Bolling With 5: Every Little Thing Is A BIG Deal!

"Every little thing is a BIG deal"... pun intended and pun not intended. I can't take credit for the slogan, (as it Target's back-to-school- slogan), but for those who know me, they know the slogan pretty much describes the type of person I am when celebrating something. Every little thing is a BIG deal to me, especially when it comes to my children, wrapping gifts, planning a party, baking, cooking, organizing, and/or cleaning. Details, details, details!!!! Did I mention attention to detail is SOOOO important? LOL!

When I considered ALL three of my children going back-to-school, I wanted to make it special for them. You only go to kindergarten once, or at least I hope, and it's certianly not everyday that you are sending a set twins to kindergarten, so to me, showing those little kids that they were a BIG deal was important.

I knew the first day of school would be INSANELY hectic. Getting 3 kids ready instead of 1, rising early, when they've been able to sleep in, getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, combing hair, clearing dishes, and running to the bus stop would be no easy task. So, how could we celebrate? I decided to decorate the house after the kids went bed, on Saturday night, and we celebrated Sunday morning before church. PERFECT idea! The kids had plenty of time to enjoy everything.

I hope you enjoy the photos of my detailed, school scene/party!!!! I can see why kids enjoy playing school! School supplies are colorful and fun to use, unless of course you are writing a thesis paper!

I'll try to be a little detailed when explaining SOME of my details, but feel free to contact me if you have more questions, if you choose to mock this set-up! You can also double click on the photo album below to see ALL of the photos I took!!!

Alphabet Floral Arrangement

Magnetic Alphabet Letters - Target $$$ section

Vase - Dollar Tree

Flowers - Dollar Tree

Make your counter tops, table, or teacher's desk adorable with the above flower arrangement. All for a total of $4.00. Directions are simple: place letters in vase and arrange flowers. I purchased two packs of magnetic letters, but I wish I had bought 3.

Printables:

This year's family motto for our public schooled kids is as follows: "I am NOT ashamed of God aka THE GOSPEL!" I found this notebook at Lifeway Christian Bookstore and it gave me the perfect idea to make that our theme.

We do a family devotional, in the morning, with the kids. Our prayer is that this devotional gets their minds and hearts heading in the right direction. I have also had discussions with the kids about being an example, by behaving the way Jesus expects us to behave, so that their peers can know what it means to follow Jesus. I reminded them to pray, before they eat lunch, not only so God is shown gratitude for what they are about to eat, but also so their friends see that they are different, and ultimately they can be examples.

To display these printables, I used clipboards...since teachers use clipboards. Frames would have looked better, but clipboards were much more school like!

Just a few other details to mention:

1. Scrabble pieces: I borrowed the game Scrabble, from my friend Allison, to use as a decoration. I spelled out the kids' names and used them as "place settings". This way they new exactly where to sit.

Dollar Tree, Dollar Tree, Dollar Tree: I bought cups, plates, and BLACK porcelein bowls at the dollar tree to help create the classy and classic look of a school atmosphere.

The pendants were also purchased at the Dollar Tree, in the school supply section! The pendants do NOT come with the sticks. I used wooden skewers and inserted the pendants into the kids' gift buckets.

So what' s in the gift bucket? I really didn't go overboard. I just wanted to celebrate with them by showering them with some small things.

Crayola Tissues!

Gift cards:

Lilah- Claire's

Jax - Gamestop

Ty - Itunes

Smarties: Because that's what they are!

BIG Mistakes eraser.

Glow sticks!

Crayola Chapstick!

12" worth of raindbow colored gumballs!

And Lilah received some new charms for her "Charm It" bracelet.

PBJ charm!

An anchor - Jesus is OUR anchor!

Each child received a notebook that helps to share the good news of Jesus Christ!!!

Lilah's

Jax's (Ty's is the "I am NOT ashamed of God!")

And this reallllly cool find from Ollie's. It's a large pencil that houses sidewalk chalk, this way you can draw, with chalk, in a more simpler/clearner way. No more chalk messes. This pencil has a real sidewalk chalk ERASER!!! LOVE IT! It also came with a pencil sharpener for sidewalk chalk. ALL FOR $3.99

The Night Before Kindergarten, book! Our new book for the twins' kindergarten experience.

My favorite TWO finds for this entire set up were:

1. Scrapbook paper that looks like looseleaf. I used this paper as the placemats at each seat.

2. Apples: FAKE ONES!!! At any other store these would be $4.95 each OR MORE. Dollar Tree baby!!!!!!

I am very pleased with how EVERY detail turned out. The only sad part is that I barely captured the kids excitement and the photos I did capture were not good ones!!