5 Tips to help Make the 1st Day Back to School the Best Day Ever! (including a craft printable, photo props, lunch box love notes, and more.)
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Seattle’s Best Coffee. All opinions are 100% mine.
Oh my gosh, I just can’t believe it, another summer has come and gone and it is time for the kids to go back to school!
Back to school…
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A phrase that brings panic to many, excitement for others, and anxiety for even more. Whether you are a rushed parent trying to finish off all of the needed back to school shopping or you are simply trying to calm your nervous children, most of us have some kind of stress happening during back to school time. (Like why does every elementary school grade require a different color folder (with brads and pocket no less) for every subject? And WHY OH WHY can the stores never have enough of these folders to go around!!!)
Thankfully though, with some good planning, we can actually make back to school time fun for parents and kids.
To make sure the morning of our first day back to school goes smoothly, I find it helpful to wake up extra early to avoid that stressed, morning-rush feeling. I have my own routine to get a peaceful start to my day and to help me get going in the morning, the first thing I do is pop a K-cup® into my Keurig and start off with a steamy hot cup of coffee!
If you love your coffee like I do, this is the most essential part of the day. I very much enjoy my first cup of coffee in silence. It’s my form of meditation, lol.
I know I’m not the only Mom who wants to make the first day of school, the best day of school and I’ve got 5 great tips to share to make it the best day for both parents and kids.
Check out this Best Day List, provided by Seattle’s Best Coffee® plus a few more ideas below for tips to make that first day, the best day!
5 Ways to make the 1st Day Back to School the Best Day Ever!
1 . Get Crafty.
The night before the big day, sit down with the kids and create these darling Apple Crafts as a fun way to welcome the teacher back to school. This tutorial will show you how to create an adorable paper box to house a special teacher gift from the kiddos.
The little apple gift boxes are fairly easy to make. just use red construction paper and a bit of green for the leaf! I do recommend a practice run with plain paper and be sure to use something flat to make the creases nice and sharp. (Like the edge of a pen or pencil.)
2. Make a Special Breakfast.
The first day is alway a busy morning, but do your best to sit down with the kids and enjoy a special breakfast of everyone’s favorite foods on the first day of school. (You can even prepare the breakfast the night before and just reheat in the morning to save time.) This little bit of time spent together can help ease them of some of their first day jitters.
3. Best Day Q&A
Print out this Best Day Q&A and have the kids fill it the first half in the morning, during breakfast and the second half after school out while they are eating their after school snack. This is a great way to hear all about their day without feeling like you are pulling teeth because let’s face it, it’s not always easy to get kids to talk.
4. Lunch Box Love Notes
When you are preparing lunches for the day ahead, be sure to slip a few Lunch Box Love Notes into your kids’ lunchboxes. Fun little reminders that they “Rule” or to “Eat up and get strong” can go far toward putting a smile on their face in the middle of their big day. (similar lunch box love notes here)
Share these printable lunch box love notes by tweeting with the click to tweet button below!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Print these fun Lunch Box Love Notes to help make the 1st Day Back to School the Best Day Ever!” quote=”Print these fun Lunch Box Love Notes to help make the 1st Day Back to School the Best Day Ever!”]
5. First Day of School Pictures
Don’t forget to make time to snap a couple of 1st day of school pictures. It’s always so fun to compare how much they grow from the first day to last day of each year. Here is a cute 1st Day of school signs you can print for great shots in a flash.
Send them off with a smile and don’t worry, they are going to be fine. I’m sure you remember what the first day of school was like, they will be fine just like you were. 
Good luck! Here’s to hoping you and your kids have the best First Day of School yet!
Now it’s your turn, what are your best 1st day of school tips? Share in the comments below.
Heather Johnson says
Coffee for mom would make my first day of school better! We homeschool and started back full time on Monday of this week.
robin rue says
I am loving all of your tips. I always make a big breakfast for the first day of school and it’s something that my boys look forward to every year.
valmg @ Mom Knows It All says
Fun first and last day of school pics are so popular right now. The lunchbox notes are cute if you’re packing lunch, a nice way to connect with your child.
Jaime says
My son starts Kindergarten in less than two weeks. We’ll definitely be taking pictures, and focusing on a great breakfast before he is off to school. I love the Q&A idea, oh and the lunchbox notes! So cute!
Neely Moldovan says
I have loved seattles best for a while. The coffee is delicious and so price friendly. Big hit in our house!!
Liz Mays says
I like these ideas! We go through lots of coffee too. We’ll have to give Seattle’s Best K-Cups a shot!
Shelley R Zurek says
The first day of school photos are a must. I always took everyone separate but I like how you took them together. I also never thought about preparing myself like you did but a great idea with the special coffee for the teacher and yourself.
Crystal says
Those are such fun ideas to make the first day of school extra special. My kids wouldn’t let me even take pictures last year because they were so nervous about starting a new school. Hoping to make this year extra amazing.