School Days

Oh it is that time again!  Backpacks and lunch boxes are reappearing as the first day of school approaches.  And in nearly every store you enter you see mothers and children shopping for back to school necessities.
It seems like just a minute ago that was me shopping for my three girls as the first day of school approached.  There is something so exciting about new shoes and clothes and freshly sharpened pencils and new notebooks with zipper pouches to hold those pencils and pens and rulers.  It is like a great big fresh new start as our young ones go off to school to a new classroom and new teachers, carrying with them the thrill and promise that they will learn more and do more than the year before.

When our children are young we think we will surely remember so easily each milestone and accomplishment.  The truth is with time they begin to run together in our minds, especially if we have more than one child or grandchild to keep track of.  Living in a digital age has made things a bit simpler in that so many of us have cameras on our phones that help us capture an image of those special moments.  But unless we organize them well, over time, we look at an image and ask ourselves, “Now, let’s see, was that from Johnnie’s second or third grade year?”

I have shoe boxes full of photos from when my girls were young.  But unfortunately that is where most of them have stayed, in shoe boxes.  I think I might have done a better job of keeping it all straight if there had been such a thing as Shutterfly or Snapfish or even Costco.  What a great way to remember each school year for your child by taking photos of those special days or accomplishments or even snapping pictures of their artwork and then creating a book come next June filled with special moments and momentos from that year.

Your children aren’t the only ones who get a fresh start with the new school year. Now is the perfect time to start that book for your child or grandchild as this school year begins  To head it all up we’ve come across a set of signs for you to print at home and then have your children hold them up on the first day of school marking what school grade they are about to start.
  
We are including the printable set of signs from a very fun website called How Does She.

I started this last year with my two oldest grandchildren Jeremy, starting 2nd Grade and Sadie, beginning Kindergarten. We can continue this tradition now each year for each of our grandchildren.  I am fortunate to have grandchildren that live close to me and daughters that encourage my involvement at the children’s schools, so I was able to be there to capture the photos of their first day of school…..what a privilege and a joy!  Use these and enjoy the memories they mark for years to come.

That is what your Two Chums always hope to bring more of to each of you….more love…more joy….and more abundant living!