The experience of having lunch at my daughters school

Last week I planned to visit my daughter at school and have a pleasant lunch with her. She just started a new school in a preschool class. I wanted to see how everything worked in the new environment, what the food tasted like, meet her classmates and her new teachers.


Unfortunately my lunch at school did not live up to my expectations (even though spending time with my daughter was as wonderful as ever).


I found the environment really stressful. I meet them out on the schoolyard, and before entering the cantina the children should gather up, walk to another building, wash their hands, gather up again and walk to the cantina. The adults were continuously on the children about standing in the line, walking faster, following the other classmates tempo, moving away from the corridor where the elderly pupils were running their errands, hurrying up to stand in another line, not walking to slow etc.


When finally arriving at the cantina, about 30 kids, their teachers, and me, had 30 minutes to find our seats in the cantina, then wait for our turn to take food ourselves and then go back to our seats. The children are 5 or 6 years old. It took 17 minutes before all of us had food on our plates. Then we had another 13 to eat and clean the table, meaning that all of us should bring back our tray with the plate, cutlery and glasses on. Adults normally have about 1 hour to finish their lunches at work.


The teacher had a chant saying "1, 2, 3,4 ,5 ,6, 7, everyone quiet now" ("1, 2, 3,4 ,5 ,6, 7, alla tysta nu."). After that was said everyone had to sit quiet for 5 minutes to have time to eat. Have you ever sat with your colleagues at lunch quiet? That felt quit awkward.


Before everyone was ready and out of the cantina a new class had lined up outside the door to the cantina to begin with the same procedure as we just had. The food lady controlling the cantina had a few busy rounds to go.


After lunch all of us went out to the schoolyard. The kids had the chance to play there for about 10-15 minutes before they had to line up again. This time a day they did a trip to a playground a few hundred meters away. The reason was that the pupils from class 6 was soon to enter the schoolyard, and that could be a little bit "hectic" for the kids. Isn’t the schoolyard there for all pupils to feel safe and play?? Do we have to take our coffe at work somewhere else than in the coffee room just because the environment there is to hectic?


Let´s just say that I was not very happy with my visit at the school. I know that what is a bad experience for someone might be good for someone else. I just hope that my daughter and I do not share the same experience from this lunch together.




Worried mum
Gabriella