Love in a Lunch Box

No matter what some of you might think, I am not a Super Mom!  Of course, I aspire to be, but like most other moms out there, I try to find easy ways to pull off being that Super Mom when I can find the time.  So this is one of my favorite Super Mom goodies I'd love to share... the Lunchbox Love Notes!

...of course, these in the photos are a little tattered.  My daughter loves them so much, that she saves them.  If I write a personal note on one, she will respond.  My kids get a kick out of finding these in their lunches every day!  I am sure yours will as well.

You can buy premade cards HERE

You can print premade cards from the following:
-  Dora cards from NickJr.com HERE
-  Parents.com HERE.
-  FamilyEducation.com HERE
-  GingerbreadNook.com HERE
-  GetButtonedUp.com HERE
-  AlphaMom.com HERE
-  NannyDeprived.com HERE

But you are an aspiring Super Mom too, right?  Why not make your own?!  Set aside one evening to create a stack of Love Notes to keep in a safe spot... easy to grab and toss in your child's lunch box each day.

Making Your Own Lunch Box Love Notes

So are you just writing love notes to your kids?  Well, that is a great place to start, but why stop there?  Here are my ideas:
1)  Love Notes or Silly Poems
2)  Fun Facts
3)  Jokes
4)  Brain Teasers/Mind Benders
5)  Picture or note cut into pieces - a puzzle for your child to piece back together
6)  Comic strips
7)  Special Coupons (ie. Good for a cookie when you get home from school,  One Extra Story Tonight)
8)  Photos (ie. pictures of when your child was a baby, or a reminder of fun times shared together)
9)  Stories of things about your child when they were younger

My kids LOVE telling jokes.  My daughter loves interesting facts as well as comic strips.  So I created a variety of cards.  Your kids will enjoy finding a new surprise each day.

Supplies Needed:
-  Cards (you buy index cards, or cut your own), about 3 1/2" x 5"
-  Pen
-  Dot Stickers
-  Ideas!  Surf the web for fun facts and brain teasers, grab a joke book, borrow ideas from the links I've shared on this post.

Optional - Comic section of the newspaper

Directions:
OK, so this is pretty simple.  Do you really need instructions?  Just find your ideas, jokes, poems, and start writing!  Though, I came up with a fun way to share the jokes and brain teasers.  See the photos below...

I wrote the question on the front of the card, and put the answer on the back.  However, I used the dot sticker to cover the answer.



So here are some places you might find some fun facts, brain teasers, jokes, etc.

Jokes
http://kids.yahoo.com/jokes
http://www.jokesbykids.com/
http://www.humormatters.com/kidsjoke.htm
http://kidsgoals.com/kids-jokes.shtml

Brain Teasers
http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/BrainTeasers/index.html
http://www.trickyriddles.com/
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/math_puzzles/index.html

Fun Facts
http://www.fun-interesting-facts.com/
http://www.berro.com/entertainment/general_interesting_facts.htm
http://www.hightechscience.org/funfacts.htm
http://www.faqkids.com/

And don't miss this one!  Use the calculator on the link below to find out how old your child is in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds!  How cool is that!
http://www.mathcats.com/explore/age/calculator.html

Or, see this link for what went into the history books on a given day of the year.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

And, if you want some other fun and simple ways you can make lunch time more special for your kids, check out these ideas...

Sandwich Art

found at FamilyFun.com

I LOVE these sandwich cutters.  An easy way to make sandwiches more fun, and get rid of the crust.  I've found these at Wal-Mart on a number of occasions.

So there you have it!  I'd love to see your Lunch box Love Notes!