First Day of School
August 24, 2011
Last year my high school aged son told me that at the bus stop all the kids were poking fun at their mothers. What is it with Moms and taking pictures on the first day of school? they wondered.
When he came home and told me this I laughed. Some things are universal.
I find that it is the perfect opportunity to take photos of my older kids. They are at that age where they are uncomfortable having their picture taken unless they are involved in a sporting event and I am using a zoom lens so they don’t even realize I am taking a photo.
This is my 14 year old son going off to his first year of high school.
My 16 year old, who is a junior this year, really wishes he were driving his car to school instead of heading out to the bus stop. Instead it is in the shop being fixed.
My 15 year old who is now a sophmore in high school. He is happy because he has a friend who drives and she picked him up so he didn’t have to take the bus.
My 12 year old son who is in seventh grade and the only one of my children at the middle school this year. He is waving at his friend who lives across the street and this photo just captures his personality.
The youngest ones who are all happy and excited to be going off to school. Who all love their teachers! And love riding the school bus! And wanted me to hurry up take the pictures so they could get to the bus stop early!! It is not possible for me to use enough explanation points to fully convey their excitement!!!
I also like to take photos on the first day of school that are not the typical stand at the front door with your backpack. I want to remember where we were in our lives. The flow of our mornings.
My oldest son drinking his cup of coffee and playing the guitar while the early morning light begins to shine in the front windows. It isn’t this peaceful or joyful every morning. But this is how I hope I remember it.
The new shoes and backpacks ready for their debut.
The nervous anticipation at the bus stop.
The brand new headband picked out especially for the first day of school. It completely clashed with the rest of her outfit, but not to her.
And finally the arrival of the bus, taking them off to the beginning of this year’s adventure.
Not photographed are the high fives all us mothers gave each other for surviving another long, hot summer. Then we all skipped home, ate ice cream all day, watched hours of tv, and danced naked through the house. Or at least that’s what I told my children mothers do all day.
And possibly my favorite back to school photo this year, and possibly of all time. The after-the-first-day-of-school photo.
Oh the humanity! What a cruel and senseless world to make a child pose for a photo when they have obviously had an exhausting day! Can’t you see that he has already taken off his shoe and was all set to relax. Having your photo taken is the opposite of relaxing! It is stupid!
Yes, I do hope they work on antonyms in school this year.
And now, the fun part. A giveaway!
Are you getting ready to snap your back-to-school photos, seriously, who doesn’t take first day of school photos? Cherokee USA and Cozi want to make that first day even better. Enter the Cherokee USA 1st Day of School Photo Contest and you could win $1,000 in Cherokee clothing and a free smartphone from Cozi.
How great is that?!
To enter just share your favorite photo on the Cherokee fan page on Facebook. The contest runs through September 30, for those of you who have to wait even longer to do your naked house dancing, ice cream eating, television watching. Full contest rules can be found here. It couldn’t be any easier.
There is more! I have a $100 gift card to give away for you to purchase Cherokee clothes from Target for your children. The black t-shirt my daughter is wearing is a Cherokee brand shirt that I purchased last year. It has held its shape and color through more washes than I can count. If you would like to win the $100 Target gift card, leave me a comment telling me about your back to school plans. Do you have any fun traditions? Fun photos you take year after year?
And don’t forget to head over to the Cherokee fan Facebook page. I’d love for one of you to be the $1000 winner!
This post was sponsored by Cherokee and Cozi, but all opinions herein are mine.
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Hm, I homeschool, and year round, so there isn’t really a “first day back” day. But we are starting some new subjects and curriculum, so my first day back will likely involve a lot of planning for ME, and some grumbling for them. And maybe pushups when they push back about learning something new…
August 24th, 2011 at 12:37 pmBut new clothes would definately help!
Our school year started three weeks ago and I didn’t take pictures. It is our first year homeschooling and the thought just didn’t cross my mind. I must have defunct knowledge in some of the universal rules of motherhood….
August 24th, 2011 at 12:43 pmFirst, your kiddos are beautiful. I am sure you will treasure these photos.
We need to start a tradition, but haven’t yet. A coworker has an awesome one. Each Fathers Day she takes a picture of her boys in their father’s work uniform (dress shirt, slacks and tie), so they have a memory of their sons growing “as big as dad”. Hope they don’t grow out of them!
August 24th, 2011 at 12:47 pmWe are only at preschool this year, but I try to remember to snap photos by the front door with their backpacks.
