We are a week away from the start of the new school year here in the PaperSmith Handmade household. A friend of mine asked me just the other day if I had any plans in regards to back to school activities because I always have something up my sleeve. I told her I hadn't planned anything simply because I felt my kids had outgrown anything I might put together. Later that day however, I started thinking, "Well maybe I COULD plan something they'd enjoy". I like a good challenge! So first step was to create a physical countdown that I will of course add to our new family command center in the kitchen.
I went with a simple paper chain. Each piece of the chain has an activity for the kids to do daily to get them ready for the first day of school. Some aren't necessarily fun, but I tried to tie them into something the kids would enjoy. Here are the activities (in no particular order) included in our countdown for the week:
Shots and Slurpee's
Ok, I realize this doesn't sound fun at all but immunizations are a necessity for the start of the school year and today was all that was available when we called for the appointment over a month ago! So to ease the pain ( pun intended ) we will be taking the kids for Slurpee's after their appointments.
Time Change
During the summer we extend bed times and don't worry about what time the kids get up. Well, that has to change and is definitely going to be a challenge for both kids after their virtual school year. Starting Wednesday both kids will wake up earlier and go to bed earlier in preparation for the start of school. As an incentive for using their alarm clocks and waking up on their own we will allow them an additional ten minutes to stay up past bedtime on the weekend for every day they are successful this week. 😉
Orientation Day with a Dinner Surprise
This will most likely be the most exciting day of the week for both kids because they will get
their class schedules for the year! This is the day they get to see old friends walking the hallway of the school, (INSIDE the school this year) as well as meet some new faces and walk their schedules. I intend to live vicariously through them and try not to embarrass them! There are going to be food trucks outside of the school this day so we are going to surprise them with dinner from the food trucks and let them choose. Then we will head back home so that they can go to bed at their new earlier bed time...
Family Game Night
This is always a favorite in our house because we LOVE board games! I am excited to bring back our Family Game Night competition and see if the reigning champion can maintain their title.
Back to School Shopping
I feel like this can sometimes be a least favorite activity but with the kids getting older I'm finding it's really important to make it fun. They are both at an age where they are figuring out their own likes and style and I can't be the one to choose that for them so we are going to make a day of it and I will let them choose where they'd like to go! Of course to keep it fun I plan to throw in a quick stop for a snack somewhere they like. I can always win them over with food!
Ice Cream
Oh look, another food related activity🤣. Again, my kids love food, especially sweets! One of their countdown days will give them the opportunity to grab a sweet treat from a local ice cream spot. I mean, who doesn't love ice cream?
Setting Goals and Expectations
We will spend some time the day before school starts creating goals for the year as well as setting expectations for each child. I have created something for each of them to write their goals on for the year and we will add it to our family command center wall as well as discuss some incentives if they reach their goals. For example, we encouraged my son to get straight A's this past school year and told him if he did he would receive a monetary reward. Well, he likes money almost as much as he likes food so he worked really hard and earned that reward! I have also created a First Week of School Bingo card and will show that to them and create a little friendly competition. I will share both the bingo card and goal activity later this week on our social media pages.
There it is, our plan for the last week of summer vacation. This list was curated based on the ages of my children and may not work for everyone but there are so many things you could do. The important thing is to make them excited to start a new school year, start them off right with enthusiasm and confidence! Check our social media pages this week to see photos and videos of our daily adventures and feel free to share your back to school activities as well! Most of all...