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Fun First Day of School Traditions

The first day of school is just around the corner for my daughter. She will start next Tuesday.  Eeek!  I can’t believe how fast the summer passed us by.  She’s going to be a big first grader this year.  She’s excited about the prospect of a new teacher and new friends, but I’m a little hesitant to let her go again.  I love having her at home all day with us, and I’m not ready to give up my “lazy” summer mornings.
 The first day always brings a whirlwind of emotions for me.  I know I’m going to cry again when I drop her off, but I’m so excited for her to have new adventures and learn new things at school.
Last year when my daughter entered kindergarten, we started some really fun traditions, which we’ll continue next Tuesday.  Today I want to share a few fun first day of school activities that we’ve done and some great ones that I want to start this year.
{WATCH ME GROW PICTURES}

 

I took these last school year when my daughter was in kindergarten.  I can’t believe how much my daughter changed in just nine months’ time!  It’s so fun to have these pictures.  Be sure to take the pictures in the same location for a good comparison.
These free back-to-school printables from Life’s Collections are SO fun!  Don’t worry-you can modify the school year after downloading.  These are perfect for the “first day picture”.
 
 
{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL LUNCH}
Send your child to school with a special, cute lunch like this one from Bloom Designs.  Follow the link to download the free printables.
 

 

 {GROWTH CHARTING}

The first day of school is a perfect time to measure your child!  Take another measurement on the last day of school and compare to see how he or she has grown!  Find out how to make this adorable ruler growth chart from The Stir HERE.

 

{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL QUESTIONNAIRE}

 

Give this quick questionnaire from Balancing Home to your child after school on the first day to see how his or her day went.
OR 

Here’s another option from Precious Announcements.  It’s so neat to see how a child’s interests can change over the course of a school year.

 
{“BREAK THE ICE” TEACHER GIFT}
My daughter’s pretty shy, but I bet one of these super simple, inexpensive gifts would help start a conversation and a relationship with her new teacher.
I love this idea of a POP QUIZ teacher gift from Tammy Mitchell Photography
How cute is this?  Find the “One Smart Cookie” gift idea at It’s Overflowing.
{GIANT COOKIE AFTER-SCHOOL SNACK}
What kid wouldn’t love to come home to one of these?  I did this for my daughter last year, and she was so excited to see a huge cookie that was just hers.  🙂  I of course made one for her little brother too.  Find out how to make them HERE.OR 

Go out for ice cream!!

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What do you do with your kids to help make the first day of school special and memorable?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Visiting from the Creations by Kara Linky party. Great suggestions!! We just had our first day of (home)school this week. This is only my daughter's second year of school but she already looks forward to her first day of school picture. :-) Thanks for sharing.

    Katie

    http://istayhomeforthis.blogspot.com/

  4. I'm coming over from Nifty Thrifty Sunday and I LOVE these!! I am going to do the First Day Questionnaire with my daughter!!!

    New follower via Bloglovin and Google!!

    Kate @ Uniquely Undone
    uniquelyundone.blogspot.com

  5. What a wonderful post. I just posted about "reluctant reader suggestions" because I think so often parents are really stymied about how to deal with this problem. At our school, we have a marvelous tradition of having everyone meet out on the front lawn of the school with music and streamers to usher the kids from the bus to the classroom. Everyone reconnects with friends and we take lots of fun pictures....our DAY ONE celebration is always memorable!

  8. Christine - I love it! Pinned and am featuring at Family Fun Friday thank you for sharing this great round up!
    Monica
    http://happyandblessedhome.com/category/family-fun/

  9. Aww. I think it is natural for any parent to cry a little every time they see their kids on their first day of school. I do have to say that I am liking your first day of school ideas. Those actually enable a parent to keep track of how fast their child has grown and in turn gives the child fond memories of going to school as well. :)
    Jan Haskins

  10. Thank you for the ideas! My oldest starts kindergarten tomorrow & this mama is having a REALLY tough time with it! I am doing my best to make sure it's very special for him! :-)
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