Back to School Traditions and Lunches

I recently read about a German tradition - giving a Schultüte - and it looks fun. You can read about it/buy on this website:

http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/prodinfo.asp?number=27144

I have an album I bought it goes from preschool to the 12th grade. It has a place for their picture, favorites, a special project they made, how big they are.

I cant wait to use it. I will take their picture in the morning, and when they get home I will help them answer all the questions and put their special stuff in the book.

Also to get ready for the first day we will make a special trip just to pick out their lunch box and we will sit down together and make a menu for the week of what they would like to see in their box, along with a little note. We will also get the school lunch calendar and pick one day a week they would like to eat at school.

I will probly come up with a bunch of other ideas, or change some, but this is what I have been thinking.

I always took the morning off on the first day of school and made a big breakfast. Of course there were the pictures and picking out the first day outfit! Good luck! I cried like a baby when my oldest started kindergarden.

At my son's preschool, one of the moms used to put a note in her son's lunchbox everyday with words of encouragement and love. It was very cute and the little boy loved it!

I am doing this for my one year old (only wish i would have done it for my 9 year old).
Each year we are going to create a 12x12 square for a quilt that will be patched/quilted together when he is 18. We will keep it framed in his room and change it each year. If you wanted to do it with a photo, you could get photo transfer paper. (You copy a picture onto paper that can be ironed onto facric. You can find it at Micheal's, Joanne's)It would make a great graduation gift!

Lunches... kids always love notes from om in there. Or cut sandwiches with cookie cutter shapes.
Enjoy Kindergarten!

I just found this a few weeks ago. If you order now you might get it by next week. They are in Chandler and my order only took 1-2 days.

http://www.firstdayofschoolfairy.com/

Ejnoy!

hi, i do several things in my daughter's lunches...i bought a little tin of "encouragement for kids" notes. the web site is www.tokensofaffection.com. it has different notes for each day. i also always put in a fun napkin, write on her sandwhiches (with a food marker), or i find cute sticky notes (like an ice cream sunday, smiley faces, etc) and write my own note on it. i have found some cute ones at tuesday morning. once or twice a month, i will surprise her and bring her lunch and eat with her, and bring her a frosty or something. she loves it! have fun!

Hi JC -

When my kids were little, I would always include a little note in their lunch boxes/bags to tell them to have a great day and that I loved them.

My daughter is expecting her first child in November/December, she's already talking about doing the same with her son.

M.

I was always fond of picking out my new lunchbox/bag & my new backpack. Then I would help Mama put my name on all my school supplies (I made her write so that it was pretty while I took tags off and put them in the backpack like I wanted them.) I also was allowed to menu plan my lunches so both Mama and I knew what was needed each day/week plus I didn't get as bored with just egg sandwiches every day.

Another tradition we had was an early dinner the night before school so we could get things ready and still get to bed on time then a super special first day of school breakfast and dinner. At dinner that first day we got to be the center of attention and report all about our new classroom, etc. and have a special dessert to celebrate entering a new grade.

Oh. And ask the child what he wants you to do for him.

BTW, I like the notes in the lunch idea. My mom used to secretly check my backpack sometimes and if it was in good order she would leave a note saying so with a dollar bill for a prize.

Be creative with their sandwiches. I used cookie cutters for my daughter's special lunches. Buy stickers to send support on those tough days and praise for jobs well done. My daughter's favorite were the notes I would put in with her lunch. She loved having the teacher read her special note from MOM.

I always buy the white lunch bags and we all have a nite of coloring and decorating them, this seems to get them excited about school. They never know which bag they will get or which day they will get one. I also threw-out the school year, send little notes in their lunches to let them know how proud I am of them or just how much I love them. I try to keep lunch fun for them so they are OK with taking a healthy lunch instead of the school lunches. Perhaps some little stickers in the lunchbag that they can share with their friends.
I also spend a night going over the school supplies and letting them help me cross off the list. This seems boring but they love it???? :)
I hope this helps some.
R.

J C: I did the same with the notes, and my kids loved them. Believe it or not it was my son (and I have two daughters also, that saved them all). Anyway, for fun I would wrap the note in plastic wrap and stick it inside their sandwich sometimes. I think they were a little older though. At the age of your child if I did this I might allow some to peak out so he would see it.

Maybe the Berenstein's Bears book about the first day of school in the lunch box or read it a few days before would be good.

Hope your first day is great. My kids are all teenagers (well my son will be this Thursday!).
Mostly, the best gift you can give your kids is to take lots of pictures and to enjoy them while they are young.

Take care,
K.

my mom was a teacher while I was growing up but she always made starting school special for us as well as her new classes - you can shop for school supplies together - or new shoes - or a haircut - go and meet the teacher and see the classroom together before school starts too - have fun and your child will too

Every year we take our kids' picture in front of the tree in our yard. They are startin 10th grade today and we have years of them (and the tree) growing. It's a simple and quick thing to do.

They graduate in a few years, but I am expecting my sixth in a month, so we will be doing the first day of school picture for many more years, so I told the older ones they had to always come back home the morning of the first day of school so I could get all of their pictures together! :)

I used to put notes inmy daughter's luch box, she loved them. Depending on what they like, but I would cut the sandwiches in different shapes, sometimes the lunch would have a theme.Including them in making the luch also worked for me. Make sure you put extra water.