August 24th, 2011 at 12:58 pmOur back to school traditions are very important bc we are an Active Duty Army family! The first day of school can be very scary for my kids, so it’s important that some things stay the same! We always take pictures, we always get a new outfit, and most importantly, I ALWAYS make banana chocolate chip mini muffins for breakfast on the first day of school! It’s a recipe from Family Fun magazine, and I think it was just a coincidence that I made them on the first day of Kindergarten for my oldest, but every year since then I have had to make them. This year was a great one for us, because my 3rd grader got to attend the same school as the previous year, for the first time ever! She went to two different preschools, a different school for K, 1st and 2nd. She was overjoyed to already have friends and know where she was going for the first day this year! It was fantastic!!!
August 24th, 2011 at 1:09 pmHa, my back to school plans are to work in a quiet house without any interruptions. I do medical transcription from home. And yes, we take the front porch back to school photo every year. My youngest 3 girls are in middle school and posed this year with minor complaints. My 25, 19, and 17 year olds have not let me take their back to school photo for years!
August 24th, 2011 at 1:17 pmWe take pictures of the kids walking away down the street. It’s really fun to see how huge the backpacks look on the kindergartners, and how the backpacks “shrink” as the kids get bigger.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:19 pmI home school, so we don’t get to do the “waiting for the bus” anticipation pictures! In fact, I struggle a little every year, trying to figure out how to make the first day at least somewhat exciting every year. I try to make something for breakfast that I don’t usually make, like Orange Julius or Mickey Mouse-head shaped waffles. But, alas, it’s the same teacher and same classmates every year!
August 24th, 2011 at 1:23 pmOh, and I do take pictures of them at breakfast and standing in our school room!
My kids are grown now — would it be weird to drive to college to take pictures of them on the first day? Yes? - but I have photos of them on the front step every day from kindergarten through senior year… I love going back through the years and seeing how they matured (and I aged….). And your kids are so very handsome and beautiful! I tried to convince my son to keep his hair long but he said it was a pain when playing soccer. Dammit, I liked it! do it for your mother!
August 24th, 2011 at 1:58 pmAll of your kids look great! I think it is so funny that you have the older children crouch at the front door! I always take a picture near the front door too but I try to include the plants. My oldest is going off to college tonight. She will be 8 hours away. i can barely keep myself composed. It seems so scary but I know it is the right thing for her. I have loved your blog for years!!!!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:03 pmI love to take a million first day of school pictures. Also, I like to take them on the last day and compare them. How they grow!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:04 pmI always look forward to your first day of school post with pictures. It’s absolutely adorable every year!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:07 pmWe always take a picture of my daughter wearing her backpack on the first day. No big back to school plans. It’s just me and the 2 year old at home now. Sweltering out the rest of this hot Austin summer, enjoying the hardly-any-people-there pool!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:13 pmI am the mom who forgot to take a first day of school photo.(mom of the year material here) I, however, did get a second day of school pic.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:22 pmI did get up and make biscuits and gravy for breakfast and had fruit salsa and cinnamon chips and chocolate chips cookies made before they got home from school.
LOVE your 1st day of school pics - your “kiddos” are all so gorgeous
I will back to school on friday (as the teacher though!) … can’t say that I am looking forward to it, hopefully my students are feeling more enthusiastic about the new year than I am 
August 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pmI will “be” back to school … duh … good thing I teach french
August 24th, 2011 at 2:31 pmAwesome giveaway! My plans this year involve applauding my nephew’s first year of “school” (he’s in pre-k). My own daughter is only 8 months old so while she’s not in school yet, we certainly do our fair share of shopping at Target!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:37 pmWe do a “walking out the door” shot each year, because the school is only a block away. We also do posed shots, but inevitably, the action pic is the only one in which my girls are smiling AND have their eyes open.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:53 pmBummer! This is the first year in nineteen years that I have not had anyone to get ready for that first day of school. Yep - my baby graduated from college in May. Can I qualify for a “get your own apartment already - you’re driving us all nuts” gift card?
August 24th, 2011 at 2:59 pmWe start school tomorrow, we do dress code uniforms so nothing exciting. We take a pic and again at the end of the year in the same spot to see how they have changed.
Every year I say I will get a hot meal on the table for breakfast all year and every year it ends up being a first day tradition
I love your after school photo!
