Time for a Show and Tell!! I’m joining my girl, Andrea, for another edition of Show and Tell Tuesdays and today we’re talking about Back-to-School traditions.
Even though I have a year of this school business under my belt, I’d still consider myself a rookie. Before Ebby Lee started kindergarten, I asked you guys for your back-to-school traditions. You guys gave me some GREAT advice. This is what I found…
#1 Fun Breakfast–Lots of you guys wake up super early that first day to make your kiddos’ favorite breakfast on the first day of school.
#2 Fun Motto for the Year–One family has a fun family dinner (I think maybe pizza). They all come up with their family motto for the new school year. Like…The Slaughters are going to be kind or something like that? Something you could say all year long to work on building those traits in your kiddos. Love this!
#3 A Special After School Treat–This was probably the most mentioned. Goodies ranging from cupcakes to milkshakes!
#4 New Pajamas–One family gives all the kiddos a new pair of pajamas the night before school starts. Who doesn’t feel good in a new pair of pj’s??
#5 Pray with them–One family gets together and has a big family prayer before they all head out the door and the craziness of the first day begins. They pray for it all…friends, strength, teachers, and more.
#6 Special Book–Some of you have a special book you read every year the night before school starts and others read lots. These were the most mentioned…”The Kissing Hand”, “The Night Before Kindergarten”, and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”.
#7 Decorate the Front Door–One mama decorates the front door of their home, so when her kiddos arrive they have a little party waiting for them. She said she uses streamers, balloons, and a sign…super easy and Ebby Lee would LOVE that!
#8 Special Bedtime Snack–One mama said her and her husband sneak in their kiddos’ rooms with a special bedtime snack and enjoy chatting before the first day of school. So sweet!
#9 Fun Song–One mom said that every year she wakes her kiddos up with a special song. She also mentioned that she can’t sing, so her kiddos seem to enjoy it even more! 🙂
Last year on Ebby Lee’s first day of school, we prayed before going to school, we had a special snack when she got home, the boys and I had decorated the door, and we had a family dinner out. I think we’ll continue all those traditions. I totally see the decorated door as a thing three teenagers come home to and roll their eyes but secretly enjoy. 🙂 I shared her first day here.
I can’t wait to read about your back-to-school traditions!! Ready or not, it’s right around the corner!
All through Kinder, primary school and high school (even now as an adult) if my mum needed to wake my brothers or I she would sing to us a song she made up when my brother was in kinder. We loved it sometimes waiting till she would come so she would do it.
I thought it was normal and that everyone did it until I stayed at my cousins to help out for a couple of weeks and my aunt didn't do it, I thought it was so weird.
All great ideas! And what about the mamas tradition we started last year of meeting for breakfast after dropping the littles off? That's a good one for sure! 🙂
I have been boo-hooing over my son starting kindergarten literally for a year! Haha!! I cried taking him school supply shopping at Target! 😉 But I'm trying to focus on fun, happy things instead! We are hosting a little cookout for a few friends with kids who will also start kindergarten this weekend. We'll also have a fun breakfast the morning of. Another surprise is that I ordered jumbo gold foil balloons with a K and a 5 to take pictures with on the first day!!
I love the door idea! So fun!!
I always made the same cupcakes every year for my kids , and even during Brooke and Harrison's senior year they still loves them. So they will love the whole decorated door!!!!
It's our big guy's first year of preschool in a few weeks and these are already making me cry! I think I'll need to 2 years of preschool to emotionally prepare for kindergarten. Haha!!
My daughter starts Kindergarten this fall (insert sobs!) Just read your Kindergarten post for Ebby Lee- what size pb backpack was she wearing? Ordering one this week!
These are all great ideas to make the first day of school special! We don't have any kids yet but I hope one day if we do that I remember to make that time extra special for them 🙂
Kelsey
http://www.thepeacockroost.com
I put a little bit of my perfume on them so if they miss me they can still smell me.
Love those ideas! That is usually our easiest day up and out of the door – so we are celebrating that in our new converse tennis shoes and hair/teeth brushed and ready!
These are such great ideas! I am impressed you pull them all off. I struggle with our ONE tradition, which is the back to school photo. I like the pajama idea though. Thats something I feel like I could pull off.
-Erin (No Bohns About It)
Growing up my dad would line us all up at the door and before we left every single day, he would pray for us. As we got older we would be annoyed but he still did it. I am thankful now that we have those memories and for the power of prayer. Who knows where we would have been without it?
This is a tradition I will FOR SURE be carrying on with my little man who starts pre-school this year.
Being a teacher my boys( now 30 and 33) had to deal with my school prep too! But we'd decorate the door so that when they'd open it, it looked like a spider web to walk through. Balloons and of course the school pictures on the porch- kdg/senior yr!
Always dinner out- mama was worn flat out too!
I saw the cutest idea last year….one of my student's moms brought me a book in a brown envelope. It was the Dr. Seuss book Oh the Places You'll Go and all of her daughter's teacher had signed the book since she was in kindergarten. I was her 5th grade teacher, so there were quite a few signatures already in the book including all of the specialist at the school. Her mom plans to give to her when she graduates high school. She has no idea her mom has been doing this for all these years! I just thought it was the neatest idea!