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The Back To School Fairy was born out of frustration on how to help my youngest daughter transition to school. The idea was literally thought of in the spur of the moment as a last-ditch effort to help my daughter get over her fear and anxiety about school. Thankfully, this silly idea turned out to be my greatest weapon is battling the back to school blues.
Does any of this sound familiar:
Your little one cries every day at drop off
They are already scared about school starting again
They cling to you as you walk up to drop off
The stress of a new school year is tough on their little brains. They can’t quite handle being away from you for any length of time and the school day feels like foreverrrrrrr. It simply means you are a rockstar Mom! However, you know you need to do something to help them ease into their new routine with as little disruption as possible. The back to school fairy can help you accomplish that without much effort. In fact, this simple family tradition saved me months {yes, MONTHS} of Back To School stress.
Backstory: How The Back To School Fairy Started
WARNING: This is long so if you want to skip to how to introduce the Back to Fairy to your own family I won’t be offended
In our family, our youngest daughter had a hard time transitioning to school. The first year my little love cried every day for a month! One day is was so bad I started hyperventilating on the car ride home. The guilt nearly swallowed me whole. All these questions rushed through my head Should I pull her out of school? Did I rush this decision? Does she really need to be in preschool or should we wait for her to start Kindergarten?” You name it, I thought it. It feels like you are forcing your child to go to a place you know they don’t feel secure which in turn makes you feel like you are being gut-punched every morning. Some days were better than others but she still cried EVERY SINGLE DAY for a month!
My daughter’s teachers could not have been more supportive. We tried every trick in the book but nothing worked. My girl eventually took to school but it took a huge group effort to get her to that place. It was a PROCESS! It was stressful on all us {even IF the teaches said it was fine I KNOW its taxing to have a child cry so hard}. There was a time I went as far as researching Homeschool options because I felt like I was torturing her. I thought she would never adjust to an in person environment.
Do you relate to this back to school scenario? READ ON to hear about how to I solved this problem for GOOD!
Kindergarten – Let’s skip ahead to the following year, Kindergarten. My daughter shined in preschool! It was incredible to see how far she came after such a rough start. My little lady was now ready to take Kindergarten by storm. The first day we drove up to her new school, with her Dad and brother in tow, she practically jumped out of the car! She could not WAIT to meet her teacher and start school.
SING IT WITH ME – HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
We waited with her on line reminding her how proud we were that she was so excited, kissed her forehead and watched her head off on a new adventure
When I tell you that my husband and I bolted out of the schoolyard so fast you would have thought we were at the Olympic Track and Field Trials. Amazing, right?! Well, not quite…
Skip to Day 2 where she cried so hard that I thought she was going to pass out. She did this every single day until H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N.
Thankfully, her teacher had the patience of a saint, I begged for a meeting to discuss how I could get her to transition and at the end of the meeting we joked that she would require a magical spell to get her to love school again. {We were joking but inside my heart was breaking – I was failing my girl BIG TIME}. On the car ride home something CLICKED! My daughter did not need a spell but a bit of magic might be exactly what she needed.
A Little Faith, Trust And Pixie Dust
Introduction Of The Back to School Fairy
The second I got home I went straight to work. First up, a letter from our new found friend, The Back to School Fairy. Feel free to write whatever you want, this is merely a suggestion. Each child is different and each back to school experience is different. All you have to do to personalize it to fit your needs
Hi, I’m Schoolina, The Back To School Fairy. I flew in to help you learn about the magic of my favorite place, school! Here is my super secretive school sparkles that will help you see why I love that place so much! Be careful not to tell anyone (except Mom & Dad, of course!} our secret or the magic will wear off. This magical potion will allow me to fly to school with you so you won’t feel so alone. You won’t be able to see me, but I promise to by your side the whole day. Together we are going to make school the most magical place to be, will you help me? It’s really easy to do. All of you have to do is smile on the way in, listen to the teacher, do your work and before you know it we will be back home with Mom and Dad. Can you help me? If so, I’ll be sure to leave you a special treat tomorrow. My fairy friends tell me you love JoJo Siwa so I bought you some fun new school supplies to use with her designs. Aren’t new school supplies the best? I love them so much. Ok, now we have to rest up because tomorrow we start on our journey to making school magical again for you. Sleep tight. XO, Schoolina.