August 24th, 2011 at 3:42 pmWe homeschool, so typically we do a big breakfast and fun day out when all the schools around us are going back in the fall. For the actual first day, the little kids do a scavenger hunt for their school supplies. Nothing too huge, though.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:48 pmI had to laugh reading your descriptions, as my 15 year old daughter was off to the bus stop this morning. SHe has her driver’s license, but her car is basically in the shop also. It has a bearing out in the wheel so she is unable to drive it right now. Hopefully to be fixed before Monday when she has her first job interview.
We always take first day of school pictures, on the front deck, no arguments. There are very few times I get my oldest to willingly let me take pictures and the first day of school is one of those times.
the biggest part of our back to school is that I am picking up the two younger kids along with their friends and taking them out for ice cream right after school. They don’t know this yet, they will find out when I pick them up after school. They should be sufficiently surprised.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:02 pmI love your pics and laughed out loud at the thought of being able to go home after the kids go to school and lay around eating ice cream, or even dancing naked through the house. Unfortunately for me, I work full time, so back to school means back to having to wake the kids up early, fight them for the shower, trying to apply mascara over my sons shoulder while he brushes his teeth, dropping them all off at school-swearing all the way because they have made me late for work…again. Whew. NOT looking forward to it so much! Ha! But, thanks for letting me dream and live vicariously through your blog post today:) Dance on!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:03 pmwe do a neighborhood photo but this year it won’t be the same since my oldest and my neighbors kids still at home will all take the jr high/high school bus. Oh my! So, I guess my youngest ones will just take a school bus pic on their own without any neighborhood friends for the rest of their elementary school years…unless of course we move!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:14 pmI used to take pictures of the kids on the first day of school, now they won’t let me, so instead, the first day of school is the day I make salsa from tomatoes in my garden and call it a day.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:16 pmLove first day of school pictures! My son will be in second grade (starts Sept 1) and he still likes taking an bright shiny apple to his teacher on the first day. We’ll see how long that lasts.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:17 pmWell my little one hasn’t started school yet, but my Husband and I are both in college and we prepare for school each semester by giving each other a big hug and frantically trying to organize our lives before it starts. Our second baby is due Oct 3 and I will be working and going to school AND taking care of a new born plus a three year old. Talk about exciting!!! We could really use a target gift card!!!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:32 pmBack to school plans? We never stopped!(We home school).
August 24th, 2011 at 4:40 pmNo fun traditions, per se, but the children do love the UPS guy! His arrival is almost as anticipated as Santa Claus! New books and curriculum. What could be better!
Though we are throwing a twist in the works this year: we’re moving in about three weeks. Because momma is pregnant, due around Christmas and doesn’t want to move with a newborn. I may be a little crazy, but not quite padded room crazy!
Great pics and good luck to ya’ll for this year!
I love seeing your back-to-school pictures. That picture of your oldest with the coffee and the guitar makes me tear up, for reasons that are too long to explain here, but I can tell you that you are doing a great job. (And me? I need lessons.)
All 4 of my kids will be in the same school this year and I’m having a party in the parking lot to celebrate. With bagels and champagne. My older kids are mortified, but I don’t care. I’ve waited a long time for this!
August 24th, 2011 at 5:06 pmMy favorite back to school plan is to meet up with one or two other moms for a “Freedom Lunch”, freedom from kids! And this year, I had to pay my daughter a dollar just so she would smile for the first day of school picture!
August 24th, 2011 at 5:07 pmMy two boys are not old enough to be in school yet, but one tradition that my mom did that I plan to do with my boys is a note in the lunch box each day for the first week along with a photo each day of something fun we did during the summer.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:08 pmMy kids went back to school 2 weeks ago. Right now my only plans are trying to recover from our crazy summer. I would love to declutter the kids’ rooms. And take a nap. And sew some. And take another nap!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
August 24th, 2011 at 5:12 pmWe do the picture while they hold up fingers showing what grade they are in. Then I carefully lose the picture, as I do with all photography.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:26 pmMiles looks awfully like (12 year old) did when you started blogging.
Hope the school year goes well… ermm good luck
August 24th, 2011 at 5:53 pmI’ve been reading since the Big Yellow House, and even though my own boys grow and change right along with yours, it is so strange to see you have a house full of young men. Gosh.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:29 pmI don’t have any traditions yet, but I hope to take first and last day of school photos each year with the kids in the same outfits to see how they grew!
