It’s everywhere! There’s barely a store you step foot in that doesn’t have a rack of fresh spiral notebooks, perfect crayons or backpacks. Yep, it’s back to school!
And while summer is ending, there is still fun to be had. It’s the perfect time to hype up the fun of getting back in the groove of school.
Below are some ideas of gathering your child’s friends for a fun and easy kick off to the 3 Rs!
“Pack your backpack” or “Pack your pencil box” party! – With children of similar ages, most of them need the same essentials. How about hosting a fun get together where the children get to stock up on supplies? Have one parent gather the supply list from the school and each parent will bring enough of one supply for each child to have one. For example: One parent brings enough packets of crayons for everyone. Each child brings their backpack or pencil box and fills it full! At the end, serve this adorable pencil cake! Pencil cake tutorial here
Host a “snack stop”! – Most children are hungry when returning home from school. Host a snack stop at your home or in the area of the bus stop. All you need is a table and snacks. Think fruit, granola bars, bottled water, and other grab and go snacks. Here is a cute dipped fruit on a stick. Very easy to grab and go! You can find the recipe here:
Or, maybe something more fancy to kick it off on the very first day of school like these cupcakes.
Back to School Breakfast – On the other end of the day, how about hosting a back to school breakfast the day BEFORE school begins. A dry run, if you will, of getting up early! Children can come as they are – in pajamas and have a fun relaxed breakfast with their friends while parents subtly break them into the earlier wake up. Serve colorful items such as fruit pizza (recipe here)
Or fruit with a chocolate dip (recipe here)
Or a banana raisin wrap (recipe here)
Back to School Themed Party – Want a more formal kickoff party? As parties go, this is one of the easier ones to pull off since decorations are everywhere! School supplies! Centerpieces are easy with stacks of books, pencils and apples!
Chalkboard is big these days and goes really far in the back to school theme! Cover a table in chalkboard contact paper or placemats. Serve your food in lunch trays or serve your food in inexpensive open lunch boxes.
Have older children? Use a roll of corkboard liner (found where you buy drawer liners) to make a table runner. Then decorate the runner with notes of encouragement along with photos of their friends all stuck on with thumbtacks in school colors.
Don’t forget your local dollar store! The larger stores carry a full section of teacher supplies such as large cutouts, poster board, etc. Dollar stores are an easy place to gather a lot of décor inexpensively!
Back to school doesn’t mean the fun is over! Put a little effort into your back to school gathering and watch your children get excited about the new year, new learning and new fun that awaits!