Back to school fun

Well.

It’s almost here. (Sniff.) My boy starts kindergarten (all day!) very soon and I’m trying to deal. (Sob.) On one hand I’m so excited for him, and he is too. I’m also not exactly opposed to our family getting back on a schedule and having some routine to our lives. And then I consider having the whole day to myself…oh. my. Whatever will I do?? Eat bon bons all day? ;)

But I do know that this year will change our lives forever. It’s never going to be like it has been again (unless he comes home and lives with us after he graduates college…hmmm) and it’s going to be a big transition. Although it’s definitely more about me letting go of my “baby” and letting him become a little man than it is about him – he’s ready. (Choke.)

Anyway. Whew. As you can tell I’m kind of all over the place right now and can’t quite figure out how I feel. I’ve seen some adorable back to school ideas lately that are getting me kind of ready – and I thought I’d share a few of them with you!

First up, some supacauuuute gifts for the teacher. I loved both of these as a gift for the first day – one with flowers or one with chocolate dipped Oreos:

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My hubby is a high school teacher, so obviously this wouldn’t be for him. ;) My BFF teaches first grade, and although I know as a teacher the themed “school” gifts can get overwhelming sometimes – as a first day surprise I think this is just too sweet. Love them both!

So many fun ideas in this one – if you do a special breakfast for the kids you could use some of these ideas. Or if your street or neighborhood does a first day celebration you could use some of these too:

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How stinkin’ cute are these “pencils” for the kids in the class on the first day?:

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How about a cupcake apple for the teachers?:

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Or wait to give them on Friday of the first week to congratulate them? ;)

I loved this teacher’s survival kit too – I would add a Starbuck’s gift card to treat themselves after the first day:

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How cute is this for a back to school breakfast?:

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My son looooves Goldfish, so this one really tickled me:

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Of course there’s a ton of printables available out in blogland – I love this simple one from How Does She:

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I wish I did something like that for other pics with the Bub – so often I forget the date of big events. I think I’ll remember and then days or weeks later as I go through pictures it’s just gone, poof, out of my brain.

I also really loved this idea – you could change the little details year to year, like what they want to be when they grow up:

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My son’s future job would be ninja – and I’m guessing that won’t change for the next five years.  He wants to be a ninja that bad. ;)

Wow, so many fun ideas. I love this stuff! They almost have me ready. Almost.

Any advice for this Mama? Did you cry the first day? Do you still? Or do you dance in the streets? ;) When do your kids go back? If you’ve shared back to school traditions on your blog, feel free to share them in the comments!