August 24th, 2011 at 6:36 pmMy youngest is a senior in high school this year,oh the drama. Looking forward to the year Android the fun.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:38 pmWe always have one photo in front of a certain cabinet. It seems to get smaller every year.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:39 pmWe already had our first day as well. I had planned for my son to be excited, like your elementary students were. But he wasn’t. Apparently he’s over being excited about school since he’s not in kindergarten anymore. “Mom, it’s too bad it’s the first day of school for me. No fair, you get to have summer vacation every day!”
August 24th, 2011 at 6:41 pmI love your pics, they show the different personalities of all your kids so well. We don’t have any big plans for back to school this years. The kids start a week from tomorrow and we haven’t started our shopping yet…uh oh!
August 24th, 2011 at 6:51 pmOur kiddos went back to school on the 15th so we’re midway through our second week of school now. I have lofty plans of cleaning out & reorganizing our garage while the children are at school. Of course with a 2 year old who refuses to nap, I don’t have high hopes of my plans actually being accomplished…
August 24th, 2011 at 6:52 pmLOVE that last pic especially!
August 24th, 2011 at 7:00 pmThis year, my twins are in 9th so all 3 will be in high school. It will be strange, I expect. My back to school plans aren’t all that exciting–I will still be working. But I do plan on getting together for a few coffee breaks with friends, which will be easier with the kids in school
My older son started kindergarten today. I made him his favorite breakfast (cinnamon muffins) and he got a schultute (school cone) with some goodies. He also got a new (Boba Fett) backpack and (Darth Vader) water bottle - yes, he loves Star Wars.
August 24th, 2011 at 7:08 pmWe take the traditional photos outside on our deck. This year our oldest looked absolutely thrilled to be going to school. Not. I am sure I can use this photo later in his life for something!
August 24th, 2011 at 7:26 pmSadly, I always miss back-to-school day. I’m a teacher and it is a busy day for me so I am usually out the door before the kids are up. Hubby gets them out the door, and (if he remembers) shoots a picture or two. I’m always there in the late afternoon to hear all about their day, though!
August 24th, 2011 at 7:45 pmI get the “oh the humanity!” attitude for the morning picture before my older son heads off to the school bus. He’s been doing this since 3rd grade. I will be spending the first day of school for my husband and 5th grader by keeping my preschooler out of the way of the maintenance guys as they scrub our bathroom walls and prime and repaint where a glue like substance has seeped through. Then they’ll be working on our kitchen ceiling that leaked. For my preschooler’s first day of school, we’ll be kicking off the day with an ENT appt, and probably scheduling him for surgery to have his adenoids removed. Then I have to find a way to feed him and get him to school on time. Then I get to drive back home and wait for the kids to come home via their respective school transportation so we can go pick my husband up from work on the other side of the county. Oh, and this particular day is also our 11th anniversary. Good times. Good times.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:04 pmThis is my son’s first year of kindergarden, so we are starting a tradition of a photo by the front door (not super creative) this year!
August 24th, 2011 at 8:19 pmEvery year my girls are so excited to go back to school! They are going into 3rd and 4th grade, but school doesn’t start until the Thursday after labor day, so they’ve got AGES and AGES to go still (I am also eagerly counting down the days). Our only tradition is the back to school shopping trip, which they love. This year I succumbed to the awesomeness and in addition to practice shoes, bought my 8 year old Converse high tops that come up to her knees. She’s never been more excited to plan her first day of school outfit.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:46 pmSchool started for us last week. Our back to school day rituals always include me signing “Happy School Day to You” (sung to Happy Birthday) to them in bed, 2 grumpy groggy children waking and whining, followed by chaos for an hour while they eat, dress and moan - a few photos outside in front of the tree - and then the school drop off followed by a trip to Starbucks with a good book. The part I dread most about back to school day is the STACKS AND STACKS OF FORMS TO FILL OUT! One set for each kid! I can’t even imagine the pile of forms for 7 kids…
August 24th, 2011 at 8:52 pmDon’t I wish we had traditions?! Instead, we are making our own first day of school traditions because not only have I finally enrolled my son and daughter in public school (Or, “real school, Hallelujah!” as my 813 year old mother-in-law says) after home schooling since they were babes, but I am dropping them straight into middle school!
