Monday, August 19, 2024
We thought we’d be back with our final summer post
as scheduled - last Thursday (August 15)…
BUT life took another turn!
(Laura’s talking about you, Covid!)
Thankfully, we are now back on track!
So, with no further delays…
It’s that time of year!
The air is slightly cooler!
The shadows are longer!
The sunsets appear sooner!
AND
School supplies are sold out!!!
Each year, when the calendar turns to August,
both Laura and Laurie feel that familiar rush…
sadness that our glorious summer is almost over
mixed with the excitement that the air smells of a new school year!
Once a teacher… always a teacher!
We will forever think of our “year” as September to August
instead of January to December!
School Time Memories!
The thoughts of past back to school moments come to mind!
New outfits, new teachers and new classrooms!
As children ourselves….
Then as new teachers…
Followed by years of balancing the start of a new school year
with the realities of being “mom” at the same time!
These days,
we are looking toward the future
when our own grandkids - our Littles -
head off to school for the very first time!
What an adventure that will be!
The beginning of a new school year is a BIG deal for any Little
and, as GRANDS, we want to celebrate this special occasion in their lives!
We’ve rounded up meaningful ways to do just that,
including our Grand Tips for Distant Grands!
We know that many Littles around the country
have already headed back to school or soon will be!
Here in Minnesota,
we typically begin a new school year the last week of August
or right after Labor Day.
So, getting ready for Back to School is a big deal right now!
In our role as a Grand,
there is nothing more important that we can do
than to provide ongoing love, support and encouragement
to our Littles and their parents!
This is certainly true as families transition into a new school year!
Today, we are wrapping up our 3, 2, 1… GRAND Summer Fun series!
We’re sharing 3 ways to celebrate this special time with your Littles… near or far!
The first day of a new school year is a memorable one indeed!
Here’s two fun ways to make the day extra special for the Littles you love!
Sneaky Yard Decor!
First up, Laurie is sharing a Back to School tradition
that began for her in the fall of 2020!
As you can probably imagine, kindergarten has always held a special place in my heart! It’s such an important beginning! My oldest great-niece started kindergarten in 2020 - during the pandemic, and there wasn’t much I could do to celebrate with her. So I decided to give her a memorable send off on her first day of school!
I purchased a set of large pinwheel flowers from Amazon and some other fun signs and streamers. The night before school started, my husband and I snuck over in the dark and decorated her front yard to surprise her! The next morning we received many pictures of a happy and excited kindergartner, heading off to school knowing she was loved and cherished by many people… including her great aunt and uncle!
Then in 2022 and again in 2023, we repeated our sneaky yard decorating tradition for our next two great-nephews!
There’s many decorations you can make yourself out of tagboard and markers. You can also use ribbons or crepe paper to tie in trees or bushes. If you are a Distant Grand, you could enlist the help of the parents to place the decorations in the yard for you!
I’m sure this tradition will continue
when our first granddaughter (Little D) heads off to kindergarten
in, oh my goodness, two years!
A Yummy Treat!!
Laurie’s sister has her own special way
of celebrating the first day of school with her Littles!
My sister has always baked chocolate chip cookies for her own children on the first day of school. She was a working mom and would take a vacation day so she could make cookies and be ready when her Littles got home from school that day! This tradition continued through college! She would bake cookies and send the cookies off with them as they headed back to school.
These days, my sister is lucky to live fairly close to her grandchildren and, so, the tradition continues! She always makes it over on the first day of school with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Now that shows a grandma’s love, for sure!
Such a simple tradition but one everyone looks forward to each year! I benefited from many of those “first day of school” cookies when I was teaching, and there is nothing like a yummy, gooey cookie waiting for you at the end of that first BIG day!
Do you remember this fun tradition Laura first shared last May
in our Goodbye School Year, Hello Summer! post?
When your Little begins kindergarten, buy a “Class of 20__” T-shirt in an adult size.
Here’s the option I chose for a special Little in my life - my grand-nephew who started kindergarten last year and will graduate in 2036!
Each year, either on the first or last day of school, take a photo of your Little in his/her T-shirt. With one initial investment, this memento will have a lasting impact! Just imagine what a great collage all these photos will make at your Little’s graduation party some day!
Prior to the start of a new school year,
carve out some time to spend with your Little(s)!
Check with your Little’s parents to determine a time that works best for everyone!
Perhaps you can take your Little out for a lunch date
OR
you can host an overnight or a Back to School dinner!
Once the plans have been made,
have an activity or two to do together as part of the fun
Conversation starters can be a meaningful way to connect with Littles
because they can help you learn about each other,
build trust and deepen bonds!
Below are two fun options for you to consider!
🔴 Hopes & Dreams!
Each fall, we each would begin a new school year by asking our classes to share their hopes and dreams for the year ahead! Together, as a class, we’d brainstorm what we wanted to learn about or things we'd like to do, what special experiences we were looking forward to and how we wanted to feel when we were at school. Then each student would choose their own idea and we’d post all of these in our classroom and we’d refer to them often during the year.
As Grands, we envision a similar conversation with our Littles. While enjoying some quality time together (at home or on a Grand/Little date), we’d both share what our hopes and dreams are for our Little’s upcoming school year! To extend the idea just a bit, and to record our thoughts, we could make a chart or a project like the one below…. A wonderful reminder of our time together that could also serve as a prompt to revisit these goals throughout the year! As a Grand, we might even offer a prayer on behalf of our Little and our wishes for their upcoming school year!
