Ideas for Something Special for First Day of Kindergarten?

Mine always got a new outfit. Be careful not to go overboard because they are a bit nervous and if you go,on and on how special the day is, it might just be too much. Can be overwhelming. Try to just make it a nice, quiet
Morning. Sometimes less is more.

I have a friend who got a charm bracelet on her first day of kindergarten. (Not that she wore it at that age...)

Every year, on the first day of school, she got a new charm based on whatever she was into that year.

Now, as an adult, it is one of her most precious possessions. I like he idea of doing the same for my DD. :)

Have some fresh baked cookies ready for them when they come home.
They can snack while they tell you about their day.

I asked our daughter about HER expectations.

What will you want for breakfast?

What do you want to take for lunch? (every year, she took Chinese Dumplings) She is a funny child.

What will you want for dinner?

Which outfit do you want to wear?

I took a photo of her every first day of school with her backpack.

I loved that some of the families took the photo in the same spot of their yard or on the front step of their home. We took it, where ever she wanted to stand..

FYI, the week before kindergarten, we practiced getting up and getting ready on time. Our daughter needed to be in the classroom at 7:40.. In preschool daycare, it was 8:00 - 8:30..

Pick a spot inside or outside the house and make a picture in that spot every time. You can watch them grow in comparison to every thing around them!

I took a picture on the first day. They were usually wearing new clothes and carrying a new lunchbox.
Be careful about making TOO big of a deal about it, this can actually make your son more nervous.
Make it special but not over the top!

Outfit - check
Keepsake - check
Simple note in lunchbox with a one of her favorite treats - check

I think we might take LO out to dinner on Friday when she's done with her first week to celebrate =)

We take a picture each year on the first day of school.

My little girl is starting Kindergarten this year too. We have her first day of school outfit picked out and plan to take pictures outside while we wait for the bus. That's what we did last year when she was in preschool. We also took another picture on her last day of school to compare how much she had grown during the year. It was pretty interesting to see that the outfit she wore the first day didn't even fit her anymore!

Don't do anyting too elaborate.. kids are jittery.. parents are jittery... of course new clothes a picture of the child in the new outfit.

maybe a special dinner after the day is done.

Take lots of photos.
Of him getting ready, of him going in the car with his backpack, write in a journal about it. Make a scrapbook of that day.
Take photos of him at his classroom and in the classroom.
That is what all the parents of Kindergarten kids, do here.
And the Teacher, has NO problem with it.

I will be taking pictures for My sons first day.. and making a scrap book for that day.

I will work from home, so I am close and we both wil be there to put him on the bus.

ETA: I did a book for my sons Pre-school days. I took the pictures of his first day, I had his teacher send me some from school on the playground and in the class room, some from his picnic and his welcome to kindergarten.. and his moving on ceremony. It came out nice and I plan on giving it to him for his birthday.

I like a lot of the suggestions you have gotten so far! One thing to add about a nice dinner on Friday. Our first week last year we were extra diligent about bedtimes and watching for the expected tiredness from full day kindergarten. Days/evenings went well and by the end of the week I was proud of how things went - she didn't seem too overtired, went to bed when needed and up on time. Then just went we thought we had navigated so well it was Friday night that she had her big tired meltdown...maybe Saturday would have been a better day to go out for dinner after a relaxing morning :).

The kids all have a brand new outfit head to toe for the first day, every year.

We take pictures on our front porch every year as well, we have lived in the same house since the oldest started K, she is starting 5th this year. We really enjoy watching them grow :).

They get whatever they want for breakfast that morning and a fun night when they get home.

I always let them pick out something special for lunch. They were always too nervous/scared to buy lunch on the first day so we would make a special trip to the grocery to get a lunchable or something for the first day.

Then to get into the routine, I would read a book, "The Kissing Hand" was always the one for the night before the first day of school, make sure the backpack is all ready to go and that's about it. Then in the morning: take a picture when they're ready and out the door they go. That's when the tears come - mine, not theirs!!

Good luck!!