I loved home schooling. Well, that’s actually a lie. I loved having my kids home with me, and *not* at school, letting their precious little faces sleep in. Our regimen was an assortment of formal lessons, days off due to rain, sunshine, or wind, or anything stressful or exciting, or if the kids were particularly cute that day or awful that day. Despite this stellar, exemplary system, they are scarily smart, and ready to leave me in the cold. I found the best middle school here in Salem, OR, and schemed to get them in, natch. My daughter, 11, has been ready for the great big world of sub-standard academia for two years. So I took two years off home schooling to contemplate that. I am a genius. And wickedly adept at disguising my laziness. Also slightly in love with them. Finally I had used the “We’re on a break” response more times than that one episode of Friends in syndication. It was time.
First I alerted the school to the arrival of their most important students ever, and then I posted my decision on Facebook with a bi-polar display of crying faces and happy dancing drunk mamas. And then I told their dad, lol. That’s another story, for the “Tales From Being Divorced and Co-habitating For the Kids” blog post.
They wasted no time scheduling hair cuts, picking out clothes, and 37 pairs of Converse for my daughter. Today was orientation. The school is beautiful, and the kids can open their lockers. I know because I have 991 pictures of each locker on my iPhone, as I am home schooling myself in Lemme Lemme lens use. I am mostly sending them so I can take more pictures. I will force them together, in outfits I will fight to help choose, but lose. Then I will take as many as I can before they actually yell. Then I will sneak some in the rear-view mirror, and try to cough to drown out the shutter sound. Finally, I will assert my right to take one in front of the school, and by one I mean seven, and then they will leave me and I will be a proud, crying, probably-not-dancing mama. I think it’s fair to say Glad ‘n Sad will be our well-documented tradition.
August 24th, 2011 at 9:10 pmBack to school means going on a special shopping trip with grandma. She takes each of the kids out on their own to pick out new clothes. We also have a special dinner the night before school starts.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:34 pmI always take before school pics on the first day, but I love the after-school pics. Much more insightful! Think I’ll do it this year!
August 24th, 2011 at 10:39 pmYour children are beautiful.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:47 pmI love your photos. Our back to school traditions consist of the traditional new clothes, new shoes, and a picture in front of the house before school. I have two boys one in 8th and one in 6th. They try to keep up the I am not excited about this attitude, and I like to tease them about how exciting it is.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:56 pmMassive cleaning, new supplies, new goals. Back to school is our second New Year’s.
August 24th, 2011 at 11:10 pmI always take the “at the door” pictures. Our only tradition right now is out to ice cream after the first day!
August 24th, 2011 at 11:12 pmGreat post — your kids are gorgeous and I always love your commentary. Our tradition is that the night before the first day of school (after Labor Day for us!)we go to have a delicious dinner at a neighborhood restaurant — the same one every year — Buddha’s Belly.
Thanks for the opportunity to win the giftcard!
August 25th, 2011 at 1:42 amMy youngest son, a sophomore has already started and has a full week of school days under his belt and one more first day of school pix. Sadly this year is the first time I will not be taking a first day of school pix of my oldest son because he will be AWAY at college. Hold me! I will take a first day of living at the dorm and meeting the new roommate in person pix yhis weekend and will have to be happy with that. Maybe I can bribe his roommate into snapping a phone pix of my son’s first dy of school! Tomorrow I bake!
August 25th, 2011 at 3:02 amThis is our first year at our new house where the kids will ride the bus! Hallelujah! Previously, we had to walk a half mile, which on the first day of school ends up being more like a sprint because they’re so nervous about being late. There’s nothing like running behind your kids trying to get a semi-decent picture of them at 7:30 in the morning. It’s like practice for being paparazzi.
August 25th, 2011 at 8:43 amWell, today is the first day of school. My son, who’s a first-grader, rolled over, turned off his alarm, and went back to sleep. The only thing that got him going was when I told him we were walking with the next-door neighbors. Sigh. It makes me sad that he’s not even a little enthusiastic.
The pictures are pretty funny, though. First-grader bershon and bedhead.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:07 amback to school is split this year. Sam is entering OWTS and they start monday (if the hurricane doesnt delay school opening) and Ernie starts his 2nd year at THS and they start wed. Pictures are taken in the house. I miss the days of taking photos at the bus stop. That is not allowed anymore lol. Having bothe kids in HS is strange but looking forward to all that HS has to offer both of them. I am not however looking forward to the homework and all the grief it brings:) Am looking forward to Football Go Raiders
August 25th, 2011 at 9:15 amWe always do the traditional picture on the front porch with the backpack, ready to head out on a new adventure.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:18 amWhat beautiful kids! It seems like forever ago since we have seen their faces on your blog.
