Whether we’ve sent our kids to school or schooled them at home, I’ve always liked to celebrate the first day of school. We begin our first day of the 2013-2014 school year on Wednesday, and I’ll be using several of the ideas listed below to make our day special!
- Serve a favorite breakfast. In our house, this usually ends up being something sweet, like monkey bread or cinnamon rolls.
- Give each child a small gift at breakfast. My parents started this when I was in school. For my girls, I try to choose items that are practical and inexpensive, yet fun – maybe a small piece of jewelry, a journal, or a memento from the past summer. This year, it’s pretty new lamps for their desks.
- Have a new outfit to wear.
- Take a gift for the teacher. You may not know him/her or their tastes yet, so choose something simple. A small gift card to a coffee shop or office supply store would be appreciated by any teacher. Add a note saying that you’re looking forward to the upcoming school year.
- Pray together before you leave the house or begin classes.
- Take pictures. I try to do this in the same spot on our front porch every year.
- Put a note in their lunchbox or beside their plate at lunch.
- Make a special after school snack. Pinterest has plenty of ideas if you need inspiration.
- Journal your children’s first day experiences. For younger children, you can write down the details while they tell you about their day. Older children can do this for themselves.
- Take time at supper or before bedtime to discuss the day as a family. Have each child share their favorite thing that happened during the day.
When do your children begin school? Do you have any traditions for celebrating the first day of school?
I wish I'd had this list last week because I realized this week that we had missed a chance to celebrate the start of a new school year. A special breakfast would have been nice to kick off our school year, and maybe even a small gift. I'm going to pin this post for next year! Thanks for the suggestions.
We just took pictures this year.
how fun, since we are homeschooling I know what gift our teacher would like hehe 🙂
Yes, I know what this "teacher" would like, too! 🙂
🙂
Fun ideas, Tracey! 🙂 We are planning to begin next Monday. I'm still wrapping up portfolios and documentation of last year and ready to jump into the upcoming year.
Traditionally, I've taken pictures on the first day of school. I'm hoping to have a treasure hunt planned as well.
Happy Homeschooling Adventures! Praying you have a blessed and fruitful year!
Blessings to you and your students,
Katie
A treasure hunt is a great idea!! Pray that you and your family have a blessed homeschooling year as well!