Back to School: Plan of (Snack) Attack

For me, the hour after we get home from school is the most stressful hour of the day, even more so than the morning.  We are unloading the car, getting snacks, doing homework, looking at notes from teachers, and all of the other after school things (with a three year old to "help" us!).  One of the most stressful things last year was everyone coming in and going to the pantry or fridge to get snacks.  Of course, they are starving after school, and I try to limit them to a small snack since dinner is not too far away.  This year, I decided to come up with a system for afterschool snacks.  We went grocery shopping yesterday, and I had Trey and Anna Caroline tell me several foods they would like for snacks in the afternoons.  My rules were that they had to choose at least one vegetable, one fruit, and other healthy things (granola bars, crackers, yogurt) for Monday through Thursday.  I allowed them to choose a "fun" snack for Friday, such as chips or cookies.  Today, we are going to make a snack schedule for next week.  They will have a list of the four healthy snacks, and they will be able to choose one for each day.  I am going to make them a bag with all of their snacks in it to be sure that they are not eaten at some other time.  This will cure the "we never have anything to eat" complaints and the frenzied rush to the fridge and pantry in the afternoons.  Hopefully, it will work!