No true back to school plans here. My son started Jr High!!! yesterday. I was so excited to hear about his day. I’m glad he said he enjoyed the day because I had to laugh when he told me about it. He went to the wrong locker (and couldn’t get it open of course) AND he went to the wrong classroom and sat down for 5th period *big laughs*.
Now he just needs to figure out how to finish ALL of his homework in his TWO study halls during the day instead of bringing it home (I talked to the principal during orientation about why he had two study halls. Budget cuts have unfortunately hurt the district. They don’t have any extra curricular courses with the exception of band and choir which my kid has no interest in. You can tell I LOVE the fact that he spends an hour and twenty minutes in study hall. NOT!!).
August 25th, 2011 at 9:22 amGee, I was just fantasizing about enjoying a Dove icecream bar in peace once my daughter goes to school. Guess I’ll have to make sure I’m naked and dancing at the time!
Actually, I hope to get some good solo walking in the woods, I am missing my nature fix.
Don’t know what the 14 year old frets about, looks like he’s getting handsome to me. But then, I’m old enough to pinch his cheek in a grandmotherly fashion while saying so, so maybe it doesn’t count.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:26 amAs I have said before, I think you are a terrific writer.
August 25th, 2011 at 11:30 amI love the first day of school pictures. My kids humor me because they know that I will make them do it anyway. My daughter who is starting her junior year in college, has been kind enough to send me a photo of herself taken with a mirror on her fist day of classes on my phone. Gotta love it. She knows how much it means to me. Family traditions stick.
The picture taken of my oldest daughter’s first day of school shows her in her crisp new uniform, perfect pigtails with big bows and the most adorable gap toothed grin EVER! Standing beside her is her two year old sister sporting the worst case of bedhead EVER and the ugliest, most pitiful crybaby face ever captured on camera. That was 7 years ago, and since then every year we take a picture of the oldest grinning like a maniac and the other 4 copying the “Ugly Face”…it’s our kooky family tradition.
August 25th, 2011 at 11:57 amIt was the first day of kindergarten for my son and 6th grade for my older son. I take a picture on the front porch with them holding up the # of fingers for what grade they are in. Ryan loved school, riding the bus, and can’t wait to go again!
August 25th, 2011 at 12:11 pmWe do first day photos as well, but my favorite tradition is one we started last year. While they are at school I bake a huge cookie cake and write ‘happy 1st day’ in icing - yum!
August 25th, 2011 at 12:44 pmMy 5 dont start back until September 7th, so I will have to wait on the IceCream and Naked house dancing till then.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:47 pmWe like to do a family picture at the bus stop each year. My daughter’s school always starts with a half day (I have no idea.) so I take the day off of work so that I can be there when she gets off the bus. She then gets to choose what we do in the afternoon. Fun!
August 25th, 2011 at 1:53 pmI always have the same back to school plans….I play “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” to the children the morning school starts! This year was different. My husband made me an entire cd of back to school songs. We pulled it out Sunday night, the night before school started and listened…telling the kids it was for all people who were excited for school to start, not just parents. Hmmm…yeah, right. The kids did not appreciate it as much as we did.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:59 pmOur back to school plans (5 days and counting!) consist of taking photos out by our stone wall (we always use the same place so we can compare every year) and then walking to school. We drive most every other day because we’re so late, but I insist on walking those two days. It’s my last chance to hear the kids talk about school and things they can’t wait to learn, kids they can’t wait to see and things they are nervous about. At the end of the year the conversation is all about what we are going to do during the summer. It’s a small thing, but I love it!
August 25th, 2011 at 2:19 pmAnd I totally agree with you on the Cherokee brand from Target. My son has yet to take the knees out of his pants, but he’s certainly tried! Thanks for the giveaway!
Target card? Heck yeah- Monday was the girls’ first day at a new school, and first day of Kindergarten for my baby. ACK. We did a nice pancake breakfast, pictures at the front door, and mommy and daddy walking them to school. No tears from any of us; probably b/c there was a little boy in the Kindergarten class losing his fool mind and having a conniption, he sort of took all the tears in that Cafeteria!
You are So!RIGHT!about!how!exciting!school!is! for the little ones.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:03 pmOur favorite back to school tradition is also taking pictures. We walk to school so we take some in front of the house but my favorite are the ones in front of the school sign. This year there are only two children in the picture, but next year my youngest will be in kinder and so all three will be at that school. Hard to believe!
August 25th, 2011 at 3:39 pmI have always taken photos of each of my 3 kids on their first day. This year we took our oldest to college — had to take the photo a couple days early & pretend it’s his first day!
