Tuesday, August 17, 2010

How to Celebrate the First Day

Sometimes, I read about other people's traditions and I get a little jealous that I didn't already know about it. There are a few things I've been able to adopt from early on that I can truly call traditions in our family. Every Christmas, the kids open a present on Christmas Eve. This present is new pajamas and that year's ornament. Every summer, we go to the Indiana State Fair and visit the coppersmith in the Pioneer Village. We get cookie cutters made of copper from the kids' hand prints. This is the annual birthday gift we give my mom because her kitchen is decorated in copper. And now we have started First Day of School Traditions. Some of these are things I picked up from others who were already going through the first day back thing. Some are things I saw other kids doing when I was growing up. To be honest, I don't recall any first day of school traditions when I was growing up. Maybe that's part of why I want it to be an exciting event for my kids- because my memories are full of gaps when it comes to starting school each year. First, shopping for school clothes. Nothing starts the year off like a new outfit and new shoes. Second, Teagan got to choose what we did for dinner. She chose the Pizza Hut pizza buffet. Third, we read The Kissing Hand at bedtime. Fourth, Teagan got to choose breakfast- we had cinnamon rolls. Fifth, we took pics on the front steps with Teagan holding a sign stating her name, grade, the year, and the name of her school. Sixth, after a quiet dinner at home (made up of everyone just chowing down on what sounded best to my hungry and tired bunch- dinner was mostly fruit for the kids), we ended the evening with homemade root beer floats. Those are traditions I think we can keep up with year after year. Photobucket

7 comments:

Nancy said...

Can I come live with you?

I am the same way Liz, I don't remember many traditions growing up, so we have tried to create our own as well.

I hope to have some for next year when Delainey starts school. I love the picture with her name, grade, and school.

noexcuses said...

Those First Day traditions sound like so much fun. I think they will make her excited about schoool starting for many years to come!

Momza said...

we have just a few traditions for the First Day of School:
-Dad takes the day off--to make the kids breakfast, walk them to class and be there when they get home. And he and I go out to lunch and spend the day together.
We don't always start the new year with new clothes, because our summer lasts about 10 minutes after school starts and just about that time, the kids hit a growth spurt, so I wait to buy fall/winter clothes until mid-September.
And that's it for us. I love traditions!
Your traditions are great!

Momza said...

oh and we take a bunch of pictures too!

Kori said...

Oh, isn't that The Kissing Hand such a lovely book? I love it! We have our own traditions, too, and I don't htink it matter what they are, traditions, however small, are really important. Blessings for a great school year for everyone!

SurprisedMom said...

I see traditions, no matter how simple or complex, as a way to make memories. It also helps glue a family together. Yours sound wonderful and I'm sure you and your family will remember them fondly for a long time to come.

Mandi said...

The only tradition we had about school is that my mom made homeade biscuits and gravy on day one. (Then we'd eat left overs until they were gone) It was the only time of year she made it and its one of my favorite things she made! My sister now does it for her children and I'll probably do it for Alexsa. I hope I can make it as good as Mom's!