I’m a summer mom. I love all the fun things I get to do with my kids when school’s out, and I’m genuinely sad when I have to send them back. But instead of being bummed about back-to-school each September, I find ways to celebrate the transition. Here are five of my favorite end-of-summer/back-to-school traditions with my kids.
1. Beach Day: A friend and I have a tradition of an annual “beach day” with our kids. Over the past several years it’s happened to fall on the day before the first day of school – and I have to say, it’s been perfect. What better way to say goodbye to the freedom of summer than one last “hurrah” at the beach?
2. Individual Back-to-School Shopping: I don’t make “back-to-school” supply shopping a huge deal. Sometimes my kids want to come with me, sometimes they don’t. I also don’t buy them a bunch of new clothes; I fill in the gaps in their wardrobes as they emerge throughout the year. But what I DO enjoy doing is shopping for a first-day-of-school outfit with each of them individually and taking them out to lunch or a treat. It’s fun one-on-one time with them that lets me see their emerging style and gives me a chance to connect before they’re back in school full-time.
3. Back-to-School Breakfast: I’m not a breakfast person and breakfast for the kids is usually pretty simple in our house. But on the first day of school I make it special and serve a hot breakfast.
4. Back-to-School Pictures: My kids don’t have a pretty chalkboard with all their personal details. I just take a quick cell phone snap on our front porch. It doesn’t have to be fancy to do the trick – they’re still fun to look back on!
5. Lunchbox Note: I stick a note in my kids’ lunches before they head off to school. I like to remind them how much fun I had with them all summer, how much I’ll miss them while they’re gone, and how excited I am for them to have a great school year.
Back-to-school traditions don’t have to be over-the-top to be special. If you think about it, I bet you have back-to-school activities you didn’t even realize had become traditions. Because the best traditions are born naturally, not forcefully created.
What back-to-school traditions do you have in your family?
