nesser1981
Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe
School starts In a month, I want to plan something fun for back to school. What does your family do?
Back to school traditions, give me ideas
- Thread starter nesser1981
- Start date
YepBrook
Sweet Shoppe Designer
We are having a back to school breakfast. The Friday before we officially start school I'm taking the kids to our favorite breakfast diner and we will talk about plans for the upcoming year. I will ask them each what they loved the most about last year, what they liked the least, and something new they'd like to do. I homeschool, so this is the way I like to kick off the new year. It's like our yearly "meeting".
I was thinking of giving each of the kids a special gift at our breakfast, too. Some special memento with meaning... not a toy or anything like that. I want it to be connected to knowledge, education, wisdom. Hmmm... But I have to think of an idea...
I was thinking of giving each of the kids a special gift at our breakfast, too. Some special memento with meaning... not a toy or anything like that. I want it to be connected to knowledge, education, wisdom. Hmmm... But I have to think of an idea...
rach3975
New member
We do a special Goodbye to Summer day the Friday before school starts. We usually go swimming, have a picnic lunch, and then repeat an activity that's been a favorite that summer. (We've done hiking, the playground, a cooking project, etc.) The morning that school starts we have celebration pancakes, which is pancakes with Cool Whip and sprinkles.
mariewilcox
New member
We don't really do anything special on the day of - I just break out my tap shoes and dance a happy jig because Cheyanne is out of my hair for 7 hours 5 days a week :w00t: (She's 13, I work from home so a whole summer together gets very old!)
Her birthday is 4 days before school starts and we usually do the big water park/amusement park for the day with our good friends as kind of a birthday/end of summer bash. We have dinner out down in the "big city".
Her birthday is 4 days before school starts and we usually do the big water park/amusement park for the day with our good friends as kind of a birthday/end of summer bash. We have dinner out down in the "big city".
nesser1981
Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe
This sounds like a great idea!
AmaG
New member
On the last early wake up practice day, you could have a big breakfast with a make your own waffle station with crazy toppings or something along those lines. Something to make that transition more fun. And then maybe they can pack their backpacks and there could be an extra special prize in them (like some stickers?) And don't forget to take that annual back to school photo!
Sherri Tierney
New member
The day school starts, we go out for breakfast. We started when my daughter started her first year of preschool. She's beginning middle school this year, so it has been a long-standing tradition. 
Some years my kids started on different days so we had breakfast out each of their first days. Last year they started on the same day and this year they will too.
These days, I work at school and I have to be there EARLY (okay, not super early but seems like it after sleeping in till 10 all summer!). My husband comes home from work early (he works midnights and typically doesn't get off till 7am, but I have to be at work at 7:15) and we bump up our breakfast time a bit. After feeding everyone we go to the school(s) and take pictures in front of the marquees.
School here is always a half day the first day. After the kids get out at 1:00 I take them out for ice cream. We sit and eat our cold treats while talking about their day.
So, while we don't do anything 'big', we still have our traditions that make the first day stand out. No other day of the school year do we go out to breakfast on a week day so it has become a really big deal for the kids. We wanted a tradition we knew we could stick with throughout high school and into college if we wanted to. We'd have to skip the ice cream in college, probably, but we could still manage a special breakfast.
Now... BEFORE school starts, we buy and donate school supplies. I shop for supplies when I find sales so I rarely spend more than $10 buying supplies for my own two (and that is with them getting 'special' things). Since we shop my stash, I let them buy supplies to donate. That thrills them. We also take a gift to the teacher the first day.
Some years my kids started on different days so we had breakfast out each of their first days. Last year they started on the same day and this year they will too. These days, I work at school and I have to be there EARLY (okay, not super early but seems like it after sleeping in till 10 all summer!). My husband comes home from work early (he works midnights and typically doesn't get off till 7am, but I have to be at work at 7:15) and we bump up our breakfast time a bit. After feeding everyone we go to the school(s) and take pictures in front of the marquees.
School here is always a half day the first day. After the kids get out at 1:00 I take them out for ice cream. We sit and eat our cold treats while talking about their day.
So, while we don't do anything 'big', we still have our traditions that make the first day stand out. No other day of the school year do we go out to breakfast on a week day so it has become a really big deal for the kids. We wanted a tradition we knew we could stick with throughout high school and into college if we wanted to.
We'd have to skip the ice cream in college, probably, but we could still manage a special breakfast. Now... BEFORE school starts, we buy and donate school supplies. I shop for supplies when I find sales so I rarely spend more than $10 buying supplies for my own two (and that is with them getting 'special' things). Since we shop my stash, I let them buy supplies to donate. That thrills them.
We also take a gift to the teacher the first day.
scrap2day
Active member
Not a tradition, but I made Back To School Candy Pencils last year as a little surprise. They were a hit!
Valgal
New member
Well, when we HOMESCHOOLED we would do something really fun for the first day of public school... like go to the beach, lol! I purposely wouldn't start their work till the 2nd day of public school. Gosh, that seems like forever ago.
My kids leave for school at different times so I always serve them whatever they want for breakfast. They basically place their order a couple days in advance so I can have things ready.
My kids leave for school at different times so I always serve them whatever they want for breakfast. They basically place their order a couple days in advance so I can have things ready.
julifish
New member
My kids are going in to High School and Middle School this year so I"m trying to think of something nice for them, but not "little kid". Getting the postcard in the mail from their teacher was always a big deal in elementary school and after we got the post card we'd make a first day of school gift to take to the teacher along with the class supplies. None of that at all this year. 
In the past we've always done the traditional first day of school photos and we have the key spots in the yard and at the school where we took photos.
Love the idea of having one last day of summer blast. Pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles for breakfast, a fun day doing "summer stuff" and then maybe end the day with a movie in the yard under the stars or in the house on sleeping bags.
If anyone has middle school and high school tradition ideas I'm all ears. I just dropped my high schooler off for her Freshman introduction class they have this week. I'm in denial!!!
In the past we've always done the traditional first day of school photos and we have the key spots in the yard and at the school where we took photos.
Love the idea of having one last day of summer blast. Pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles for breakfast, a fun day doing "summer stuff" and then maybe end the day with a movie in the yard under the stars or in the house on sleeping bags.
If anyone has middle school and high school tradition ideas I'm all ears. I just dropped my high schooler off for her Freshman introduction class they have this week. I'm in denial!!!