We did some fun things to help promote/hype up the whole back to school process. It was fun to do these things as a family to show that learning is important for all of us.
Here are 6 things that will help you and your child feel ready to start a new school year!
Back to School Night:
Be sure to attend any meet the teacher, back to school night that your school offers. It's so helpful to make kids feel at ease. Olive was nervous about basic things like - where is my classroom? what does my teacher look like? do I know anyone in my class? where is my desk? All of those questions can be answered by visiting her classroom. It's also a fun place to spot friends and say hello after a fun Summer. It's also wonderful if you can get a babysitter for your little kids. I know this isn't always possible, but it's so nice to be able to focus all your attention on your big kid(s).
Teacher Treat:
Every year (PreK to now) we have showed up at meet the teacher with a treat for the teacher. I let Olive pick out something special or pick out a special cookie to bring to her teacher. We both write the teacher a note and it helps connect your child to their new teacher before school even starts. This year we baked unicorn/rainbow/heart sugar cookies and Olive made her teacher a bracelet. She was so excited to give her teacher the little treat.
Back to School Dinner:
You know how much our family loves charcuterie board dinners so it's no surprise that I picked to have a back to school board dinner. I included lots of fruits to go with our Fruits of the Spirit theme this year and we all had a fun time snacking through dinner together.
Theme for the Year:
This is our first year to have a set theme for back to school. The children's program at our church has been focusing on the fruits of the spirit so we decided to do the same at home. We colored our own fruits of the spirit (I drew everything out in black Sharpie and the kids colored the fruits), talk about them often and are all practicing them this year. I think it'll be a fun way to hold us each accountable for working on these qualities. The kids picked our pantry door to display our fruit art work.
First Day of School Picture:
We're both wearing our back to school bracelets to remind us of each other all day.
Olive wrote out her first day of school sign the night before so that we are ready to grab it. I had the job on my to do list and she confidently said she'd take care of writing the message. Our sign is from Target last year and it's really easy to write the dry erase message. We've also used a letter board. We'll snap a few pictures and head to school. I love these milestone pictures! I'll come back later today to add the picture below.
After School Treat / Yummy School Lunch:
You don't have to do anything fancy - just pick a favorite treat for your kid. Olive loves sugar cookies so I'm serving those to her after school. I know she'll be tired from a long day at school so we are just going to plan a snack and lots of relaxing when she gets home. Also, it feels good to know that no matter what kind of day the first day ends up being for Olive, she'll have a delicious lunch with all her favorite things in it.
Pray for Them:
We always pray together before drop off in the morning. Olive knows that when I see my back to school bracelets and think of her that I'm praying for her. I'll pray that she makes great friends, that she is a great friend, that she learns a lot this year and that she's safe at school. She had a couple of random accidents last year so we always pray for God to protect her. It's a comfort to all of us!
What are your back to school traditions? Do we have any in common? Is there anything I'm forgetting?
I am praying for Olive today!! Happy back to school!
ReplyDeleteI love that y'all make bracelets!
ReplyDeleteThese are all wonderful ways of preparing for back to school! I love the theme idea!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you have a theme for the year and also love the bracelets!
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