Back To School Time Capsule (With Printable)

Here from Studio 5, looking for the Printable? Just scroll down and you will run right into it!

Today is our children's first day of the new school year. We have had a great summer, although way to short, and the kids are ready for school to start. I am glad they are so excited. 

This is a big year for the kids, but also for us as parents. Our son will be starting 7th grade. Yikes! Junior High School? Were those years really good for anyone? On top of that, he will be attending junior high at the local high school. Not part time, but full time, just like if he was in 10th grade. I am nervous for what he will be exposed to. High school is a very big place for a barely twelve year old. Fingers crossed we have done our part to prepare him.Our 9 year old daughter is starting 4th grade. She is in a French emersion program and spends half the day speaking English and the other half of the day speaking French. No English allowed. She has loved it up to this point and am guessing, that although I took a lot of French in high school, she has the potential to pass me up this year. 

Our 6 year old is going to be in 1st grade. That means she is starting the French program also and will be in school all day. I don't know what I am going to do without her around during the day.

I am going to miss them. A lot. 

With all the changes, and the fact that I feel like I can't keep up with how fast our kids are growing up, we decided a few years ago to start documenting all the fun changes that take place each school year. The Back to School Time Capsules will help you keep track of your children's growth, without taking a lot of time or resources. And your kids will love it. Don't worry if school has already started. There is plenty of time and your kids will still be very willing.

The idea is to document the small things about your child that will change over the next school year. Things like height, weight, likes and dislikes, even handwriting. 

You don't need much.

A container

Rope or string or ribbon

Paper

Pens/Pencils

Camera

First...decide what you want each child to keep their capsule in. Mason jar, #10 Can, She Box, anything will work. 

HEIGHT

Have your child stand up against a wall and lightly mark how tall they are. THEN...take your rope/string/ribbon and stretch it the length of your measurement. Cut the string to the right height length, and put it in your time capsule. They will love getting it out at the end of the school year and seeing how tall they have grown. 

WEIGHT

Write down how much your child weights. If you don't know, don't worry, skip this one.

LIKES/DISLIKES

On a piece of paper, have your child write down the following... 

favorite color

favorite meal

favorite fruit

favorite vegetable

favorite activity

least favorite food

favorite TV show

favorite movie

favorite book

favorite subject in school

favorite friend

favorite snack

favorite shirt/pants/shoes

favorite toy

You get the point. Add your own to the list. 

Here is a Printable you can use for your own Back To School Time Capsules. Simply click on the picture, download, and print out one copy for each of your kids. 

GOALS

Have your child write down 3 goals they have for this school year. At the end of the year you can see if they accomplished those goals. 

HANDWRITING

Have your child write their name. For even more fun. Have them write it on a piece of paper/chalkboard/whiteboard and then take of picture of them holding the piece of paper up. This way you will have a picture of them and see what their writing was like. It will be fun to see how their writing has changed at the end of the school year.

TRACE HANDS/FEET

Trace your children's hands. Include the tracing in the capsule. Your kids will love to see how their hands have grown. We like to include feet also. 

PICTURE

If you took a picture of your child holding up their name, then you can use that as your picture. If not, you probably took a picture the first day of school. Add a picture to the time capsule and you are set. If you are not really great at getting pictures from your camera/phone to the print shop, you can always wait until the school pictures come home and add one of those to the time capsule. 

Once you have everything filled out and gathered, put it in your container of choice and seal it up. Bury them in the backyard, put them on a high shelf, under the bed, anywhere. Just tuck them away until the end of school, or the beginning of the next school year. 

It will be so fun to have a special BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY next year when we open them up and see how the kids have grown and changed. And then start the tradition all over again for the new school year. 

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

We have decided that we are going to do this every year until they graduate from high school. Each new school year, as we go through last years contents to see the kids growth and development, I take the contents of the capsules and put them in a regular old legal size envelope. I hole punch the envelopes and put them into a three ring binder for storage. Each child has their own binder, and that is all we have to store until they leave for college or get married and want to take their time capsules with them. What a great way to quickly and simply document all the growth and development that is happening. 

