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The lazy summer days are coming to an end for most (if they haven’t already) and backpacks are filling up with school supplies. Back to school is an exciting time for kids (and moms) and in our house we try to make it something to look forward to and to ease the fears and insecurities that lurk beneath the surface.
One of our favorite traditions this time of year is our special back-to-school dinner. We host it the night before the first day of school (however, you may find it easier on the first day or even two weeks later). Here are three easy steps to make this dinner memorable for your family.
1. Menu:
Let the kids choose the menu. Their selections would never make my “special dinner options” list, but to them it’s special because they chose it. If you have multiple kids, you may need to let one pick the main dish and another the dessert. This has led to some interesting dinner combinations in our house, but everyone leaves happy. And yes, it usually includes some type of Jell-O. Kids are funny like that! We bring out the “fancy cups,” as my kids call them, and always make sure we have sparkling cider.
2. Decorations:
Chances are you won’t have to spend a dime on decorations. Open up the drawers in your office and use up the kids’ school supplies before they use them on the first day. Place a fun tablecloth (or use wrapping paper like I did) on the table.
Use a paper roll to create a table runner that they can color and write on during dinner.
We used clipboards for placemats and paper clips to hold name tags.
I went through the closet and found some alphabet and math flashcards that worked great.
You can make a banner out of an old book: tear out a couple of pages and use a permanent marker or cut out letters that you print out with your printer.
Grab some books from your bookshelf and you’ve got a festive table setting.
3. Program:
Our dinner has an important purpose: we introduce the family theme for the school year and go over important information. The theme can be as simple or as complicated as you like. It can be a quote, a Bible passage, or a word. Last year, our word was “Gratitude” and we had a Bible passage printed in our kitchen all year: “In all things give thanks.” My husband and I thought long and hard about something our family could work on to serve as our theme. This year we chose “Be Kind and Stand Up.”
We always want our kids to be kind to others, but more importantly, we wanted to instill in them the drive to stand up for those who have a hard time doing so on their own. We talked about ways to stand up for themselves and opportunities we could work on. We will dedicate one day a month during a family night during the school year to reiterate different points on the topic.
Back-to-school dinner is also a good time to go over important family and safety information. Where do you go if you get off the bus and no one is home? Who do you live nearby that you can call for help? Do you know their phone number? How do you handle someone being mean at school? We always open the door to questions from our kids, and sometimes it’s comical to think of the worst-case scenarios they want you to go through with them.
It was also that night that I realized I had failed as a mother when our new kindergartener didn’t know the phone number! Oops! That’s why this dinner is quite useful. For some of the more important information, you can laminate a small card (with the important phone numbers and the child’s address) and place it in the front pocket of the backpack.
At the end, you can toast to an exciting new school year and send them off to bed dreaming of pencils and lunch boxes. It will be a dinner they won’t soon forget.
See more of my adventures and projects at www.lifewithfingerprints.com