From the moment my daughter met Schoolina she was in love. School quickly became her favorite place. The Back To School Fairy is the reason my daughter transitions so easily to school now. I wish I thought of this sooner, but instead of dwelling on that, I’m sharing this idea with all of you. I would be ecstatic if this helps one of you conquer the back to school blues with your own kiddos. If you do use this idea please comment below! It would be amazing to start a community of Back To School Fairies.
Before School Starts: How to Use The Back To School Fairy
One tip to make the most of your Back To School Fairy is to have your little one write to the Back To School Fairy before they arrive for the season. At the end of the summer, when the anticipation of back to school is at it’s highest, sit with your little one to write a letter to Schoolina telling her what they are most excited, scared and hopeful for in the new school year? This is a great exercise in getting your children in touch with their emotions. Then have Schoolina senda letter of her own with the direct responses to their statements.
For example:
Child’s Letter
Dear Schoolina,
I can’t wait for you to come back to visit this year, I’m getting very nervous about school starting. One thing I’m excited about is seeing my friends again! I’m scared about having a new teacher and I’m hopeful we get to play outside a lot. See you soon,
Love,
Grace
Schoolina’s Response
Dear Grace,
EEEk! I’m oh so excited for school to be starting again. Do you remember all the fun we had last year {write a few examples of your child’s school accomplishments from the year before}. Please don’t be nervous, I’ll be back again soon to fly with you each day. Oh goodness I can’t wait to see Olivia, Teddy and Anna again! I miss those kids so much. Having a new teacher is great because they are going to teach you so many things. What do you think we will learn this year? I hope we learn to (pick things you know your kid will learn such as numbers -100, how to read, the star spangled banner etc}. You know Grace, I love hearing about your hopes and dreams. Hearing you be so hopeful about the school year makes my wings sparkle from the inside out! I’m sure you will get to go outside a ton this year and that’s my favorite too because I get to stretch my wings. Ok, I must rest up so I can fly to your house soon to start our school year together.
All my love,
Schoolina
RELATED: BACK TO SCHOOL TRADITIONS
Two Nights Before School Start: The Back To School Fairy arrives
In our family, having the fairy arrive two nights before school instead of the night before school is a game-changer. Upon her arrival, she brings a themed book for each kid to read to help them get excited for their first day. The simple thought of reading a book from Schoolina is enough to get my daughter hyped about school. Surely, you understand why two nights ahead is better than one. With her comes a note reminding the children about the fun adventures they are about to have this year and if they go to bed on time the night before school she promises to leave them a back to school treat in their backpacks. Critics will say this is bribery but when I tell you that I was at my wit’s end, considering homeschooling and had nowhere else to turn aside from this fairy its the truth! Schoolina will forever be a part of this family.
The Night Before School
Before bed, we lay out our first day of school outfits and leave the backpacks by our door. As we settle in for bed we pick out one of the book Schoolina leaves for the kids. After we finish we talk about what we are most excited about for the first day of school. We remind our children if they go straight to sleep Schoolina will leave them a treat inside their backpack. By knowing this small detail my daughter goes to bed happily, excited for school and ready to take on the year. Something as simple as a back to school fairy transformed her back to school nerves.
LOOK AT THIS SMILE! That’s the POWER of Schoolina, The Back To School Fairy!!!
The First Day Of School
Everyone gets up excited to see what school supplies Schoolina left for them in their backpack. My daughter rushes to see first and once she sees her bag is filled with goodies her face widens with a gorgeous smile. She gets herself ready and off to school, we go! With the introduction of the back to school fairy my daughter sets off on her new school year – tear-free!! Yes, that’s right no one tear was shed after the introduction of Schoolina. If it can work for me, hopefully it can work for you too! Here’s hoping.
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