Celebrate Summer’s End and Back to School

Summer’s winding down.  For many of us, it’s time to savor the last of summer’s freedom and look ahead to school days. Celebrate summer’s end and back to school!

I saw a cute article with some great ideas for helping the family remember the best of summer days. You might find some new end-of-summer traditions. Here are some I especially liked.

Didn’t-get-to-it collection

In case you ran out of summer days before you ran out of things you wanted to do, capture those ideas for the future. Family members can write wished-for activities that didn’t come to pass on sticky notes and store them in a journal. Or write on cardstock or craft sticks and fill a jar or crock with them. In the fall, winter and spring, choose an activity and make that wish come true! (Water skiing in January may not be an option. But maybe snowboarding could be!)

Movie night with ice cream

It’s still summer, so make movie night special by creating an outdoor movie theater with a strung-up screen and mobile phone projector. Of course this calls for an ice cream sundae bar, with toppings and mix-ins galore!

Replay your favorite day

Book of Memories

Don’t let the memories fade! Have family members write down tales of summer fun and add photos. Copy and bind in a notebook, or create a digital book online.   You could also gather family videos and compile into one hilarious movie. Don’t forget the narration! Another clever idea from the article was to paint images or decoupage prints of favorite moments on the front of smooth rocks. On the back you can include a special hashtag and request to post on social media. Then hide the rocks around town and see who might find them and post your memory! Too cute!