Creative Back-To-School Traditions To Start This Year

The years seem to pick up speed as your child gets older. One minute he’s getting on the bus for kindergarten, and in the blink of an eye he’s walking across the stage at his high school graduation. Don’t let the years go by in a blur – create new-school-year traditions your family will look forward to every year.  Here are a dozen ideas that could become favorites:

Capture memories

• Drive to your child’s school a few days before the school year begins. Take a picture of your child standing by the marquee or school’s entrance. Have your child pose gazing up at the school while wearing his school backpack. Taken annually, these will make a great collage of photos to display at your child’s high school graduation party.
• Each year, buy a school t-shirt from your local high school, then take a picture of your child wearing the shirt with her backpack on the ground next to her. It’s a great way to show how she and her choice of backpacks change over the years.
• Pose your child standing next to mom or dad in front of the house. Bring enough books for your child to stand on until he is as tall as his parents. As the years go by and your child grows, he’ll need fewer and fewer books to stand on. In his high school pictures, mom might be the one standing on the books!
• Every year before school starts, purchase a couple magazines like Time or People. Have your child pose with the covers to show what was in the news that year.
• Plant a tree in celebration of your child starting kindergarten. Every new school year, take a picture of your child in front of the tree and watch them both grow.
• Don’t forget to get a picture of mom and dad on the first day of school. Capture mom’s tears as the bus drives away and don’t miss mom and dad high-fiving as the last child leaves the house.

Watch your child grow

• On the first day of school, measure your child from head to toe with a piece of string cut to his height. Put the string in an envelope marked with the date. At the end of the school year, measure him again and see how much he grew.
• Each year, make a concrete stepping stone with your child’s “back to school” footprint, grade level and the date. Let you child decorate the stone, then add it to your garden to create a wonderful memory path.
• Make a back-to-school flag out of white cloth. Add your child’s handprints using different colored paint at the start of each school year. Include your child’s age and date to create a treasure you’ll look forward to showing off every year.

Celebrate

• Have a back-to-school bash. This is a great way to reconnect with all the kids you did not get to see over the summer. Rent a large water slide or a bounce house, cook up some simple foods, and pass out the popsicles. Enjoy one last hoorah before school starts.
• Your teens and tweens will be happy with an evening campfire to honor the end of summer. Provide plenty of snacks and enough seating for everyone.
• Don’t forget a party for the moms. A potluck brunch is a great way to catch up and to celebrate the return to routines.