Transition back to school with a schoolhouse visit

The kids may be oblivious, but you, mama, you see all the signs of back to school coming – store shelves bursting with bright new markers and crayons, slim boxes of yellow pencils, the latest colors in notebook covers, and clean, sweet-smelling pink rubber erasers!

This year, I have a kindergartener in the house! And homeschooling doesn’t make me feel any less like time is passing by way too swiftly! It’s going to be hard to leave summer behind, so we’re planning a slow ease into the school year with lots of fun activities!

We did one of our transition back to school activities a little early, because I also have some sweet new Gymboree back to school styles to show you and I wanted to get some fun photos with the kids! And I did!!

An exciting transition back to school with a field trip!

Last year in our preschool reading, we enjoyed a book called Then and Now, which showed various scenes from two time periods. One scene was an one room schoolhouse next to a more modern classroom. The boys loved comparing the two scenes, and my older one even picked up on the fact that “we” don’t go to either kind of school because we homeschool! Smart boy!

For our transition back to school activity, we took a trip back in time in person! In my old hometown, there’s an historic one-room schoolhouse called Old Center Schoolhouse (District 1). Built sometime during the 1800’s, it’s been restored and is full of vintage furniture and activities for kids. (FYI, in Connecticut, old schoolhouses are open on the last Sunday of the month for viewing!).

We talked about how kids a hundred or so years ago might have dressed, and how they had to walk to school, perhaps after doing farm chores. The boys thought I had gone to school here! Ha! I’m not THAT old!

All the details about the Old Center Schoolhouse mesmerized the boys: the metal lunch bucket (what did they even put in those!?), school bell, old maps, and the communal watering pail.

Ringing the schoolbell, sitting at charming wooden desks, drawing on slates, and staring at old maps and photos… the boys peered wide-eyed into schooldays of yesteryear.

Visiting a schoolhouse (new or old) can be a fun transition activity in the weeks leading up to the school year. If you don’t have an historic building, how about where you went to school? Or to the school they’ll be going to this coming fall (perhaps they’ll meet a teacher!)?

Transition back to school with exciting outfits from Gymboree!

Look at my sweet soon-to-be-kindergartener. I. can’t. even!!

For our trip, I dressed our boys up in their back to school outfits from Gymboree. The green and blue theme is seasonless, I think, yet the woodsy, camping themes remind us of summer fun! Plaid shirts require little ironing, and match with so many pants colors, so I just love them!

Pictured here from Gymboree:
Size 5T – Bootcut jeans, striped hooded henley, graphic tee, plaid shirt – I love the layered looks you can create with a hooded tee, graphic tee, and dress shirts. I can create at least 3 different looks with these items!
Size 3T – Lined pull on pants, graphic tee, plaid shirt

Donate arts & crafts supplies to help kids create this school year!

Guess what my boys gravitated to immediately in our one-room schoolhouse visit? The slates and chalk, of course! Children have an innate need to create and be hands-on with their learning.

As much as we’re having fun picking out first day outfits and gathering new supplies, other families struggle to pay for basic school needs like crayons, markers, and paint.

Gymboree is known for imaginative and colorful clothing collections. In fact, without COLOR, they just wouldn’t be Gymboree! Gymboree also knows that imagination inspires learning, and kids need basic supplies to be able to create and learn in the classroom.

That’s why this year Gymboree is raising money to fulfill arts and crafts requests made by teachers on DonorsChoose.org. Their goal is to fulfill at least one coloring supply request in every county in which there is a Gymboree retail location.

Readers, you can donate in your Gymboree store or outlet, or donate online here.