back to school! this week's summer spotlight!

1 hour ago
8 min read

Monday, August 17, 2026

It’s that time of year!

The air is slightly cooler!

The shadows are longer!

The sunsets appear sooner!

School supplies will soon be sold out!!!

As the current season winds down,

it seems only fitting that our last post in our summer’s series,

This Week’s Summer Spotlight!

turns to Back to School

and the excitement, transitions and new beginnings it brings!

Over the years when the calendar turned to August,

both Laura and Laurie felt that familiar rush…

sadness that our glorious summer was coming to a rapid end

mixed with the excitement that the air smells of a new school year!

We will forever think of any “new year”

beginning in September rather than January!

No “new year” would be complete with our annual trip down memory lane!

The thoughts of past back to school moments always come to mind this time of year!

New outfits, new teachers and new classrooms!

As children ourselves….

Then as brand new teachers…

You gotta love those hair styles!

Followed by years of juggling the start of a new school year as a teacher

with the realities of being “mom” at the same time!

These days, however,

we are looking at each “new year” through a different lens

- not as a classroom teacher or as a parent -

but as a GRAND….

someone who can support our Littles (and their parents)

during this often hectic and chaotic time of year!

We know that many Littles around the country

have already headed back to school or soon will be!

Here in the upper Midwest,

we typically begin a new school year the last week of August

or right after Labor Day.

So, getting ready for Back to School is a big deal right now!

The beginning of a new school year is a BIG deal for any Little

and, as GRANDS, we want to celebrate this special occasion in their lives!

So, today, as we wrap up our summer series and look to the fall,

we’ve rounded up a few thoughts to do just that.

especially in our role as a GRAND!!

Plus, we’re sharing a few of our favorite ways to connect with our Littles…

near or far!

Making Room for GRAND Traditions!

Families are busy creating Back to School family traditions of their own,

and, as Grands, we certainly want to celebrate and respect those traditions!

Therefore, any Back to School traditions we establish as Grands shouldn’t compete or take the place of what happens at home, in terms of time, energy or resources!. Instead, they can be little traditions that belong to the special relationship we share with our Littles.

Maybe it's an annual back-to-school ice cream date, a special family dinner, a special book read together, a letter tucked into a backpack, OR a phone or video call on the first day of school. These small traditions become part of the tapestry of childhood memories without adding another obligation to an already busy family.

Over the years, we’ve shared a lot of fun ways

to celebrate this special time of year!

Below you’ll find 5 of our all-time faves!

#1 - SNEAKY YARD DECOR!

First up, Laurie is sharing a Back to School tradition that FIRST began in the midst of Covid, in the fall of 2020!

As you can probably imagine, kindergarten has always held a special place in my heart! It’s such an important beginning! Our oldest great-niece started kindergarten in 2020 - during the pandemic, and there wasn’t much I could do to celebrate with her. So my husband and I decided to give her a good send off on her first day of school.

I purchased a set of large pinwheel flowers from Amazon and some other fun signs and streamers. The night before school started, we snuck over in the dark and decorated her front yard to surprise her! The next morning we received many pictures of a happy and excited kindergartner, heading off to school knowing she was loved and cherished by many people… including her great aunt and uncle!

Then in 2022 and again in 2023, we repeated our sneaky yard decorating tradition for our next two great-nephews!

There are many decorations you can make yourself out of tagboard and markers. You can also use ribbons or crepe paper to tie in trees or bushes. If you are a Distant Grand, you could enlist the help of the parents to place the decorations in the yard for you!

Our oldest granddaughter (Little D) heads off to kindergarten this year…

Hmmm? Do you think this tradition will continue?

Stay tuned, to find out soon!

#2 - A SPECIAL DELIVERY!

Laurie’s sister, who also lives near her Littles, has her own special way of celebrating the first day of school with them!

My sister has always baked chocolate chip cookies for her own children on the first day of school. She was a working mom and would take a vacation day so she could make cookies and be ready when her Littles got home from school that day! This tradition continued through college! She would bake cookies and send the cookies off with them as they headed back to school.

