My son has just started 1st grade and we’re now back in the school routine of things. Bed time is earlier, breakfasts are bigger to last him through until lunch, and homework has to get done before playtime. I see there are a lot of you too who are gearing up for Back to School. Here’s some fun links with great Back to School ideas and essentials.
- Back to School Guide by Cool Mom Picks
- Teacher Appreciation by The Teacher Tales
- Back to School Portraits by Art Projects for Kids
- Back to School Traditions by Tip Junkie
- First Day of School Fairy by Make and Takes
- Back to School Picture Books by Make and Takes
Make sure to take our Back to School Poll located on the sidebar! We’re asking, “What’s your favorite Back to School purchase?“
Written by Marie LeBaron
Marie LeBaron is the founder and managing editor of Make and Takes. Always having a love of crafts, she enjoys getting messy with glue and glitter. There’s always some sort of project going on, her kitchen counter is often cluttered with crafts. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog! Read other posts by Marie
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
We always take a picture in the same place each year as we are heading out the door on the first day. It’s neat to see how much they change from year to year!
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I saw your schultute idea on Alphamom and it brought back memories of living in Germany and seeing the German students with their schultutes. And so, thanks to you, I made one for our student on his first day of Pre-K. We are homeschooling and it really made the day start off well. (Mine wasn’t as pretty as yours, since I threw it together the night before.)
http://crumleyblog.com/2009/08/17/first-day-down/
inside the schultute: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumleydotorg/3830588056/
Thanks for the memories and great idea!
We always have a back to school themed dinner. I make alphabet soup with croutons that spell their name and we have a fun “school” dessert. We also give the children a school cone. We don’t start for another few weeks but I guess it’s time to start thinking about these things!
Dad always picks the kids up from school and brings the girls a flower and the boys a candy bar.
I always give the teacher a little gift. http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/08/15/back-to-school/ I think it is a great way to open up communication and let the teacher know that I would like to be involved!
At our school we also try to get the school year off to a great start by welcoming the entire staff back to school. Here are some ideas we use
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/08/11/back-to-school-ideas-for-teacher-appreciation/
I have the kids decorate/write their name out at the beginning of the year and snap a photo on the first day. I do the same thing at the end of the year so we can see how much their writing/drawing styles have changed and how much they’ve grown. http://ourdailybigtop.blogspot.com/2009/06/schools-out-for-summer-09.html
I’m thinking of starting an all ice cream dinner or maybe breakfast for dinner for the night before the 1st day. I think the ice cream might win out.
I also saw your schultute idea on Alphamom (as well as another version on another blog) and made them for my children’s first day of (home)school this year. They loved them!
Here’s a link to them all ready for morning:
http://showerofroses.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-schultutes.html
And here’s a link to my children opening them:
http://showerofroses.blogspot.com/2009/08/schultutes.html
Thanks for sharing the tutorial!