My oldest child is entering kindergarten in 15 days and I've already taken the day off so I can bring him to school and take pictures, but I wanted to do something special with him after I pick him up from school. I plan on having it be just us two (his sister will be at daycare).
We already go to the movies, mini-golfing and water parks often so I'm not sure how to make his day a day for him to remember.
So, what did you do when your child went to Kindergarten or what are your plans if he/she is entering this year?
I've been told that a backpack fairy can come and hang a backpack on his door knob and it's filled with all the school supplies he'll need and a new outfit.
Another friend suggested I make cupcakes and ivite all his friends on the block and celebrate his big day by having a mini-party (which I think I'm leaning towards). But, I wanted to double check to see if there were any other great ideas out there.
Thanks.
I plan to take my little boy for ice cream (we have a great old timey fountain that we love) and just let him tell me all about his day. I think that kind of special thing still keeps the focus on the reason you're excited which is school :-)
I think the ice cream is a good idea. The party and waterpark are kind of like bringing a circus with you to someone's birthday party. Enjoy the moment,you don't need to add another moment to blur it. Have fun together!
I do like the backpack idea. But please remember that starting kindergarten is special in itself! Make anything else greatly peripheral to the Main Event. One of the BIG ways to celebrate this milestone is simply (but importantly) your being there to listen to him and cheer as he tells you all about school!
This idea is a little low key but for my daughter's first day of preschool i also took pictures & had her go with me to pick out stickers, decorative paper & together we created a page that she can look back at & enjoy later. We went for ice cream at her favorite ice cream shop & made that an every Friday visit after school. Like i said before it is something small but she always asks me to see her 1st day of preschool page & of course she always looks forward to our trip to the ice cream shop. Best wishes. P.S. if you shed a few tears upon leaving his classroom on that first day, its ok we ALL do! = )
You don't need to make it about "stuff - new clothes, supplies, etc". If you have am kindergarten, pick up your child and take them to lunch. Listen to him talk about his morning at school. PM kindergarten? Lunch then taken him to school. My oldest now sees his first day as special if we arrange for a whole group of his classmates to meet up at a park after school.
If he has a good day take him out for ice cream afterwards. I used it as an incentive for my kids all year last year, if they had a good day every day that week friday after school I'd take them to get a milk shake. It worked pretty well.
I would just take pictures and take him out for ice cream afterwards. Since I homeschool I don't really have much experience with this but the mini-party sounds a bit much.
My daughter started a private K4 program last year, my husband and I both took her to school on her 1st day and took pictures at home and school. After school I picked her up and we went to McDonalds and had ice cream, while she told me all about her 1st day. It was so special and she was so excited as stopping at McDonalds was a suprise. I decided that day, that going foward; the first day of school will become a tradition of going for ice cream after school. Its inexpensive and special for littles one and me too, now. Hope everyone have an awesome 2010-2011 school year.
I have to agree that the mini-party does sound a bit over the top. Kindergarten itself is the big event. The backpack fairy is a cute idea if you wanted to do that. But my kids personally love shopping for their own school supplies and picking their backpacks. I would also vote for starting a simple tradition that you could maybe do every year on the first day of school. I like the icecream idea. If you are a scrapbooker, maybe you could create a first day of school page together. Even a digital page might be fun depending on the kid. Maybe you could just ask your son what he wanted to do after school.
I am doing my little girl a scavenger hunt the day/night before school starts. I have a friend of mine who did this every year for her daughter and now she is 19. Her daughter loved it every year. She did picture clues when she was little and had her find "prizes" all around the house. For Kindergarten she did "prizes" like a cute pencil, cute pencil bag, a necklace, bow for her hair, special snack for her lunch, keychain for her backpack, small notepad, quarters for the machines after school, etc. As she got older the prizes stayed age appropriate!
Good luck...mine starts next Wed. the 18th!
Stork's Cradle in downtown W. is having a kindergarten kick-off party for this exact reason! It is from 10am-2pm on Saturday August 21 and they will be monogramming backpacks for free with a purchase! M. Children's Fitness Center will be there as well passing out balloons and doing face painting! There will also be some raffles and other prizes as well! What a great way to start off the school year! Hope to see you there
