Try these 12 activities to make going back to school fun for both you and your little ones.

SAY GOODBYE TO SUMMER VACATION

1. Have your little one record her favorite memories from the summer. Draw pictures together, create a scrapbook or even put together a video of clips from the past couple months.

2. Have one last hurrah before school starts. Stay up past bedtime (not on a school night, of course) or let her pick a special activity like going to the beach or playing at a splash pad.

3. Pancakes, pizza, spaghetti--let your little one select (and help make) dinner on the eve of the first day of school.
Back to school

BACK TO SCHOOL PREP

4. Back to school shopping! Need we say more? Update your little one's wardrobe from head to toe (we recommend these sweet ballet flats for your daughter) and pick up all the school supplies she needs to start the school year off right.
5. Get ready for the first day. Have your little one organize her school supplies, load up her backpack and lay out her clothes for the first day of school.
6. Read some books about going back to school such as Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg and The Exceptionally, Extraordinarily Ordinary First Day of School by Albert Lorenz.
7. Create a morning routine that includes everything from wake up time to breakfast to heading out the door. Make a fun sign and hang it in her room, bathroom or the kitchen.
8. Create a fun space for doing homework and studying. Have your little one help you by selecting a theme for the year and hanging some decorations.
9. Let her play teacher for an afternoon with you as the student. Set up chairs and have her imagine what the first day will be like.
Back to school books

LOOK FORWARD TO A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR

10. Talk about the old friends she is excited to see and all the new friends she will make.
11. Set goals for the year and post them in the homework space.  Goals could include more than just grades--attendance, number of books read, leaving for school on time and not spreading gossip.
12. Talk about all the things she will learn this year. 
Goals for school year