August 25th, 2011 at 4:18 pmMy tradition is that I forget to take the picture in the hustle and bustle of the morning
Especially sad since this was my son’s first day of high school and my daughter is a senior so it is the first day of the last year they’ll be in school together.
I do try to make them a real breakfast on the first day of school every year. Today was bacon,egg and cheese sandwiches!
August 25th, 2011 at 4:49 pmWe don’t do much for back to school. I take photos of the kids in their school garb in the morning. We pray for the first day, the teacher, etc. And since my kids are going to different schools with different start dates, the one who started school gets to choose dinner on that particular day. (I currently have one in 1st grade, one in preschool, and a newborn). In 2 more years, we’ll have to have a compromise on the back to school celebratory dinner.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:04 pmNo crazy traditions around here … just the standard photo op on the first day of school. We did add a sign last year with the grade/teacher/school year on it so we’ll know when it was taken without having to guess. So far, things have gone pretty well… Open House tonight, so we’ll have to see what the teachers say!
August 25th, 2011 at 5:22 pmi made banana muffins, but none of my 3 kids would eat them. and i took a photo, but it had to be on day 2 because my 7-yr-old son was crying too much about having to go to school (he’s sentimental and i think he was mainly sad about the summer being over) to take a photo. i should have taken one anyway, with him crying, but he would have been even more traumatized…and he loves school now, thankfully!
August 25th, 2011 at 5:40 pmWe also take pics every year on the first day. My husband goes into work late and makes breakfast for everyone (because God knows if I did it it would be expected everyday!). This year I have a ninth grader (first year in high school), 8th grader, 6th grader (first year in elementary) and a 5 month old. Guess we have many more years for pics!
August 25th, 2011 at 5:43 pmMy poor daughter headed back to school on JULY 27th(!!!!) this year. Apparently this new town we live in doesn’t understand that July is still summer and is a stupid time to start school up again. Thankfully she loves her teacher this year (after having the biddy from hell last year who needs to retire ASAP). A new tradition I started this year is going out to eat the night before school starts. This is mostly in my own self interest as it’s usually 112 degrees outside and I don’t feel like heating up the stove or oven, dangit. This time we did Chick-fil-a (woo. hoo.) but I’m thinking next time mommy will choose the restaurant.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:26 pmJust one two-year-old, so no traditions yet…but I love the post-first-day-of-school photo. I’ll have to remember to do that when the time comes!
August 25th, 2011 at 7:04 pmI always take the first day of school picture along with the getting-on-the-bus picture. I also find something that I think they will love for when they get home. Last year I went to the super expensive bakery about 40 minutes away (one way) in order to buy them all super cute cupcakes with animals made out of icing on them. The last day of school I always allow them to invite 2 friends each over for a end of school party. I pick them all up and they play all day on the trampoline, ride bikes, scooter, skateboards and play in the sprinkler. They love it!
August 25th, 2011 at 7:47 pmI always take their pictures the first day of school.this year they were not very pleased to have it taken though. And we have a tradition of we go out to dinner the night before school to wherever they choose and have a nice last meal before the craziness begins.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:47 pmGosh, Chris, where’d all those men come from? They’re just shooting up, all of them. And now I feel like their old aunty Rae.
August 25th, 2011 at 8:19 pmTomorrow marks 1week since my kiddos started back to school. This year was especially hard for me as my youngest two both started school at the same time (kindy & preschool). Every single year since my oldest (now a sophomore) started school I have taken that first thing in the morning, waiting for the bus pic. I used to take pics as they got on the bus too because geesh, that’s just embarrassing mom! But I no longer let my bah-bees ride the bus & drop them off now so no pics of the bus.. lol. I tend to pile everyone together for my annual 1st day back to school pic and then make them pose individually too
August 25th, 2011 at 9:17 pmMy younger two boys start school tomorrow. They go for one whole hour - crazy! They will pose happily on the front step where we always take our pictures. My older boy started his sophomore year on Monday - he posed less than happily, but I got a few!
August 25th, 2011 at 10:23 pmfirst day traditions - try to make sure we all go to sleep early the night before - that alarm is going to sound off so very early in the morning- plan on a healthy breakfast with time to relax and eat it - (that depends on how that early morning alarm business went-) try not to cry as they seem so much older than the year before - pick a treat for myself for the daytime as i wait for them to come home (nap always wins out)
August 26th, 2011 at 6:52 amWe started school back on August 1st, so we’ve been in a routine for a while. I have a 2nd grader and kindergartener this year (as well as a 1 year old), and I was so excited for them to get back. It has been nice being back in a routine. No special tradition beyond the new shoes and new backpacks and pictures.
