by Rachel Wells
These back-to-school traditions are the perfect way to kick off the new school year!
Preparing for a new school year can be a hectic time for families – parents are tired and kids are nervous, but having fun traditions can help build excitement and take some of the dread and anxiety away.
Whether you pick one or a few – your kids will look forward to these traditions year after year.
Before the first day
- Decorate or bedazzle notebooks, folders, water bottles or pencil cases together.
- Personalize backpacks with fun keychains or patches.
- Create a homework station with fun supplies.
- Create a school year bucket list.
- Plan special one-on-one back to school shopping dates.
- Make vision boards for the upcoming school year.
- Set academic and personal goals.
- Plan rewards or celebrations for when they finish their goals.
- Celebrate the end of summer break with a special family activity or outing.
On the first day
- Have a special back-to-school breakfast complete with decorations and your child’s favorite breakfast foods (be sure to include some protein to help them power through the first day back!)
- Write encouraging notes in your child’s lunch box.
- Take first-day-of-school photos in the same spot or with the same sign each year.
- Make a photo album to hold all of the first-day-of-school photos.
- Do a fun interview with your child with questions like:
- What do you want to learn this year?
- What are you most excited about?
- What do you want to do when you grow up?
- Sometimes mornings are just too hectic to put something together for your kids (and that’s okay too!) If that’s the case, an after-school activity may be a better way for your family to celebrate the first day of school. Let your child choose a special first-day-of-school dinner, or end the day with a bike ride and trip to get ice cream.
Remember to keep it simple – you want these activities to be fun and become traditions that you can keep up with and enjoy for years to come.
