My daughter is starting kindergarten this year. She went to Pre-K at a center, but since she's starting school at a big girl school, I really want to do something extra special that could be a tradition for years to come. Hopefully something a little more than just going out for ice cream after school since we do that enough already ;-)
I'm really curious to hear what some of your traditions are!
OK, so school hasn't started yet, but I have gotten some really great ideas! Thanks so much ladies!! Here is my plan for the big day...
-I ordered "The Kissing Hand" book to read the night before. And as an extra surprise I also ordered the little raccoon toy and plan on having it waiting for her when she gets home from school.
-I plan on making her an extra special breakfast of her choice.
-I will also be writing her a special letter that will go into a scrapbook for her to look back on when she's older. I will write her a letter every year and put them next to the pictures I take every year.
-I'm taking the day off of work so I can take her to school and be there to pick her up.
What a momentous occasion this will be for our family!
Thanks so mcuh for all the suggestions!
You could help her sprinkle some "fairy dust" (glitter or confetti) under her pillow before she goes to sleep to help ease any anxieties.
Most schools serve breakfast in the morning. If you drive her to school, why not stay a little while & eat with her in the morning? If you don't want to eat, then just sit with her while she eats. Then walk her to class.
What about a charm braclet? Let her pick out a charm and wear it only on special occasions. Each year let her pick out a new charm to add to the braclet. Also you could do a photo shoot and journal each years first day in pictures. You could also write her a letter while she is away on her first day. Keep a shoe box and place the letters each year in the box. On her, College graduation or Wedding Day present her with the box. You could have her draw a picture also of her first day each year. Keep these and turn them into greeting cards when she has a family of her own. Or send HER the SAME card over and over each year with a special message from you to her for the first day. Bits of wisdom or what her name means, things that are just her!
Hope any or all of these help you out. Bless you and your children as they grow.
Sincerely,
D.
Thank you for posting this, I got some great ideas... Like "The Kissing Hand", I hadn't heard of it, but I also saw, "I Love You All Day Long"... cute, too. As is the other book that Amazon suggested by Penn (Kissing Hand author).
I loved the pixie/fairy dust idea to get rid of anxiety... Does it work for Mommies, too?
Of course, the yearly pictures are a great memory... even better when the child prints his/her name to show that progession!
Wonderful ideas, Mommies...
Hopefully everyone has a wonderful First Day with their kids.
T.
There have already been a lot of great ideas on here. I still remembering lining up with my sisters outside of the front door every year for pictures before my mom would drive us to school for the first day. I also love love love the mani pedi idea. She would feel sooo special, especially if that is something mommy normally does.
The kissing hand is a wonderful book to read together. I read it to my class on the morning of the first day after we come in and get settled.
As a teacher I do have to advise strongly against walking her to class. The best thing to do is get her into the routine of what every day is going to be like. There is nothing harder on a kindergarten class than having a class of kiddos and parents all upset about leaving each other. At our school the parents can walk the kids to the media center and stay until the teachers pick the kids up for class. Then hugs, kisses, and waves and the kids are on their way to a great first day! The parents get to stay in the media center for a "Boo-hoo Breakfast" provided by the PTA. That way the parents are stil at school but the kids get to see what "normally" happens during the school day. I would find out if your daughters school has something like that and what their rules are for the first day.
Hi, S.. Well, a tradition that you want to carry out for the next 12 years could be a nice, big family dinner, maybe with grandparents, candles, flowers, the good dishes, etc., with the child as the guest of honor and the child's favorite food being the main course. Of course, that means that the main course might end up being macaroni and cheese on the good china, but what the heck -- special is still special. ( :
Peace and Blessings,
Syl
My tradition, if you can call it a "tradition" is to take a picture of my daughters on the first day of school just before leaving the house. This way you get a way to document what they wore, what they looked like, and I put the photo in a journal for each school year.
We have always gotten the kids ready for school (including donned backpack and lunchbox in hand) and taken a photo. They are usually very excited about the day.. and it shows in the pictures.
With today's digital photos and computers, it would make a cute collage frame later.. instead of the "traditional" "school photo" from each grade, you insert a photo from the first day of school instead..
We don't do ice-cream a lot, but we went and had ice-creams as a family the day BEFORE school... a little while prior to the open house. (sort of a last day of summer sort of treat!)
You can get her picture taken at the same place every year. You'll be surprised how much she grows. You can mark her growth on a door jamb and write down the date. You can pay a visit to her previous year's teacher. You can both get a haircut the week before school starts.
I always take my daughter's picture at home, and then with her assigned teacher when we get to her classroom. I know a family who took their daughter's picture each first day, then, when she went away to college, stayed in a hotel until the first day of classes and took her picture outside her dorm room!
It might also be sweet to make her a special breakfast in bed, or you could write an entry together in a journal (maybe along with the picture). Perhaps the journal entry could be done the night before to alleviate stress on the morning of.
