Sending kids back to school is a bittersweet time of the year. Yes, moms and dads are ready for the return to a school-based routine. (A lot of kids are too, if the truth is told.) But the loss of that slower, relaxed schedule and the reality of less time together as a family is sad. Plus, summer is just fun, filled with comfy clothes, outdoor fun, and more spontaneity.
So, if marking an end to summer is a bit tough to face, why not start a tradition that can ease you and your kids back into school? Instead of a day of dread, make it a moment to look forward to each year.
I have friends who take the dread out of school shopping by turning it into a special annual day of celebration, with one-on-one time for each child. Now, if you have a limited budget and more than three or four kids, that might be a hard tradition to carry out each year. But the kids sure would enjoy a Momma and Me date – or Daddy and Me time as well.
I also know families that take a last-minute weekend trip to celebrate the end of summer. Again, it might be strategically or financially impossible to load up the family and travel to a theme park or even a lakeside cabin. If that is the case, go to visitmississippi.org/ to find an amazing list of things to do and places to visit right here in the Magnolia State.
If that is outside the budget, everyone can pack a picnic lunch and head to the nearest Mississippi park or even a nearby spot in our state’s beautiful outdoors. So, throw out the regular dietary rules and pack your kids’ favorite snacks as your picnic fare. You could even pack it in their new (or favorite) lunchbox and make it a celebration of school lunches to come.
I also love the idea of having a midnight (or late-night) picnic under the stars, as a salute to getting back into the clock-based routines of school. All it takes is a blanket, and maybe, a fire pit, some good music, a few night-time snacks – and some bug spray, of course. A really memorable event could be borrowing or buying a small telescope and enjoying the beauty of the Mississippi night sky. Who knows! It might be the budding of a family astronomer!
Speaking of good music, why not have an end-of-summer dance? It could be a small family affair, or the kids could invite their friends each year to celebrate the start of a new school year with some good music and a little dancing. Make sure to take lots of photos to trace your kids’ change (in appearance and taste of music) over the years.
As a mom and a teacher, I especially love the thought of making this time of year more introspective. Why not sit down as a family and discuss how to make the school year better for themselves and their classmates.
Make a kindness jar by brainstorming small acts of kindness that your children could carry out (one per week) throughout the school year. Something as simple as packing an extra treat to share with someone outside their immediate circle of friends or looking for someone to encourage. Then, set a time each week to share their acts of kindness with the entire family. It might be nice to keep a journal of the year’s kindness.
Finally, our family loved getting back to the routine of daily family devotion time during the school year. We used simple books (such as Little Visits With God) in those early school years, and graduated to more mature, intensive themes of study. But it could also be as easy as sharing one Bible verse per morning or night of the school year with your kids.
It never ceased to amaze me throughout the years how that small moment in their day impacted them and their classmates. They often came home with daily stories of how those devos played out at school. Honestly, of all our school traditions, this was the one they talked about year after year after year. Even as adults, they fondly recall our family devotion times.
But whatever you choose to do to mark this time of year, just be intentional with your attempts at making back-to-school the best time of the year for you and your children.
Oh, and don’t forget to send an apple or some little gift to the new teachers. After all, we are citizens of the Hospitality State, so start now by teaching our Mississippi kiddos how to extend hospitality to everyone they meet.
