Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images
Our house is a stir with excitement and preparations for the first day of school. On the first day of school eve, I start with a plan.
With some nervous energy from my daughter entering kindergarten to my calm son ready to see his friends, our big day is on the horizon.
My goal is to end the summer with fun while minimizing distractions for tomorrow morning.
To reach that goal, we started our day with breakfast and a shopping trip to Staples for the last two items that never went on sale during the back-to-school season.
On our way back home, we snagged 50¢ ice cream cones from Burger King while chatting about predictions for the new school year. At home, we ate lunch, and my toddler took a nap.
In between the loads of laundry, we finished labeling and packing my son and daughter’s school supplies.
Aligned their backpacks down the hallway in their designated spaces. (The third backpack, used by my son last year, has been passed down to the toddler for her items. ;-))
Chose their first day of school outfits complete with shoes and accessories.
Set out their lunch bags and drink containers.
Printed the signs for pictures and the lunch box notes.
Loaded up their school supplies and headed out to our annual Back-to-School family dinner. This year we ate at Stevi B’s with a Groupon.
My mom is staying for a little longer to spend time with her grandchildren and see them off to school. We are wearing her out and enjoying our time together. 😉
After dinner, we attended Back-to-School night at school where we dropped off our supplies, received information about the school year, reunited with our friends, and made a few new relationships.
With a busy evening and early start to tomorrow, we came home, ran through our evening routine, answered questions, calmed fears, and put our children to bed.
Packing in precious time with my family on our last day of summer vacation proved enjoyable and profitable. Keeping our tradition of a family dinner completed our summer activities and spurred us into our next adventure. In using time wisely, our first day of school eve activities closed one chapter and will start another in the morning. Keeping it together . . . barely!
Question: How did/are you planning your First Day of School Eve?
An exciting time for everyone! Great pictures by the way… as much as I try I will NEVER be as organized as you!!! Kudos 🙂
Great idea for a Back to School dinner – fun idea for an annual tradition.
Glad that the kids had a good first day back too… always makes it easier when that happens.
Later, my friend!!
Yes, Jen! Everyone was excited, even the toddler.
Regarding organizing, I really don’t try to be organized. I just am! I see in patterns and think in sets, but staying organized helps keep my days productive.
The back-to-school dinner was designed to help me survive the busyness. With the back-to-school night at school starting early, Paul coming from work, and needing to feed our family, we created this tradition. We also celebrate the close of the school year with a family lunch since the last day of school is a morning awards ceremony.
Thanks for the comments. Hope your first day gets off to a great start next week. 🙂