Back to School Signs

It's that time again!

For us in Cali, summer is ending and parents/teachers are getting ready for school to start back up.

Every year I make my First Day of School Signs for my kiddos. I created these as a great way for me to stop time a bit and to not forget my kids in their current stage of life. I love this sign because I enjoy looking back and remembering my kids at a certain age. I keep them every year and we pull them out at the beginning and end of the school year and compare. My kids even love looking back and see how their interests have changed (or stayed the same!). You'd be amazed at how much kids can change in just 10 short months!

I mean, just check these side by side first/last day comparisons from this past school year!

I even have ones from YEARS ago that we love looking at. They were soooo little.

Look at my Isaac from his last day of 6th grade!!! He had such a baby face! That year, we used this sign that was more detailed. Either way, the kiddos always say, "I can't believe that I used to like....." or "OH! I remember when I was soooo into...."

What I love about these signs is that all the fonts are embedded. That means you DO NOT HAVE TO DOWNLOAD ANY FONTS (ain't nobody got time for that)!! Just type it right in and VOILA! The sign is done!

I also have a printer friendly version in white.

I get them printed at Staples because it always comes out so vibrant!

I get mine printed on regular size paper (8.5" x 11").  Here are some examples of others that have printed the sign in a different size.

If you're interested in these signs, you can grab them here (click on the pic):

I know that this says "Last Day of School", but if you'd like a first day one like this in my store, let me know! :)

If you get the First and Last Day Sign Bundle, you can save a couple of dollars!

If you don't have time to make one, don't worry! I got you covered! I can do it for you for just a few dollars more! :)

I know that you will find these as a great keepsake as you cherish them year after year! I think I will put them together and make a little booklet out of them and give them to my children when they graduate high school.

Hope you that you enjoy the beginning of your school year!

My New Life and an Editable First Day of School Sign!

Hi Friends.

This next year I am starting a new chapter of my life. Ever since my kids reached the age where they began going to school, life kept getting busier and busier. Now that they are a bit older (ages 10,8,5) life is just CRAZY; sports, church, dinners on the run, taking kids to different practices, homework, projects, AHHHH!!!! I could not keep up! Last summer, my husband and I both agreed that we could not go on living like that. We did not like running on the hamster wheel. We wanted needed more family time. My husband works different hours than a normal "9 to 5" job so his day off are Fridays. My kids go to school on Fridays. See the problem? We had to make a change. We LOVE my husband's job so that wasn't changing. I LOVE teaching, so that wasn't changing either. We knew we wanted to kids to be home on Fridays so there was only one option. Change the way schooling looked. After 14 years of teaching in the classroom, I am taking a leave of absence to teach my kids...at home!

Yes... HOMESCHOOL!

I will be homeschooling my two boys (10,8) and my little one will be starting kinder at a school right up the street from our house. I felt that I needed to send her to kinder because seriously, I would not do kindergarten justice. I feel like I could not do all that learning through play and art projects well enough to give her a great experience.  Kinder teachers out there... YOU.ARE.AMAZING!!

Homeschool.   Ahhhhh.....I can hear the comments now. Don't worry, my husband (and I at times) felt the same way. Here are some concerns that ran through our minds and our answers to them that calmed our hearts.

Will your kids be "weird or awkward"? 
Well.. I'm weird and can be awkward and times....so yes. My kids will be "weird" and possibly awkward. :)  In all seriousness though, I think that the parents play a big part in if the kids come out weird or awkward. Our goal is "NORMAL" and hopefully "AWESOME!"  Ha!

Will they have enough socialization?
Oh friend, yes! Long gone are the days where there are no support for homeschooling mamas. We are doing a hybrid program where I drop them off a "school" once a week (Praise JESUS!) where I just signed them up for elective courses.  We will also continue camping with friends, being involved in club and city sports, church,  serving our community, and many more opportunities that we will now able to take advantage of.

Will they be up to standard academically?
Of course! My goal for my kids' lives have always been to first, love Jesus and love others, and to do things with excellence...whether on the field or off, doing chores, schoolwork, whatever! As I mentioned before, I just signed them up for classes that included STEM science, computers, Spanish, and Art and Drawing. I will be educating my kids classically (We are doing Classical Conversations).....which from what I hear, is pretty rigorous. This particular curriculum includes music theory, latin, history, and science (they will be dissecting this year). Because I am going through a charter school, my kids are also going to be taking the state test.

How can you be with your kids ALL.DAY.LONG?
I'm not sure. I'm sure that there will be days that I will be crying in the corner, rocking myself to self soothe. I'm sure the drop off program once a week will help.


Editable Back to School Sign

Since we are all getting ready for the beginning of the school year I have a sign that I created for my kids last year. I just updated them for myself and thought that you guys may want an EDITABLE copy for less than a latte! I think they turned out adorable!!  If school already started for  your kiddos, no worries. Just put this together, catch them before school one day, and make ask your kids to stand still so you can snap a quick shot.... AND no one will EVER know that it wasn't the first day of school. Shhhh.. I won't tell either. We mamas (and daddys) have to stick together here.

Your secret is safe with me. :)

After you purchase it, you will need to download some fonts if you want yours to look like mine. You can download them for free from Kevin and Amanda Fonts.  Here is a list of fonts I used. WATCH OUT though! I can spend FOREVER downloading EVERY.SINGLE.FONT on Kevin and Amanda Fonts and not remember the project that I went there to do.

UPDATE: Although Kevin and Amanda Fonts have adorable fonts, I've heard you cannot find these fonts there anymore...BUT they are on Teachers Pay Teachers. Search the font by name and download for FREE.


Here are the fonts you will need:

This resource comes with this page so no need to write all this down right now. I've also included ALL the links for the fonts!

You have different options as to how you want them printed.

* If you want them on a regular 8.5x11 paper (picture below), just print it as you normally do.

*** This is an old picture. I've since revised and updated the sign to what you see above. :)

* If you want them poster size (picture below with my boys), you will have to go into your printing options. DISCLAIMER! There was some weird box thing going on around my apple clipart last year and I didn't have time to change it since I didn't notice it until it was too late. I fixed it and just used a different and cuter apple. So you will NOT have the weird dark square around the apple. My daughter (pictured above) has the new version with the new apple. :)

To get the poster size, all you have to do is change the setting on your printing options. I have a PC so these are directions for my computer. I'm thinking a Mac is not much different as far as the printing goes.

1. Go to your print page. Click Print Properties.

2.Go to the tab that says "Finishing".

3. When you get to the finishing tab, go to the drop down menu that says "Pages per sheet". I click 2x2. This will give you 4 sheets, which as you can see from the picture of my kids, is PLENTY big! You will have to put the sheets together. I print them on cardstock and attach them with packaging tape (scotch tape will also work) on the back. You can also laminate the pages FIRST then connect them with tape.

You can also get the bundle and compare First and Last Day pictures with the same sign.

Hope you enjoy this resource! Have a great year Friends! 

Blessings,

Angela Linzay