The new school year is an exciting and stressful time. You have all the possibilities and newness, and you have to adjust to different routines such as getting up earlier. In all the hustle and bustle, it can be hard to take a moment to enjoy it all.
The 10 suggestions on this list can become yearly traditions to help you be more mindful in the back-to-school season. They will help you stay in the moment and create memories you can look back on and cherish. Time is fleeting after all, and kids are only young once.
Interview your child
Have a goal-setting session with your kids
It's never too early to learn the importance of hard work and achieving goals. Sometime around the beginning of the school year, sit down with your kids and make some milestones they can achieve during the year. Maybe they want to make a new friend, try a new sport, or strength a skill. Talking about it and planning small steps to accomplish it are a great way of teaching a strong work ethic. Plus, it's cute to think of what a kindergartener's goals could be. Nailing finger painting is a noble quest.
Make a back-to-school bucket list
Excitement at the beginning of the school year is at an all-time high. This decreases as the year drags on. To keep spirits high the whole school year, make a back-to-school bucket list of things you want to do at the beginning. Maybe you want to have the funniest outfit on wacky dress day, attend three football games, or see the spring musical. These are all great things to look forward to.
Schedule movie nights
Consider doing a family movie night during the first few weeks of school. Everyone will be tired and need some time to veg out. You can order pizza, pop some popcorn, and chill. You can even keep this tradition going throughout the year. Fridays are a great day to keep things low-key and kick off the weekend.
Measure your child's height
As every mom knows, kids grow up so fast, especially physically. A cute back-to-school tradition is to measure their height. Once you have a record, it's fun to look back on and see trends, such as "From 6th grade to 7th grade, you grew three inches." Bonus points if you have a cool doorframe to mark up. Siblings can compare heights at different ages as well.
Make a time capsule
A time capsule preserves a moment in time so you can look back on it at a later date. A fun family activity during the first couple weeks of school is making your own so you can freeze this moment in time. You can add objects and letters that represent what is important to your family now. Then you get to bury it and decide when to dig it up again.
Take lots of photos
The first-day photo is a time-honored back-to-school tradition. But since we all have cameras in our pockets these days, it doesn't have to stop there. Take lots of pictures the first couple weeks of school. Document everything. Future you will be so happy you did.
