Starting School Traditions...

This week is a milestone in our home. Its one I've been dreading for a while. This Wednesday, our little Ava will be heading through the school gates, kitted out in her little uniform and spending her morning with strangers at Nursery School. Five mornings a week. Three hours a day. It doesn't sound like a lot, but for us its huge. Away from me. Away from home. Away from the little life that we've created.

She is over-the-moon excited.

I am not.

But I realise that however much I try and claw on to these precious days I have left, good parenting is all about learning how to let go. Preparing your child for the next stage, and being willing to step back. She is so very ready for this. I may not be, but its not me that matters here.

She is ready for this new adventure. And so I am mustering up the courage to let her take this step, and I'm biting back all those "I don't want you to go" comments, and I'm gearing us up to celebrate this exciting new stage with her...

And, as always (I love traditions!), I wanted to establish some little "Back to School" traditions that would be ours and would make that transition every year something to celebrate, and not something to feel sad about!

And just in case any of you are also sending off little ones, or simply like any excuse for a celebration, I thought I'd share it here, so you can feel free to steal! Most of these ideas have been taken from somewhere else anyway!

Schultuete
This is a German tradition that I absolutely love, and is going to be part of our Starting School traditions. A cone filled up with little treats, stationary, bits and bobs needed for school and of course a few sweeties thrown in. The German tradition is a huge cone when the children start school for the first time, I'm thinking something smaller every year just before the September term kicks off... I'm sure there'll be a post on Ava's Schultuete (pronounced Shool-toota) later this week!

Photo courtesy of www.butterzart.com

The Photo
It's the photo, isn't it? The one we've all got of us standing in our uniform, immaculately presented for that first day of school? I've seen some really cute ideas of school photos, and I've been pinning away to my hearts content, so watch this space!

Photos courtesy of (from left to right) www.thesuburbanmom.com, www.justimagine-ddoc.com, www.pagingfunmoms.com

Handprints
A few years ago, I saw this idea on Pinterest and happily pinned it away, thinking that as my bundled up little firstborn lay in my arms, it would be a long time before I would have need of it, and yet here I am! We've already taken action on this one, and I took Ava's handprint yesterday and wrote down her name and the date. The original craft here is actually nothing to do with starting school, but I like the idea of seeing the change every year, and so the plan is to collect a handprint every year and watch those little hands grow!

Photos courtesy of crissycrafts.blogspot.com

Back to School Feast
Any excuse for a party, hey? Just a little family gathering, complete with fun hats and a celebration of the start of a new "year"... I have no idea what this will look like yet, but I have 48 hours to get a plan into action!

Photo courtesy of nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

 So there you have it, some little traditions that I intend to get ready for us as a little family this year, and on into the future... but I'd LOVE to know the answer to this question...

What traditions do you have for the start of the new school year??

Please leave a comment below :) I'm always up for trying new ideas!