What I've done is take a picture of my kids on their first day outside in one of their new outfits. And so far I've never missed a day of taking them to their first day. (This year they are riding the bus to school for the first time but I'll probably go to the school and wait for them -- haven't decided yet)

I have seen some really cool ideas for first day of school pictures starting in Kindergarten on Pinterest so if I were you I'd check out those too. One I thought was cool was taking a picture of them on their first day of Kindergarten and then I think either taking a picture of them on their last day holding their picture of the first day or maybe it was the following year holding the year before. I've also seen chalkboards with info on them like their grade, teacher and their likes or a comment about how they are feeling. --- Anyway some definitely neat ideas on pinterest!

Start a school tradition that you'll do every single year. Be it a special outfit or pictures on the porch it'll be something fun that you can both look forward to every year.

Definitely get the children's book The Kissing Book
Tender tradition

We always took a picture of each of the kids individually and then together on the first day of school each year. We took them by the front door so we had a point of reference for how much they had grown each year. They fussed about it a few years (and we missed a few years) but now they think that it was a great idea! Enjoy the first day of school.

We got a big piece of colored oaktag (last year she picked hot lime green) wrote the grade (kindergarten) and the year on it and then let her decorate it - feathers, Pom-poms, glitter, stickers, markers, etc. We then took pictures of her with it on her first day. She loved it!! And ended up taking it in to her teacher who hung it up for all the kids to see.

Of course we did the "other" usual stuff - new backpack, new lunch bag, new outfit and photos without the sign.

Our school is right next to the community swimming pool. Last year, on the first day of kinder, a bunch of us went straight to the pool after school. We ordered pizza, someone brought cupcakes, and the kids swam. It was a great celebration for the first day! Hoping for a repeat this year when first grade starts.

We roll out the red carpet! LOL. Not really but hubby took the day off and we treated the day like it was the best day ever. Hyped it for days. But then we really did feel like it is one of those days. We picked their outfit weeks in advance. We do the photo thing with their teacher, at their locker and of them going in the school toting their school bags. Every year we still get excited for the 1st day.

My daughter was a little nervous so I bought her a necklace to wear the first day that she could touch and remember that I was thinking about her and praying for her. Maybe you could give him something he could carry in his pocket like a gold dollar.

Try not to do too much because sometimes the kids get so worked up, they have a tougher day! You want to impress upon them that they are so ready for this new adventure and it will be fun, growing up is cool, etc.

Go easy on the new outfit because sometimes they get crayon or glue on it and get all stressed out about ruining something. Most kids like to wear sneakers so they can run around at recess. They need to be comfortable, not stylish.

If it's full day kindergarten, have a snack or two in addition to the regular lunch. I think a lunch from home is much easier - familiar food, no navigating the lunch line, and all that. Too much for the first few weeks. Be sure to include protein, not just carbs and sugar, and use containers the child can open on his own.

Just take a picture on the first day - maybe on the way out the door and another at the bus stop or in the line of cars if you drive him. Honestly, if you make too much of a big deal of it, they don't want to go back on the third or fourth day when you're done doing special things!

A lot of people take a picture on the first day every year and then do a collage for 13 years - that's if the teenager allows you to take pics! But at least if you do them through Grade 6, it makes a nice memento. Some people do a circle of photos and put the most recent or the kindergarten photo in the center. You can buy special pre-cut mats for these things in photo stores or craft stores.

If you're a scrapbooker, you can do a page with the photo, the teacher assignment sheet (listing the teacher's name and room number), or the bus tag (our schools give out tags to attach to the backpack to help the aides get the right kids on the right buses), and a few little embellishments or stickers.

I bought each one of my kids a nice little watch and gave it to them the wkend before they started K - I explained to them what time school would get out and they would see me etc.

every year when they were little we always walked them to school (both hubby and I, he went in late that day or took the day off, and we live close) and then took a picture of them in their special outfit outside of the school. That outfit was what they wore on picture day too. Every year up until it was just embarrassing, lol, which was jr. high for the older one and 5th grade for the younger.
Aside from that we really didn't do much. But I do love looking back at those first day of school pictures since you not only see the kid change but the school did too - the trees grew for instance.
If you can't walk them to school then do the picture by the bus or a tree in your yard. Familyfun.com always has so many neat unique ways to celebrate this. One I like the best is asking them questions, like what they want to be when they grow up, and taking a pic of them holding a sign with the grade of school and the answer to that question.