Simple, fun, and memorable. It doesn't get better than that. 

How do you keep your memories?

How do you ring in the new school year?

Anyone have kids in an emersion program? What language are they learning?

 

5 Tips To Make Back To School Shopping More Fun

It is sad to even consider that it is almost time to send the kids back to school. I feel like the summer is just beginning. But, the truth is, school starts for our kids in less than 4 weeks. Ugh, where has the time gone.

This year we will have a 6th grader, a 3rd grader and a kindergartner. It is nearly impossibly for me to consider that this is the stage of life we are in. I am sure we just had our first child. And now he is starting his last year in elementary school.

There is still a ton to get done before we are ready to head back. On the top of the list is back to school shopping.

Shopping isn't usually on the top of kids "favorite things" list. In fact, it can often feel like pulling teeth to get them to participate. The challenge is to get them excited so the experience isn't miserable for everyone.

Here are a few tips to help make back to school shopping more fun for the whole family.

1. Start with the school supplies.

Teachers have probably started sending home the lists of school supplies each of your children need. Most kids still get excited about backpacks, new binders, crayons, pencils and markers. Instead of starting with clothes shopping, start with the fun stuff. Plus, school supply shopping takes less time than shopping for clothes which means kids will have more tolerance for the process. This is also a great place to let your children express their personalities. There are clothes we won't buy our kids, and trends we won't follow. But if our daughter wants her backpack to be tie die with peace signs, so be it. Better than on her pants. :) (Not that I have anything against tie die or peace).

2. Make it special.

When possible, leave the other kids at home and make back to school shopping a special experience for each child. Make a day of it. You could even add a fun treat like an ice cream cone before or after, or a quick lunch at your child's favorite restaurant. This can give you and your child a few minutes to chat, break the ice and bond. It can also take a lot of the focus off the shopping and put it on the fun stuff.

3. Ask for their options and feedback.

When our children are small we can make more of the decisions without consulting them. As they get older, give them choice. Ask them what stores they would like to visit. Ask them what items they would like to add to their wardrobe. Ask them what they need and what they want. Giving them choices, wherever possible will help our children feel in control and they will be more likely to cooperate and support shopping for back to school.

4. Have clear expectations before hand.

Take a few minutes to have a conversation about what is going to be acceptable and what isn't. Can your kids buy any style clothes they want? Are there certain stores that are not acceptable? What about a budget? If your kids are old enough you can talk about how much can be spent. Making expectations clear before hand gets you and your children on the same page and can save you from dressing room melt downs.

5. Leave the kids at home.

There are many children who don't care about back to school shopping at all. That is okay. They do not have to go with you. Measure them for sizing, and sit them down for a fun "what do you like" quiz. Take inventory of their favorite colors and styles and save the stress. Keep your receipts so you can return the things they don't like, or that don't fit. Then when you get home, have a fun "try on session".

With three kids to clothe for school, we are always looking for great deals. This year we added a new favorite store to the list, Gordmans. After visiting last week, it is already one of our daughters favorite places to go. Gordmans carries name brand apparel for all ages at up to 60% off. They carry everything! Footwear, fragrances, furniture, clothes, even toys.

On top of that, their stores are fun! Our whole family had a blast. They have a coloring station where younger kids can watch TV while older kids are shopping, and a "grandstand" in the men's department where you can watch sports. Plus, Gordmans wants to save you money and thank you for shopping. Their gRewards loyalty program gives you points for every dollar you spend and a $10 reward for every 200 points you earn.

Remember, when it comes to back to school shopping, it is all about making it a good experience for everyone. The last thing we want is for our kids to look back and have bad memories of being dragged from store to store or being forced to wear things they didn't like. They will never like back to school if that is the case.

Could you use a little extra spending money for back to school? Be sure you enter the sweepstakes for $1000 + $100 to Gordmans. All you have to do is reply to the conversation. Quick and Easy. Good Luck!

Official Rules

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gordmans. The opinions and text are all mine.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gordmans.  The opinions and text are all mine.

