Lunchtime Activities at School

Lunchtime is a necessary respite from the rigors of academic study for many students. During this rest and refueling period, students commonly enjoy socializing with friends and engaging in leisure activities. Through the organization of lunchtime activities, teachers and administrators can add extra excitement to the lunch period and increase student enjoyment of this calming school time.

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Add a competitive element to lunch by holding a Foosball tournament. Set up a Foosball table in a corner of the lunch room and allow students to form teams and sign up to compete. Create a tournament bracket, and place it above the Foosball table. After students have finished eating each day, hold one Foosball game. Continue play, moving through the tournament, until you have an overall tournament winner.

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Allow students who are hungry for books to satiate their reading appetite during lunchtime by setting up a reading cafe. Ask a teacher to volunteer her room to act as the cafe. Invite students who want to read to leave the hustle and bustle of the lunch room and move instead into this quiet reading area. Allow students to sit around and read while they dine on their lunches. Periodically, offer cookies or candy as a reward for students making wise literary choices.

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Allow your students to earn a handsome prize by correctly answering a weekly lunchtime trivia question. At the beginning of each week, place a trivia question on the wall of the lunch room. Place slips of paper and a box below the question. Encourage students to take a moment out of lunch and read the question, then compose an answer on one of the provided slips of paper. Check all of the answers at the end of the week. Present a prize to any student who correctly answered a question.

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Test the principal's smarts each lunch period. Immediately prior to lunch, allow students from each grade to compose one question for the principal. Encourage them to write a question related to content they currently are learning. As lunch draws to a close, invite the principal to the cafeteria and allow each class to read its prepared question. The principal must then attempt to think back on his education and answer correctly. Encourage students to be creative and produce challenging queries by offering a prize for any class that stumps the principal.