Celebrating the First Day of School

Family traditions were a big part of my life growing up. When my kids became old enough to start understanding traditions, I was ready to pounce. If it happens on an annual basis, we have traditions to go with it. The leprechauns visit every March, the same gingerbread men parade across the table every December and we always visit Stuckmeyer’s Farm with cousins as the temperatures drop and the leaves change.

Last year was kindergarten for my son, so we tried out a new tradition. The day before school started, we did a dry run, getting up and dressed and into the car. We drove to school, pulled through the drop-off route and proceeded to Krispy Kreme. After doughnuts, we finished our morning with an hour at the playground.

This tradition might be fun, but it really didn’t feel to me like enough celebration for a very momentous day. I live in dread of the first day of school, because I really love my kids’ company, and was feeling the need for more fun for the last day of summer. I asked a few friends what they choose to do to mark the beginning of the school year.

Jennifer Aubuchon, a fellow Mehlville mom, shared with me an idea that not only taps into my love of tradition, but also my love of baking (and icing!). She said that she and her kids always make some kind of school-themed cake, like a school bus cake or ABC cupcakes.

Another friend, Angie (who became my friend in the sixth grade at Point Elementary), told me about the traditions that her parents used to celebrate when Angie and her sister returned to school. Every year, they went to the old Noah’s Ark restaurant the night before school, her dad made a big breakfast before they headed to the bus stop and they returned from school to find a first day present. Angie plans to recreate some of these experiences for her kindergartener this fall.

Two moms whose youngest kids are finishing up high school encouraged me to continue taking first day pictures. Glenette and Mary told me how fun it is to see the changes in their kids over the years, standing in the same spot in front of their houses on every first day of school. Glenette noted how she could even see how her kids changed by the outfits they chose for the big day each year.

Armed with all of these great ideas, I am ready to reevaluate our new school year traditions. I’m pretty sure if I combine the Krispy Kreme and the cupcakes, I might be tempted to send all three kids to first grade and worry about the consequences later. But the thought that someday, I might be looking across 13 years of pictures for each child as my friends Glenette and Mary are now, makes the traditions seem worth every effort to make the transition back to school special.