Back to School Tips

It is hard to believe that we are getting ready to go back to school. Where did the summer go, and how can we rewind and get it back?

I never feel ready for the hustle and bustle that is about to hit and I also miss the kids when they go back to school. 

Back to school is stressful for our kids also. They worry and wonder too. It is a big adjustment and anything we can do to ease their minds will help.

Here are key things that we can do to make Back to School Better for the whole family.

First, here are 2 things just for ME and YOU.

1. Get YOUR good attitude ready.
If we have a good attitude, so will our children. No scoffs or scowls. No complaints about getting up early, or driving, or packing lunches. Be happy, excited, and talk about all the great things that come with school and learning. This also means keeping our emotions at bay. If your child is going to kindergarten and you are sad, try to keep your tears to private time. Even tears of joy worry children. You don't want your five your old to think they should stay home so you won't cry.

2. Clear OUR schedule the first week of school.
Try to clear your schedule the first week of school so that you are available for your kids. Even if they are not going to a new school, the first week is still stressful. If possible, have a lot of down time after school where you are there to listen if they need to talk. Keep your schedule free from obligations so that you are there to help.

Then...

1. Establish a sleeping and eating schedule.
For the next week, be sure that bed times and wake up times, as well as meal times follow your upcoming school schedule. First, it will keep your kids rested so that the first few days are not too overwhelming. Remember, everything is more stressful when we are tired. And it will start to condition their bodies to the new times. The meal times are really important also. It you have been eating lunch at 11 all summer, but they won't eat until 12:15 when they are at school, their little bodies will be huuuungry. Feed them at the appropriate times so they are adjusted.

2. Turn off the TV (especially in the mornings). 
Instead, have your children color, do puzzles, write stories, play games, read or read to them, etc...This will get their brains working and concentrating again. It will also help their attention spans. In a few short days they are going to have to sit and focus and self motivate. Help them start doing that now.

3. Round up the necessary school supplies.
Not only will you be ready, but kids worry about having what they need. For most kids, waiting until the last minute to pack those supplies makes them worry. Do your best to check off the supply list early this week so that your youngsters don't loose sleep over it. An added bonus...your kids won't keep asking every ten minutes when you are going to go get the school supplies because you will already have them.

4. Attend back to school night...visit the school.
This one is really important. Attend back to school night so your children can meet their teachers, see where they are sitting, and get an overall feel of how things work. While you are there, run through the library, playground, lunch room, meeting places for drop off and pick up and anything else they are curious about. Don't rush, so that your children can ask questions and get answers. They will feel much better if they know what to expect and where to go that first day. 

5. Practice.
At least once, twice if you can, take a practice run. Set the alarms, get up, go through the routine, and drive to school. See how things go and trouble shoot any problems. Maybe you need to move where you put the backpacks, or it takes a little longer to drive to school than you thought. Go through the motions and help your kids understand what has to be done each morning to be on time. If your child is going to ride a bus, practice (drive) the bus route also. Rehearse the drop off and pick up locations, and drive the route so kids know how things are going to work. 

6. Find out who else is in your child's class.
Here in Utah, class lists go up tomorrow. We will be looking to see if our kids know any of their class mates. If they do, great, explain that they already know someone. That will ease their mind. If they don't, and your children are worried, think about contacting a few of the children and maybe getting together at the park so they can meet and make friends. Then, on the first day, when they walk in, they will be surrounded by friends, not strangers.

7. Prepare the house.

Take some time before school starts to get the house ready. Designate a Drop Zone. This is a place for backpacks, coats, school papers, etc... All the things that kids like to drop on the floor right inside the door when they come home from school. Kids are much more likely to help keep things clean and organized if they know where things belong. Having a place for these everyday articles will make school go much smoother. It will make finding everything in the morning much easier and less stressful, and it will keep you from feeling like the new school year has taken over your house. 

A little preparation will go a long ways. Preparing ourselves, our families and our homes will make going Back to School a good experience for everyone. 

Are you ready for your kids to go back to school?

How do you prepare for Back to School?

(We talked about most of these tips last year too!)