Two of the kids are back in school starting today, and my Kindergartener starts on Thursday. It is hard to believe that the summer vacation is already at an end. If I still had any doubts, though, the early morning alarm shocked me back into reality.
Back to school is a celebration, not only for the parents, who may be experiencing a mix of excitement that may be able to visit the bathroom without five separate interruptions, and a little sadness to see their babies one year older and off to adventures without them.
Many parents plan a celebration for the first day of school, such as a special dinner out or a visit to the closest area attraction. We, however are frugal and still recovering from money spent on a few summer adventures, so we are choosing to do some back to school fun that is either free or costs very little.
We started the day with a special breakfast of French toast and fruit, and the extra french toast is now in the freezer for a quick warm breakfast another time.
For my daughter, we took the time to craft some “fancy hair” in place of her usual pony tail. My eldest son made his own special pencils by wrapping standard ones with some leftover printed contact paper–something he came up with on his own. Of course, he then had to make pencil sets for his brother and sister as well.
We will also plan to have a special desert with dinner, perhaps a banana split with all of the works, crafted at home.
Finally, we plan on taking advantage of the free Lego build event after school. During the first Tuesday of each month, local Lego stores give kids all of the pieces to create a Lego creation in the store. They can then take the finished object home with them. This month, the Lego is an Owl, which is perfect to celebrate back to school.
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