These days, since my sister is lucky to live fairly close to her Littles, the tradition continues! She always makes it over to their house on the first day of school with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Now that shows a grandma’s love, for sure!

From firsthand experience, I know that there's nothing like

a yummy, gooey cookie waiting for you

at the end of that first BIG day!

Laura loves adding fun stickers to the outside of our care packages!

#3 - CLASS OF 20__!

A few years ago, Laura first shared this fun tradition in our Goodbye School Year, Hello Summer! post.

When your Little begins kindergarten, buy a “Class of 20__” T-shirt in an adult size. Here’s the option I first chose for a special Little in my life - our grand-nephew who started kindergarten three years ago and will graduate in 2036!

NOTE: You can simply search “Class of 20__” T-shirts to find the one you prefer. There are lots of options available!

Each year, either on the first or last day of school (or both), you can take a photo of your Little in his/her T-shirt. With one initial investment, this memento has a lasting impact! Just imagine what a great collage all these photos will make at your Little’s graduation party some day!

Last year, it was time for our grand-niece to get her T-shirt!

What a special photo!

I received it on their first day of second grade and kindergarten!

#4 - A “LET’S GIVE BACK” SCAVENGER HUNT!

Together, with your Littles, take on this meaningful service project by making a donation to a local school of a backpack or two filled with needed supplies. This would be a fun tradition to establish with your Littles each August and it can be a great opportunity for a teachable moment!

As an added touch, before making your donation,

take a moment together to pray for the Little

who will receive the supplies you've purchased!

To add an extra layer of fun to this experience, before you go shopping for the school supplies, create a list of needed items. Add a visual for younger shoppers. Older Littles will love it if you create a scavenger/treasure hunt for them that includes a clue for each item!

Feel free to use this fun checklist Laurie created for her Littles

on a recent shopping trip to Target!

#5 - LIGHTS, CAMERA, FASHION!

Laura has fond memories of the fashion shows she and her brothers would put on each fall for their parents and grandparents - down the runway (the hallway) and narrated by a cassette tape recording we’d made, including mood music, to go with it! Those quick changes were something!

These memories inspired this idea for a back-to-school tradition!

You can easily turn back-to-school clothes shopping into your own

Grand-Little tradition!

To get started, set aside a day to shop together, grab lunch or a special treat, and let your Little have fun choosing a few new outfits. Then, when you get home, turn the living room into your own runway and host your very own Back-to-School Fashion Show! Cue the music, strike a pose, and let your Little model their new looks.

Add a little applause, plenty of silly poses and perhaps even a "fashion photographer" Grand, and you've turned shopping for school clothes into a tradition you’ll all look forward to every year!

Whatever you choose,

please remember that it isn’t meant to replace family traditions

nor does it need to be elaborate or expensive.

Rather, GRAND traditions are meant to add another layer of love and memories

to the experience!

Keep in mind...

It's often the simplest traditions that our Littles remember most!

We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas!!

Please share your comments at the end of this post!

We’ll be back later this week with another post in our ongoing series,

How to Play the GRAND Way!

So far, we've shared our ideas for fun ways to use aluminum foil and spray bottles.

What could our next post focus on? TIme will tell!

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and, while we don't post there regularly,

you'll also find fun content on our Pinterest site, too!

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Back-to-School season is more than fresh supplies and new schedules; it’s a chance to strengthen family bonds and show up for one another in meaningful ways.

We may not be able to walk beside our Littles into their classrooms,

but we can walk beside them in so many other ways.

And perhaps the most powerful way we can support our families these days

- our Littles and our Middles -

is to lift up our prayers on their behalf as they step into this new year!

After all, that could be what being a GRAND is all about — not making the journey for our Littles and Middles, but being there to support them, encourage them and celebrate them along the way!

As we say goodbye to this year’s Summer Spotlight series, we're reminded that while summer may be winding down, the memories we've made, and the moments still ahead, are just beginning.

Here's to a wonderful new school year for all the Littles and their families in our lives

and for all of us GRANDS, too,

who will be cheering them on every step of the way!