How Breakfast Check-Ins Can Alleviate Students’ Early Morning Woes

The first-thing-in-the-morning transition from home to school can be difficult for early elementary students, who may need a moment to pause and refocus when entering a new environment, as many adults do when arriving at work. Students benefit from gestures like morning greetings at their classroom door, as well as occasional individual check-ins. But school administrators and staffers can organize other efforts that lead to deeper connections, especially for students dealing with food and housing insecurities.

At Ridge View Elementary School, we’ve found success through the breakfast club program that I run. The general idea behind the program is to utilize non-classroom staffers who are available to help before academic instruction begins each morning. Breakfast club has bolstered our school’s commitment to providing students with the empathetic support they need and deserve. Best of all, this approach does not incur additional funding or associated costs—just some coordination to find interested staff and free spaces.

I started breakfast club during the 2020–21 school year as a tool to encourage chronically tardy early elementary students; I wanted to make sure they get to school on time for breakfast and also that they’re excited to come to school. My caseload, as an instructional interventionist, often includes some of these chronically tardy students. I’ve found that a few minutes of fun, food, and friendship make a world of difference for students who’ve had a tough morning at home or on the bus. In the years since, breakfast club has turned into a simple way to support students’ social and emotional well-being and set them up for better learning.

How does breakfast club work?

Students are recommended for breakfast club by teachers, parents, or school administrators. Teachers often make the first connection with parents and caretakers about breakfast club, and they receive verbal consent for kids to participate. The program is optional, and students can opt out whenever it suits them or their caretakers. If a student is involved in Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), their breakfast club participation might be a component of tracking their academic and social and emotional progress. I usually have a dozen or so students participating in breakfast club each year. My room is located in the wing for grades one and two, so I focus on the students at that level.

Breakfast club starts at 7:45 a.m., when our students are allowed to go to various academic wings and homerooms, and runs until 8:15 a.m., when academics begin. Students in breakfast club pick up their food from the cafeteria (breakfast is grab-and-go and easily bagged). After checking in with their classroom teacher for attendance, they come to my room to eat their breakfast. 

Typical breakfast club time is anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, with students arriving and leaving up until 8:15 a.m. I greet students at my door and mingle with them if/when they’re eating. Often, students will chat together as they finish breakfast. I use a sand timer in five- and 10-minute increments as a visual reminder of time passing. 

Breakfast club students who do not eat at school chat with me for a few minutes and then begin their preferred activity—Legos, crafts, paints, kinetic sand, puzzles, and games. One student I worked with loved spending time drawing characters from their favorite TV show. The idea is to give students creative options that they don’t necessarily have access to during regular classroom instruction. This sparks positive emotions and feelings, a growth mindset, and a feeling of calm. For some students, the time is used to process stressors from the morning: bus runs, irritating siblings, friendship issues, etc. 

Why is breakfast club important?

Breakfast club is not a replacement for counseling services, nor is it used in that manner. But because teachers (and counselors) don’t always have time in the morning to personally assist and uplift struggling students, breakfast club can serve as an additional avenue for students to share how they’re feeling with a trusted adult. I try to be an active listener and a safe space. I also send over a “handle with care” heads-up alert to relevant staffers and teachers when a student is having a tough start to their day. These interventions and strategies have made teachers’ lives easier, enabling them to keep the focus on their lesson plans.

As for students, research has linked stronger connections to their schools with improved mental health, better attendance and grades, less disruptive behavior, and lower dropout rates. At Ridge View, we’ve observed an increase in student attendance for the first and second graders who participate in breakfast club. And by teaching self-regulation strategies, we’ve also seen student behavior in the classroom improve. Interest in breakfast club has grown as more and more staffers at Ridge View have learned about the program. There are plans to expand breakfast club at our school to two or three additional interventionists/institutional coaches in the near future. 

What do staffers and students think of breakfast club?

I recently asked a couple of second-grade students what they think of breakfast club. One told me they’re a fan of the program: “I can do whatever I want for a few minutes, like painting. I love that. It calms me down in the morning.” Another student responded, “It helps me let out my sadness or anger so I can go to my room and learn.”

I worked with a different student who was consistently triggered by their morning bus ride, which resulted in aggressive behavior when they arrived at school. By coming to breakfast club, the student was able to debrief with me about the bus ride, do a self-selected activity, and then arrive at class more regulated. They told me they started using a fidget toy I gave them, and tried breathing techniques I shared with them, whenever they got frustrated during bus rides.

And Melissa Spizuoco, a social worker at Ridge View, told me that she likes breakfast club because she’s noticed it helps students “regulate their bodies and emotions to get ready to work at school.” She cited a recent example, where she approached a student who looked anxious and sad when they arrived at school. The student—who’s struggled with housing insecurity and has been enrolled at multiple schools—acknowledged that yes, they were feeling down. But it was OK, they added, because they’d feel better after breakfast club. “The stability of knowing they could check in each morning comforted the student enough to get to school,” Spizuoco said.