first grade reads

The new school year is quickly approaching and its going to be a big year for us! 

Cailee is starting a brand new school this year! 

She will be the entering the first grade and is extremely excited!

And also a little nervous, understandably so.

What we have always done with our kids is use stories to help them better understand what is currently going on. Whether its holidays or school related, books are the go to in our home! 

So of course with the start of this month these books will be front and center on Cailee's bookshelf! 

left | middle | right

left | right

The best part of this year is that Cailee will be reading these books to us! 

I seriously hope that her love for books will continue to grow! 

xoxo

Jocelyn

school week { first day of school coloring books }

Two things.

I knew two things leading up to the first day of school.

One...I wanted to make some sort of goodies for the kids to celebrate their first day of school.

Two...Whatever it was needed to be something I could whip up quickly.

I was not completely familiar with the school's policies on treats at this point so I knew any type of food item was out of the question.

So the next best thing was to make a fun little coloring book!

I searched all over Pinterest for ideas and possibly even some free printables. After about an hour of searching and finding nothing I really liked I decided to make my own using Photoshop (its me and you to the very end Photoshop). 

It took me a good 20 minutes to design the coloring book pulling from different free web coloring page images. 

The final product was adorable and completely customized for the kiddos. 

The teacher's classroom theme is cute little monsters, so I definitely wanted to incorporate that in the coloring book. Each page added details like the teacher's name, the school name, what classroom they are in, and all the fun things they will learn and do. 

And if you were wondering they indeed were well received :) 

(insert happy momma dance here)

school week { first day of school }

I need to start off by saying that Cailee absolutely adores school and that first day jitters are way worse for parents. 

The weeks leading up to the first day of school were hard for me. I had moments of pure excitement and then heart wrenching fear. We knew Cailee starting school would be the best thing for her. She loves to learn and especially being around kids her own age. Then my momma brain would think of every worst case scenario and I would start to rethink the whole school thing. 

But August came sooner than I could imagine and next thing I knew I was laying out her uniform for her first day of school. Just like that in a blink of an eye, we were walking out the door heading to school.

Cailee was nothing short of excited while I was sitting in the passenger seat fighting back the tears. You seriously would have thought I was sending her off to college. But I had a game plan you see! I was not going to let myself cry until she was safely inside her school and we were back in the car heading home. HAHA! Ya as you can guess that did not happen. 

The kids were lined up waiting to walk into school and the second they did walk away the ugly cry started. I swear I tried to hold it together but the tears just flowed. As I watched my little one walk away with nothing but excitement and pure joy in her heart all I could do was cry.  Needless to say I was pretty damn embarrassed but another mother walked up to me with arms wide opened reassuring me that I was not the only one feeling that way. Her hug and words were exactly what I need that moment and I will always remember that kind gesture. 

Rest assured I had plenty to do with Charlotte as we waited to pick up sister. Thanks to laundry and reruns of the real housewives pick up time came around in a flash.

And what would you know, while I was at home worried about my kiddo...she was having the time of her life at school.

I couldn't be more excited for her in this new journey of hers.

And now as I write this three weeks into school I can confidently say we made the perfect decision for our child.  

school week

With school in full swing now, I dubbed this week as "school week" on this little blog of mine. This week I will share our first day of school story as well as what my new life as a school mom is like! So join me for school week :)
Now I'll leave you with one of my favorite "for the start of school" purchase! I bought the cutest door hanger for the house from Etsy! 

| image via Etsy |

Mine says "Schools Days" instead of "Back to School" !

P.S. Don't tell the hubby but I may be a little obsessed with door hangers now!