Back to school parties!

Let's get this party started!

There are many milestones in our children's lives that we mark with celebration. And there is no better time to celebrate than when your child is taking their first steps into education. Whether you're a stay-at-home mom who's child has been home for the last five years or a mom who works outside the home with a child in daycare, going to school or starting a homeschooling program is going to be a big change in your child's daily life. What better way to get them excited for this new adventure than to have a party centered around starting school.
The parties my kids have attended and enjoyed the most have always had a equal amount of games, crafts and free play. I like to have 1 or 2 crafts and a game to keep the interest of all types of kids, Then let the kids loose from all the structure and have some free play. Whatever activities you plan, make sure to have some extra crafts or games planned in case the kids finish quickly or a craft doesn't work out. Once you have an idea of what you want your party will consist of, it's time to start planning your activities.
There are lots of activities you can do that include school as a theme, anything with apples, books, letters, numbers, pencils, and crayons, will remind you of school. But if you want to make sure your party is Kindergarten themed you'll want to include activities that are specific to your child's and their friends big change. My daughter was going to kindergarten but many of her friends were starting their first year of homeschooling, so I wanted to make sure everyone felt included. I tried to stay away from school bus themes or pictures of classrooms. Keeping your guests in mind will help make your party special. Our party activities included, a book mark craft, a book bag beaded keychain craft, frosting cookies in the shape of their name, ABC order game, book walk and school supply memory game. It may seems like a lot of activites for a room full of 5 and 6 year olds but you'll be amazed at how fast it goes.

 Crafts

Crafts are my daughter's favorite activity at a party and they also give you a cool favor to bring home. For our kindergarten send-off party we had a Bookmark Craft. Using card stock for the bookmark we punched a hole in the top and supplied yarn for each child to add a tassel. We placed the blank cards and precut yarn in a plastic bag for each child and then provided stickers, markers, glitter, and magazine pictures for the kids to decorate their book mark. When they are done you can use masking tape for a laminated effect.

The next craft was a beaded keychain using plastic beads and plastic thread. This is perfect for hanging on the zippers of book bags. These were also measured and tied to the key ring ahead of time and placed in a plastic bag with an assortment of beads. The more prep done ahead of time the smoother your party will go. After the keychains are finished we had the kids hold the keychain tight and think good thoughts of mom or dad or anything that makes them happy. So later if they are going to school outside of the home they can use the keychain as a reminder of home if they get nervous on that first day.

ABC cookies

After the crafts we had a cookie snack made out of ABC cookies spelling our guest names. Baking the cookies the night before and bagging them up for each child made passing out the cookies a quick process.The kids will have fun putting the letters in the right order to spell their name. Place a few bowls of frosting around the table with plastic knives, add a few bottles of sprinkles and let the decorating begin.

 

Let the games begin

During the cookie decorating and snacking we did our first game. I call it School Supply Memory. I placed 4-5 school supply items on a cookie sheet. We used scissors, glue, a pencil, piece of paper, and a crayon. Then walked the tray around the snacking kids and told them to try and remember the items. I waited a minute or two and then brought the tray back with one item missing. We did this few times and the kids did so well I had to add a few more items to make it trickier.
I also wanted a game that would make the kids work together so I came up with the ABC order game. We used a large abc puzzle and passed out a few letters for each child. As a group the kids had to put the ABC's together in order by lining then up in on the ground outside.The best part was when the kids got stuck they all started singing the ABC song together. This can also be done with letter magnets on a cookie sheet for a smaller scaled version.
Ever heard of a cake walk? A book walk is the same thing, only instead of cake our guest take home a book! This works best if everyone brings one or two books from home to donate. This way everyone gets a book that's new to them. To play place letters or numbers on the ground in a circle. Make sure there is enough for each child to stand on one. Ask the kids to walk in a circle while you play music. Stop the music every so often and call out a number or letter on the ground. The child standing on that letter gets a book. Don't forget to ask them to take their letter with them to exchange for a book.
When the organized activities are complete, you might find that the kids need to have some free play. We had enough time left to walk down to the park. But if you don't have a park nearby or the weather doesn't permit you to go outside, letting the kids go to a playroom or bedroom to talk or have some pretend play will allow the kids to use some of that energy they may have been containing during the party. Plus it will give you a moment to clean up a little.

What I learned this time!

Prepping paid off! I was so glad we prepped all the crafts the night before. The morning of the party we put all the craft bags in a brown bag with their names on it. This served as a great place to keep all their finished crafts, unfinished cookies from snack and books from the bookwalk. It also helped to keep track of each child's goodies and made cleanup between each activity go smoother. I also learned that I need to have a backup craft. The kids breezed through the crafts so fast we had almost an hour of free play, which was a little more than I planned for. I also noticed that during the book walk a few kids were getting anxious about winning, next time I will be sure explain that everyone will win a book. Also calling two letters out at a time will speed the game up a little bit if you need it. After the party I asked my daughter what she thought, and she told me she had blast and that she was ready to go to school...tomorrow! She was dissappointed to find out she still a few weeks to go. So maybe planning closer to the begining of school might be better for you. Overall the Kindergarten Send-off party was a success and we created great memories with our friends to mark the big day