Now that it’s August, we’ve only got a few weeks left before the kiddos head Back-To-School. I don’t know about you, but this time of year is always a little bitter sweet for me. By this time in the summer, I’m ready to get back on a set schedule. At the same time, summer is my favorite season and I will miss the laid back, endless days it allows. I love the idea of establishing a few special back-to-school traditions to start the year off on a positive note. Here’s a few fun and EASY Back-To-School traditions to help you celebrate the new school year with your kids.
1. “Mom and Me” or “Dad and Me” Date
Before, or even after, school starts set aside some time with each of your kids individually and take them on a special “Mom and Me” or “Dad and Me” date. Let your kids choose where to go and what they want to do and enjoy some one-on-one time with each other before the schedules, practices and homework kick in.
2. Back-To-School Countdown
Entering a new grade is a big deal. Let your kids know, you think it is too, by counting down to the first day of school. Have the kids craft an old-fashioned paper chain and let the kids pull a ring off each day or take the fun up a notch and decorate your kiddos’ bedroom door with streamers and balloons that they can pop each day of the countdown.
3. 1st Day of School Pics
First-day-of-school pictures are a must for many families. Some clans get really creative with the photos and have their kids hold a chalkboard or sign, with the grade they are entering and other info. written on it. Others, place their kids in the same exact spot each year, to see how much they’ve grown and changed. Whatever your tradition is, these 1st Day of School photos become a time stamp on your child’s growth chart.
4. “The Last Supper”
Most traditions revolve around food, right? Why should this one be any different? One simple way to celebrate going back to school is to let your kids pick a menu for the “last supper of summer” or a “back-to-school breakfast”. You can also go all out for the “1st day of school lunch”. Fix their favorites and tuck in a sweet note or joke and your kiddo will feel super-loved at lunchtime.
5. Twas the “Night Before School”
Making sure that everything is ready to go for the big morning is often a part of the back-to-school traditions for a lot of families. Get everything organized the night before; have backpacks ready to go, lay out clothes, pack lunches, etc. That evening have the kiddos take showers and get ready to hit the hay early, so they’ll be raring to go on the big day.
6. Write Sidewalk Chalk Messages
Write encouraging messages on the sidewalk leading to school or the bus stop. Grab some bright sidewalk chalk with family, friends, and neighbors and head out the night before school starts to leave a few positive messages. You can leave the messages as a surprise of have the kids join in the fun leaving messages for their schoolmates.
7. Celebrate With Other Moms
Back-To-School time can be just as hard on parents as it on the kids. Every year on the first day of school my neighbor hosts a get together for all of her mom friends. After all the kids are fed, dressed, packed up, and safely on the school bus, we all get together to celebrate our kids’ return to school with mimosas!
What are your family’s Back-To-School traditions? Please share them, we’d love to hear what they are!
