Back to school traditions.

Hey Ali!
We always have a breakfast of whatever the boys choose (usually eggs, bacon and a muffin) and then a dinner of their choosing along w/ an ice cream cake.
We don't have to buy supplies here in PA, but I still buy a few to keep at home :)

Typical school supply and clothes shopping with my 3rd grade son and typical photos. I take off early on the first day of school so I am able to pick him up and spent the rest of the day together doing whatever he wants. (usually swimming) but I love the cookie idea--he loves to bake.
Something a little different is the day before school starts is a special day to do something fun. This year he was treated to a Braves baseball game, last year it was fishing with Dad in the boat.

I too loved those school supplies...and still do. Last year my oldest son started kindergarten, and I took him to school because he had so much stuff. I took a picture of him in front of the school, and I think that I will try to make that part of our tradition. My younger son will be attending early childhood special education preschool this year, and because we don't want him to be confused about his routine, we will let him get on the van at daycare without Mom and Dad watching. Next year when he goes to kindergarten at the school with his brother, we will take a pic of both boys in front of the school.

So my favorite time of year too! First as a student, then as a teacher, and now as a parent. I have my very own stash of crayons, pencils, and markers waiting to take to my preschool classroom.
For my own 2 kiddos, we have a "back to school bonfire" the weekend before. We invite all the neighborhood kids and have s'mores. It's a great way to get the kids together one last time before the business of school starts. Of course I take pictures on the front porch and do school shopping (starting in July...it's a sickness, I know!). Love the idea about the class scrapbook. I am going to borrow that for my own class. Good luck Ali and Simon! What a bittersweet day!

My three boys always brought their teachers a nice shiny apple on the first day of school. Part of the school supplies :) Going off to high school and college now, my boys aren't as keen on this tradition but when they were in grade school it was fun. We took a first day of school picure and brought them to school. Fun times! tami

I am sending my oldest to college this year-a bittersweet time- so proud of her for making it through school successfully but so sad that i won't see her smiling face every day.
The only tradition we have besides the normal school shopping is to eat ice cream for breakfast on the first day and the last day of school. I somehow doubt the dining hall at college will have ice cream available on the first day of classes.

during the first day of school, my mom used to serve dinner with chicken alphabet soup. it was fun forming words before we slurp it all down.

We always go out to eat after the first day of school. Even with our oldest at 20 (in college) and our youngest at 16 (a Jr.)we still enjoy talking with our boys about their first day at school.

My daughter is only three so we are not in the back to school mode yet. I too loved the back to school time and the school supply shopping - I still go check out the new school supplies each year and pick out some things for my own collection.
The one tradition that I do have right now and have been doing for at least 5 years now is a "school supply drive" at my church. It's kind of like the food drives that places do around the holidays but it's for school supplies. And then right before school starts, we donate the supplies to children and youth who need them. It is a wonderful way to participate in the back to school process whether you are old or young or have kids or not.

Back to school is alittle hard for me this year. My baby is headed to Kindergarten, my oldest to 6th grade and one more to 4th. We love school supplie shopping as everyone else but here are a couple of old traditions as well as a couple of new ones I am going to try:
1. We visit our teachers the Friday before school starts to drop off supplies so I have a neighborhood breakfast before the event. Its lots of fun to get together and have some breakfast before we head out.
2. I always take pictures of the new school shoes. Its such a big part of the first day of school!
3.Ali this may work for you....I heard this and thought it would be great for my son starting kindergarten. I was told to take one of my husband's old dress shirts and put it on my son every first day of school and watch how he grows into it over the years. Sounds like fun!!

i actually just saw trapper keepers at target!! i got such a kick out of that!!

I have always had a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I loved shopping with my girls for school supplies and new clothes for the school year, but I HATED sending them off to school 'cuz I just loved having them home for the summer.
As the first day of kindergarten approached for my youngest daughter, she was worried that she was going to miss me (to say nothing about how much I'd miss her!) I decided to buy her and her sister necklaces with a Minnie Mouse charm on it that they could wear to school. Every time they missed me or felt nervous, they could reach up and touch the charm and know that I was thinking of them. They just loved those necklaces, and just knowing that they wore something special from Mom somehow had a calming effect on them. They still have them 20 years later!
Now that my kids are grown up and married, I no longer have to buy pencils and paper and markers, but I still have the itch everytime I see the displays in the store. This year my husband & I bought a backpack and loaded it up with supplies which we will giving to a child in our community who is less fortunate. This has satisfied my desire to do the back to school shopping, but more importantly it will help a child have a better start to his or her school year.

My daughter is grown now, but every year on the first day, I'd her picture standing on the stairway & getting on the bus. These pictures are so precious. I know it was special for her too - she had her roommate in college take her picture the first day of class her freshman year. Hope Simon has a wonderful first day experience. Hang in there - I sat on the front steps & cried as soon as the bus was gone. We won't say how many years I did this! I always baked chocolate chip cookies the first day to celebrate the start of a new year.

hi Friend! Classic...Trapper Keepers..could not wait to get a new one every year! and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year...so anxious, that I went and bought new school supplies without the kids (or the supply lists) just beacause the perfect Crayola Crayons, all perfect and fresh are .29 cents a box...(HINT: I buy extra's for stocking stuffers!!!)those and the pencils....TICONDEROGA...nothing better...anyway...Tradition of ours...the picture...first day of school...no matter what...in the same place each year...I even wrote about it in the HGH magazine (pg.33 if you have it)...
have fun on vacation....

love this topic! aside from school supply and clothes shopping, some moms and i have a special traditional as well --
we take the kids to school, then rush to the nearest coffee shop and hang out one last time before we all use the school day to tackle our to do lists. this year, because a bunch of us have first time kindergarteners, we plan on meeting up once again -- only this time with tissues in tow.

With my son ... each year I photographed him by the blue agave in our front yard (it started out small like he did) .. and every year I could see how big he had grown and how fast the agave (cactus) was growing. Then a few years ago it bloomed (and then died) .. so there went that tradition! .. We still take a first day of school pic (he humors me .. he's a Junior this year!) .. in front of our remaining agave (AH-GAH-VAY) .. but it's not quite the same!

we were at staples the other day to buy photo paper and they had Trapper Keepers! I hadn't seen them in ages, so I had to buy one! I've turned it into my inspiration notebook :)

We do the usual back to school shopping and first day of school photos. But, our big back to school tradition is a family dinner on the first day of school including both sets of grandparents, aunt, cousins, and great grandmother. We enjoy homemade pizza and salad and end the evening with a special cake in the shape of a tiger's face (school mascot). It is a fun evening of sharing all about the first day of school.
The other tradition we have is to decorate the front door - we hang a giant red/white (school colors) homecoming mum on the front door - it has a big tiger in the center and the kids names down the ribbons, just like you would wear for homecoming. Our kids are Tigers all the way from Kindergarten to Seniors so this year will be our 11th year of back to school tiger traditions.

A friend of mine has a cool tradition for back to school. They do a special date with each child to go pick out their new backpack and then take them out for a special lunch where the child has some one on one time to talk about what goals they have for the upcoming year. I thought that was a great idea!

one of the things I do now as a mama is the "Mother's Back to School Breakfast" with my mom and sisters (and any friends who care to join). I am not one of those people who can't wait to get the kids out of the house, so I feel a little lonely on that first day especially. So getting together with other adults is a fun way to transition and remember it's ok to have that "me" time again.
But, of course, not before having a photo shoot!!!