Back to school traditions.

Good Question! We make a big deal of the first day around here. Daddy takes the day off, and makes breakfast, usually pancakes for the boys. We all walk to the bus stop together, and take the standard getting on the bus photo. This year we followed the bus to school (at Jack's request!!! he is in 4th !!! LOL) to take a pic of him at his desk. After school, there are the getting off the bus photos. Then we upload the photos and send an email to the aunts and grandparents. Then we all go out to dinner, early because we dont have to wait for Daddy to arrive home, at whatever restaurant Jack chooses. One year he picked Joe's Crab Shack and another year it was Dairy Queen! Next year Luke will start K and it will be his choice.

We have two traditions for back to school. The first is mine (the Mom with the camera). I take pictures of the girls (we have 2) on the first day of school. But the twist is I take their picture from the front, then I make them turn around and I get a picture from the back. They have the opportunity to show off their new backpacks and the scrapbook pages of these photos always makes us smile.
The second tradition is an ice cream cake from Carval. Each year when they come home hot and tired after the long first day. I pull out the cake and the smiles appear. Last year I had "School Rocks" printed on the cake. Luckily they agreed

we do the requisite photo in front of the tree too but my son holds up the number of fingers his grade is. such as, he goes into fifth grade this year so he will hold up 5 fingers. that way i always know how old he is in the picture as well as the grade he is going into.
cindy

My oldest daughter is starting kindergarten and my husband and I bought her a locket. She's nervous about missing us and being without us for such a long day so with this locket she'll have a little reminder of us. I'm putting picture of me and her daddy in the locket we on giving it to her at her orientation night. Then I'll tell her the next time she'll wear it, will be on the first day of school. I hope it helps her get through the day and serve as a nice heirloom in years to come.

I have four children (now all grownup) - the night before school began, I would take a knife and shave a strip off of the HB pencils and write their names on them with pen. Also I would buy them a couple of sheets of stickers... each child, a different character/theme to decorate the front of their scribbers.
I would always be the mother who took her children to the first day and would shed tears as I walked away... while the other mothers were gathering to celebrate at the local diner! I always loved our summers together and we did special things everyday... picnics, hikes, cloud watching, going to the pool... hanging out with grama.
As a child, we each received 1 complete new outfit. I thought I was the richest kid on block.

I have 5 children in two schools. As for back to school supplies, we go shopping in groups depending on the school. Its crazy! I love office supplies and I end up forcing them to get more than they need! I get my share too! Clothes shopping is the best. We go one on one, either with dad or mom. For every new outfit, one old comes out of the closet. Old girl clothes go in one bin and boys in another. Then the younger sibs can pick through the bins to see if they want anything before it goes to donation! so much fun. we do the requisite pictures, etc. on the first day, with their new backpacks in tow!

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patricia

I had to come here and post that we must be on the same wavelength..."I loved the freshness, the possibilities, the blank slate that came with each new school year."
I posted a similar thing the day before on my blog...very cool! :) Check it out:
http://leora-sanford.blogspot.com/2007/08/clean-slate.html
As for traditions, we just shop (like everyone else..LOL). Both my husband and I are teachers so it's crazier than you could imagine with all of us trying to get ready. We have daughters...one entering Jr. high for the first time, one in 5th and the youngest goes to preschool/daycare. One thing I DO stick to every year before school starts is making the kids go to bed the week before at the time they would during the school year...to help ease them back into the routine. Not a FUN Tradition but a NEEDED one.
Hope you have a great experience!
Leora Sanford

We do the traditional photos and all. But, the first day of school, we head to the pottery shop, where you paint your own pottery. It is a tradition to do a piece on the first day of school. My daughter is in 5th grade, and wow has she improved in her painting since kindergarten. We collect all the pieces and display them together. IT will look great on her graduation table!
Also, since it is a treat and kind of spendy. I always say, "we will do the pottery shop on the first day of school" when they ask through out the year.

We also take a little gift to the teacher, secretary, librarian, and principal. This year school scrapbook paper in a cone with Dove chocolates in them. about 10 in each. Cheap and distracts the girls from the nervousness of first day. Everyone appreciates it including the forgotten librarian who rarely gets a gift from students!

We do the requisite pics and the school supplies and the first day outfits, but my favorite pictures have always been a shot of the kids with their backpacks on their backs shot from behind (when Meg started kindergarten her backpack almost touched the ground!) AND a close up of the school clock as the bell rings. I also love the shots I get impromptu when they're not aware I'm around. :SIGH: It sure chokes you up as you watch your little ducklings mature and grow ever closer to that day they depart for their own lives. I made myself cry thinking about it!! Geez Ali!

I always have cupcakes or a special homemade treat or a great dinner to make up for the RUSH we felt the last few days before school starts. I want them to know I was thinking of them during the first school day! And we sit and really TALK about it all. What they saw, what was different, who had changed the most over the summer..all that good stuff!

On the first day of school for the last 9 years, I have gotten up and fixed breakfast for my son and then drive him to school. After school is out I pick him up and we then go out to get ice cream and talk about how his first day of school went. This year my daughter will be in Kindergarten and my son will be a Freshman and the tradition with both of them will live on.

When my sister and I were is high school, mom would take us back-to-school clothes shopping and we would make a day of it. We would go to our favorite local shoppe and take over the whole store! We would go to lunch and talk about the coming school year. Then we would head out to by out school supplies. It was always so much fun and my sister and I still get the urge to go shopping for back-to-school clothes when summer reaches an end. Thanks for the memory recall. Love it!
My little guy, Ryan is about to turn 3 years old at the end of August and he will be starting Special Ed this year (he is Autistic). He has his little Thomas the Train backpack and I'm getting ready to take him school clothes shopping for the first time. I get emotional just thinking about it. Love my Mama Job!

Was that really your dad posting up there in the middle? THat totally brought tears to my eyes! You'd better print that up and scrapbook it! My mom can't figure out how to comment on my blog ;)
Anyway, you have a lot of ideas so far, and I do some of the same-
1. photo on the front steps on the first day.
2. I have the kids do handprints and sign their names on 12x12 paper for their scrapbooks.
3. I measure their height in the front closet door jam. This would be even better if we weren't military and had to move every few years. One of these days I'll transfer the heights to something more temperary so we can take it with us ;)
4. I make cookies while he's in school, and after school we go to Cold Stone for ice cream.
This year I'm going to do the Bookworm that someone mentioned near the top of these comments. Love that idea!

Some really cool ideas.
We do all the normal stuff, but on the LAST DAY of school I write on the driveway (with sidewalk chalk) what grade he'll be entering next year. He can see it when he gets off the bus and all his friends think its really cool.
Check it out:
http://sawyerfamily.typepad.com/were_importantwe_have_a_b/2007/06/where_did_the_y.html

I sniff my new pencils! I know I sound like a complete weirdo - but I love the smell of new pencils. That's the smell of going back to school!

oh these are all so great.
memory/tradition:
going to the school to see the posted class lists...finding out who your teacher is and your classmates are. we have less than 48 hour to go until this is posted!

I expect traditions are sort of different and sort of the same here in the UK.
One I always liked was the "coffee and flop" at someone's house - that us mums organised for the morning of the first day. After the rushing around of the holidays we deserved it!

I have a 12 year old boy and 5 year old boy (youngest has Asperger's). We have always taken a picture with my boys and their teacher. Well, atleast until last year when the oldest started Middle School. We still go shopping for school supplies together, though. We try to do a special first day of school breakfast and dinner that night.