I might be late to your first day of school, but that doesn't mean this post doesn't apply. You can even do a First Week of school thing and no one will know. I love the start of school because it feels like a new beginning. Kind of like the beginning of the month starting on a Monday. It's a reset and time to make changes fall in to place.
I love getting to make it special for the kids to help them feel safe and excited for school. Here are a few things I like to do:
SNACKS
I will shop their first day of school and pick up their favorite candy bar, drink and popcorn for them to have as a snack when they get home. I also make sure that I have after-school snacks that they love from granola bars to trail mix, fruit and veggie trays and even the ingredients for homemade cookies are on hand.
DINNER
We traditionally do a back to school dinner. It sometimes happens the night before, the night of or the weekend after. This year, I am planning on it for the weekend after school starts. Alex started last week, Courtney this week and Claire next week. With the last few weeks, this is when worked best for us. However, I do think it sets the tone for the year when you can have a dinner and talk about what is special for this year. Sometimes we do a theme, others we don't.
THEME
Last year our theme was "Mask your face, not your fears" because... well, the virus that should not be named. It was actually helpful for the kids to have that reminder up. I watched them get out of their comfort zone and things they wouldn't normally do. Especially Alex, he decided to attend a new, rigorous school for high school. He was super nervous but now that he is there, he is loving it.