For this project, we simply cut out a cloud from white construction paper and one strip each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple construction paper. The only other materials needed would be a black marker and a glue sticker. Bring these materials with you when spending time with your Little (in person or virtually).
Once you two are finished brainstorming your Little’s hopes and dreams for the school year, have him/her choose six ideas to highlight. Write one idea on each strip of paper. Glue the strips to the cloud as shown and add a title to the project (also shown).
NOTE: Don’t worry if your Little has done or will do a similar activity in school! If this happens, the time spent brainstorming with you would be a wonderful way to preview this school lesson!
Most of all...
don't forget to check in with your Little during the school year
to see how the progress in attaining those hopes and dreams is going!
🔴 Would You Rather?
Would You Rather? is a fun way to share thoughts when presented with silly, tricky or surprising situations! You’ll love hearing your Little’s responses to each scenario and they will be equally intrigued to discover your answers, too!
Feel free to use our graphic below! You can screenshot the graphic and then print a copy or simply pull it up on your phone when you are with your Little! Of course, feel free to come up with your own Would You Rather? questions, too!
When we were both teaching, we were so appreciative of the community programs that supported our schools by providing supplies for students in need each fall.
It was also important to each of us that our own children understood
that not every child they went to school with
was able to provide their own supplies,
which could get quite expensive!
So, as a family, we would fill a backpack to donate
when doing our own school shopping!
Nowadays, this is a tradition that we can carry on with our grandchildren...
those Littles who fill our hearts!
Each of our churches partners with local elementary schools to provide supplies,
which makes this project an easy one to take on!
The school provides the supply list and then you do the shopping!
NOTE:
While many churches offer such service opportunities,
local school districts and community programs do as well
and would welcome your donations!
What a meaningful opportunity it would be to introduce our Littles to the the joy found
in giving and serving others!
We both look forward to the day when we can take our Littles out
for an annual breakfast or lunch together
followed by school supply shopping for another child!
We’ll be sure to include a moment of prayer together
focused on the Little who receives our donated supplies!
For years, we’ve looked at the first day of school
through the lens of a child, a parent and as a teacher.
In our role as a Grand,
we now have the opportunity to support our Littles and their parents
as they navigate this hectic season each year!
As we cheer on our Littles, we let them know
how excited we are for them and for the adventures that await,
that we are in their corner always
and that we are oh so proud of them!
We'd say that there's no better gift we can offer!
In the coming weeks,
we will be thinking of all the Littles, families and teacher friends
that are returning to the classroom!
We hope that this Back to School post has shown you
how easy it can be to create a special way to celebrate with your Littles,
in person OR from a distance!
In fact, you may have so much fun
that the celebration you choose
could become an annual event cherished by Grand and Little!
We’ve had such a fun summer, sharing our
3, 2, 1… GRAND SUMMER FUN posts with you all!
If YOU will be spending time with YOUR own Littles
before summer comes to a close,
you may want to check out our series of Summer 2024 themes!
In fact, many of the themes would be fun to explore any time of the year!
For even more ideas, check out last year’s themes or any of our SUMMER FAVE posts!
(To find these, search “camp” or “fave” on our homepage!)
As always, we welcome your support and appreciate when you share our content
with other Grands and caregivers!
(Remember, you can tap the “Facebook Share” button at the top of our home page to do so quickly!)
THANK YOU!
Do you have a favorite Back to School tradition to share with us?
We value your thoughts and suggestions!
As we get ready for fall and make decisions about our upcoming content,
we’d love to hear from you!
Do you have specific ideas you’d like to learn more about?
You can always comment at the end of a post OR you can email us privately at ourgrandlives@gmail.com
You can also share your ideas with us, by tagging us on social media!
(You'll find our social media links at the top of each post!)
We are going to take our annual break from the blogging world
during the coming weeks
before gearing up for fall and all it brings!
We look forward to returning in mid September
(you may want to subscribe to our OGL site so you don’t miss out)!
We'll be back then with new ideas and new content that celebrates
OUR GRAND LIVES!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Busy Monday from A Pinch of Joy
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I hope everyone is feeling better now...Just stopping by again to Thank you for visiting!!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble blog
So sorry to hear about the dreaded covid, hope you're feeling better now.
It was back to school for me today. 2 days without the kids.
I usually do a back to school photo, but husband wouldn't participate this morning. Our granddaughter starts school tomorrow. I bought her some hair bobbles in school colours and sent her a card, which I think she appreciated, it difficult to tell with 5 year olds. thanks for joining in with #pocolo Chickenruby
So sorry about COVID. UG!! I hope you feel better soon. I love the pictures you shared of both of you as littles and as new teachers. The yard and first day signs are darling. Thanks for sharing this post with us at the Will Blog for Comments #45 linkup. Hope you'll share more posts with us at #46 which starts Monday.
Laura, I hope you are feeling better ♡. Back to school is always so much fun to prepare for. I love the photo props! So many fun and great ideas shared. Thank you for sharing with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #52.
Steph@CrazyLittleLovebirds
Feel better soon Laura. Back to school is always an exciting time. new clothing, seeing friends again and so much more. Thanks for sharing at Love Your Creativity.