A couple of things we have done:
1. Mom and child shopping date- We would take 1/2 a day before school started and go shopping for school supplys and a new outfit and have lunch out- so fun!
2. Take a photo of your child the first day of school and do it every year. those photos by themselves in a little album would be so cute
3. Special breakfast or way of waking up
My daughter and I do a "new school clothes" shopping day. If your daughter is wearing a uniform to school then how about taking her to pick out a new backpack/bag? You could also take her to get a manicure or a pedicure if you don't think she is too young for that type of thing.
This is a little different and my daughter will start Kindergarten and we will start this one. My girlfriend's daughter is about to start college. From the time she started 1st grade they always took a pictures of her outside their front door on the first day of school. Each picture through out the years shows her clothing style, her backpack, her hair style, how tall and how much she changed from year to year, as well as the "front yard'.
Like I said... it's different.
P.S. - After reading everyone elses responses... I see it's NOT DIFFERENT!!! I guess it's a good idea since so many families do it :o)
The family tradition I started when my daughter started preschool was for us to wake up on Labor Day at the time she would have to wake up for school (the day before the first day of school). Then we go out for a special breakfast at a restaurant. As a teacher myself, I miss her first days of the school year because I have my own classes to meet, but at the breakfast, as a family, we talk about the coming school year, what to anticipate, and I show that I am a part of the celebration even though I won't be present on the real day. And, we all get used to getting awake at the right time for school after a long summer of late nights!
Every school year we would go and pick out a special first day of school outfit and have lunch out that day. Then the first morning of school I would take pictures of them before they got on the bus. They loved it and are now adults and love looking back at all the first day of school pics....That means more than an outing or anything you can buy because they have it the rest of their lives. Also I purchased a school memory book and we took time and put different things in the book each year. They also love looking through that. I kept a lot of the special things they made over the years too. We also had a Birthday book that I kept for them. Something to hang on to the rest of her life is the best ever. Take the photo's. She will love you for it when she is older....
My mom always did the photo thing, all the way through high school. It became horrible later on but I still have fond memories and the crazy pictures are interesting since it was always your favorite and new clothes you wore. We were always driven to school the first day and that was nice too. Maybe a new book with an inscription on the first day would be nice, you could correllate it to something they enjoy or like, and do the same thing every year. Good luck.
start the day off with a special breakfast...
Ok, so I guess I will be repetitive - but, my mom ALWAYS took a picture on the first day of school just as we were getting ready to leave. I remember being in high school and groaning about it. I also remember moving back home after college for 6 months and the first day I left for my first full time job, there was mom with the camera. I am now 41 and still remember all those pictures - we even laugh about it at times. I guess that means it must've been a special memory!
I like the idea of reading "The Kissing Hand" - I read that now to my 3 1/2 year old and he likes to give kisses to family members when they are leaving so they have a "kiss" with them until we see them again.
You received a lot of other good ideas. Good Luck and enjoy the first day!
S.,
I know this isn't really much, but before my little guy leaves for school. I get him ready from head to toe, backpack, lunch box and all and take a picture. I put a special note in his lunch box and take a picture when he gets home.
Good luck.
S.
36 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 4
my son is just 2 but I plan to continue what my parents did. After the 1st day of school- "the Phantom" would come & leave a note on the table telling us to go to the swingset & there'd be a note there telling us to go to the upstairs shower, and then the basement, our bedroom, the playroom, the garage... we'd follow the notes & at the end he's leave us a present. Sometimes school supplies, or a new outfit or just something fun we had been asking for. We "knew" it was them (because no one else had the phantom ;) but it didn't matter. My sister still does it for her boys & they are 13, 16 & 18!
My dad would give us a "father's blessing." You could say a prayer together for the school year. It eases apprehensions.
I'm a picture person, so I document everything then blog it and journal it:)
We don't have a tradition. But my daughter's kindergarden teacher gave them a paper cone with some candy and small toys. It was a German tradition and very cute. It wasn't expensive for her to make for the kids either. That was 3 years ago and my daughter still talks about it. Good luck finding your tradition.
New shoes and a lunch box. Will never forget picking them out with my Mom.
My mom would take a picture of my brother in front of a specific hutch in the dining room each 1st day morning and through out the years it served as a "growth chart" of sorts as we could watch how much he grew that year. Also an idea of mine was to take those pictures and then have the kids autograph them. It's fun for them but also shows how their writing has changed from year to year. Congrats to the new "big girl"!!
Hi S.,
My mother alway took me school clothes shopping, something that I am continuing with my children. Of course now we have to add the school supply shopping trip too - mostly to get what is on the dreaded list and a backpack. On the first day of school we take pictures so we can remember not only the first day but the new outfit too. I read the story "The Kissing Hand" the night before and every morning before school I kiss their palm and put it on their cheek and say "mommy loves you". Last year, I missed one day and had to go back and do it... not just for her but for me too. Good Luck!!
