireman or policeman uniform, sports uniforms
Resources:
Breakfast Participation Boosters for July
July 11E. B. White’s Birthday
Charlotte’s Web (funnel cake)
Wilbur’s Sausage Link
First Prize Applesauce
Farm Fresh Milk
Decorate with spider webs made from yarn, a barn scene, county fair scene, first prize ribbons
Activities:
Have a trivia contest to see if the students can guess the other books written by E.B. White
Have a Templeton scavenger hunt
Have students write about their favorite pet
Servers’ Costumes:
Spider rings in their spider web (hairnet), wear a first prize ribbon, county fair shirt
Resources:
Breakfast Participation Boosters for August
Dog Days of Summer
Puppy Chow Cereal
Fan Toast
Dog Bone Banana
Sultry Milk
Decorate with paw prints, dog house, dog dish, books about dogs, stars
Activities:
Have students guess how the term “Dog days of summer” came about.
Read books about dogs.
Have a relay race to fill the dog dish with water using a plastic jug with holes poked in it.
Servers’ Costumes:
Wear dog ears, sunglasses, stars
Resources:
Child NutritionWellness, Kansas State Department of Education
785-296-2276 –