Fun Ways for the Family to Count Down to the First Day of School

Even before school starts, kids are counting. Some are counting down the days until back to school with dread. Others are counting down the days with great anticipation. For many kids awaiting back to school time there is a combination of those feelings. Counting down the days until the first day of school can help the whole family get ready and there are many ways to visually and actively count down the days until the first day of school.

Count down the days until the first day of school on a family calendar.

While it seems just so obvious, with all of today's personal techno gadgets, the good old paper hanging family calendar can be over looked. Even if you didn't get one at the beginning of the year, there are many 18-month calendars available at office supply stores that begin in summer just for families like yours that are getting reorganized for the school year.

Let kids physically check off and report the number of days until back to school. This will be good practice for referring to the family calendar every day to keep up with appointments, birthdays, sports, recitals and other events.

Count down the days until the first day of school with a recycled paper chain.

You may have made a paper chain in the past to count down the days until Christmas or a birthday. You really don't have to cut up that new pack of construction paper to make a back to school count down chain. Let kids create paper strips from paper in the recycling bin. Each day kids can remove one link to visually count down the days until the first day of school.

Schools are one of the worst offenders at wasting paper. Starting off the school year with this recycling and reusing project will set a good example for the whole school year.

Count down the days until the first day of school with a pile of back to school books.

Maybe your family reads several times a day or maybe you got out of the habit over the busy summer. Either way, creating a special pile of books to help you count down the days until the first day of school is a win-win idea. Put one book for each day until the start of school in a special pile.

It can be back to school themed books from the library or your kids can choose some of their favorites. When there is just one book left in the pile, your kids will know that tomorrow is the first day of school.

Count down the days until the first day of school with a jar of treats.

It can be fun to count down the days until back to school by having a special small or sugar-free treat each day. You'll need one jar for each child. Let them fill the jar with a treat representing each day until the first day of school.

On the first day of school the last treat can go into your child's lunch box or snack bag.