August 26th, 2011 at 8:14 amAlways pictures of my two girls, separate and together. Then cake after school! (Everything is a celebration with two girls).
August 26th, 2011 at 9:49 amI adore the pics you took of the first day - what beautiful kids! I have one away at school, and one in his second year of middle school whom I did not get a first day picture of…we’ve just never taken them.
I hope to with my toddler who will likely do preschool next year if I decide to send him. 
Our school year plans are to get in shape - do something outdoors EVERY day, get a menu plan as by 5pm I am a puddle of goo, and stay on track with school activities, (scouts/sports and volunteer time) - and spend lots of time with my one that is still at home…which means little computer and having cleaned out our house of stuff…no need to be organizing crap I don’t need or want. HAPPY school year to all your clan - and you!!
August 26th, 2011 at 10:11 amOh yes, lots of pictures of my three boys every first day. They hate it! Thankfully I still have a week and a half, not that I’ll be naked and eating ice cream. I might get fired if I went to work like that
August 26th, 2011 at 10:52 amWell I don’t have kids, but my back to school plans are to change my morning routine and route to avoid the school on my way to work.
August 26th, 2011 at 12:38 pmEvery year my daughter and I go school shopping for clothes,supplies..etc. we eat out and go to the movies also thansk
August 26th, 2011 at 1:29 pmI’m the scatterbrained mom who forgot to take pictures until the 3rd day of school! At least I had pictures of the stitches he was sporting on his lip that day
August 26th, 2011 at 10:01 pmMy back to school plans include spending more money than I can afford, emptying my bank account, & hoping debtors prison no longer exists…viva la gift card!
August 27th, 2011 at 2:03 amplans for 2011: running alongside my 4 year old daughter riding her two wheeler without training wheels, for the first time all the way TO SCHOOL, headlong into hurricane irene aftermath…if school is not cancelled day 1.
August 27th, 2011 at 11:30 pmI love the Target uniforms! We always take the backpack on photos on the front porch.
August 28th, 2011 at 4:58 pmMy kids have been back in school since August 1st. No plans except to survive another year! I did get a picture of them on their first day back. They look less than thrilled.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:10 amMy oldest is starting kindergarten next week so we haven’t started any traditions yet but I probably will do a first day picture of her getting on the bus.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:09 amWell, this year I have a 1:st grader, a 2:nd grader & a 4:th grader. We usually take pictures outside our house before the walk to school. Then pictures all along the way to school. A few more pictures outside of school & then just to be sure, some more pictures of the kids in their classrooms.. At that point they all hate & want me to just go away!
August 29th, 2011 at 8:19 pmThen, to make them happy, I always have the camera ready & take more pictures after they are done with school!
It is always a fun fun day!!
This is only our second back to school and it’s only preschool still for my oldest. Last year I took my pregnant butt and my second son to Panera to celebrate my oldest first day. Then I went home and walked around the house aimlessly since son #2 was sleeping in the car. This year I will be taking #2 and #3 to Panera then racing home to get things done while #2 is in shock that I could send his partner in crime away without him.
August 29th, 2011 at 9:32 pmI take lots of pictures. They are up on the blog right now, in fact. We also have a fun little neighborhood tradition of breakfast at the busstop.
August 31st, 2011 at 5:34 pmWe have only had one first day of school so far and that was last year, my daughter’s first year of preschool. My favorite photo is taken of her back–she looks like a backpack with legs. I’m sure she’ll grow into her big purple bag way too fast.
August 31st, 2011 at 10:58 pmThree of my kids go back to school next week, and two are still home with me. I make my kids take pictures the first day back, but they look like any other day as my kids don’t make any special effort in dressing for the first day of school! The best back to school tradition is a field trip the kids take the first Friday of school to the Rogue River. The older kids stand in a creek and help the younger kids walk across…it’s a rite of passage and moving to witness!
September 1st, 2011 at 12:13 amLoving how you captured their day… and their personalities! That last shot is a hoot and a holler
September 1st, 2011 at 2:31 amBeautiful family, on all levels. It’s nice to see your successes after all of these years. Picturesque, only more groovy.
September 1st, 2011 at 2:44 am