M-m-m good: Daily breakfast added to classroom routine

SIKESTON -- While there was some spilled milk, no one is crying about breakfast being served in the classrooms at the Sikeston Kindergarten Center.

"We find that more kids are eating breakfast and not going hungry in the day because we're fitting breakfast in their routines," Principal Jenny Hobeck said.

The school district implemented the free breakfast program for all students in October of last school year. Currently, the kindergarten building is the only one in the Sikeston R-6 School District to serve breakfast in the classrooms.

At first some teachers were leery serving breakfast in the classroom would take away from instruction time, but that hasn't been the case, Hobeck said. And the spills are minimal, she said.

"Teachers are working into the routine practicing good character and good manners," Hobeck said. "Students are learning to take turns and clean up their messes when they're done. It goes very smoothly."

In the past, kindergarten students were given the opportunity to have breakfast in the cafeteria as they arrived at school, Hobeck said. As a result, some of them would sit eating or waiting to eat while others could play outside. Often times students didn't want to miss the outside time and skip breakfast, Hobeck said.

"Teachers seem to like it. Students like it, and they eat well," Hobeck said. "They're able to focus and learn because their bellies are full."

The items served in the classroom are a bit different than breakfast served in the cafeteria, Hobeck noted. Although biscuits and gravy are no longer on the list, the students can eat pancakes or waffles, fruit, yogurt and breakfast bars, among other foods. They also have juice and milk to drink.

Each morning school cooks pack breakfast items in a cooler and thermal bag and deliver them into classrooms before students arrive.

"It really doesn't take up a lot of the time," Hobeck said. "Students go to their classrooms about 8:35 a.m., and everyone is done with breakfast before 9 a.m."

Teachers often use the time to take roll and provide instruction. It's also a time when building-wide announcements are made over the intercom by Hobeck.

Kindergarten teacher Terry Kennedy said since the school started serving breakfast in the classrooms last year, she feels more students are eating breakfast in her room than they were in the cafeteria.

"Maybe they are not worried about missing out on going outside," Kennedy said. "It gives me a chance to instill good table manners each day which roll over to lunch in the lunch room."

Among the good manners children are learning include saying thank you to someone who hands them milk or picks up a dropped napkin for them, sitting up to the table while eating, ensuring their milk containers are enclosed around their straws so they don't spill any milk and so much more, Kennedy said.

The teacher said she also loves the fact the students aren't dragging into the classroom late.

"It makes lunch count and attendance much easier for me to get done," Kennedy said.

Once school is in session a bit longer, Kennedy said she will assign a breakfast crew to pick up the items after the class is finished eating. Then Kennedy wipes down the tables, she said.

Parents have also praised the program.

"Parents loved that it was in the room and didn't worry about whether their child was eating breakfast. Plus, it's free for everyone so they love that," Hobeck said.

Hugh McGowan, food services director for Sikeston R-6 Schools, said the percentage of students eating breakfast in the classroom is at almost 100 percent -- and up 50 percent from when it was offered before school began and in the cafeteria.

"We went from serving 150 students to 300 students," McGowan said.

Part of the reason the program has proven successful, McGowan said, is because it's the first thing they do as a class in the morning.

"It's teaching students responsible behavior and social skills," McGowan said. "They pick up breakfast, eat together and begin the day."