It is almost time for the new school year to start. For many of you, it already has. This means brand-new shoes, sharpened pencils, fresh school supplies, and cool book covers. As a kid, I lived for this time of year. Call me crazy, but I was happier in school than with all of that summer time on my hands. So I figure why not celebrate this new beginning? If you are thinking along the same lines and want to celebrate this time of year with your kids, check out a few of the ideas and resources below.

Hand-deliver a fresh apple with a little tag attached that gives the details of the gathering. You could also put the party details on apple- or pencil-shaped cutouts that could be easily mailed.

Make the party room look like a mock classroom, with a chalkboard or white board, a desk, books, and school supplies. Use school colors and decorate with balloons, streamers, and a school banner. Apples on the party table would also be excellent.

Play word and mind games, and hold a gym class. Play bingo, Trivial Pursuit, 20 questions, word search, etc. For gym, play Simon Says, Red Rover, dodge ball, kickball, and Twister. Hold a relay race in which the kids get ready for school by filling their backpack and lunch bag, and then racing to one end and back.

For older kids, you may want to pop in a movie such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—a fun and easy activity for this age group.

For crafts, have the kids make bookmarks and/or book covers.

Food ideas are easy: pack school lunches. Ideas include small sandwiches, string cheese, a pack of goldfish crackers, an apple or a banana, and a little candy bar.

If you are going to hand out goodies, send them back to school in style. Fill paper gift bags with tissue, and add lots of school supplies like pencils, notebooks, erasers, locker mirrors, sticky pads, and gel pens.

--Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs