Take Notes on Pencils for Your Child’s School Activities
When my son started kindergarten a few years ago, I vowed to myself every day to paint a cute little picture on his foil-wrapped sandwich. Just something to remind him of home, to let him know what I think of him, to make him smile, or to feel loved.
Heart. Smiley. Dinosaur. Pumpkins, sweet corn and ghosts ahead of Halloween. Snowflakes, Santa hats and candy canes in winter. Car, beach, Mickey Mouse and so on. By March, I was completely out of ideas.
That’s why I love this idea, which author Mary Katherine Backstrom posted on Instagram (originally written by Amanda Cox):
You can write sweet, reassuring notes that your child will see over and over again, every day. A reminder that you are cheering them on without wondering if they will be able to say that you wanted to draw a dog, not a horse. In the middle of the school year, when all the pencils are used up, broken, or lost, you can ask them what their favorite phrases were and write them – plus a few new ones – on the next batch of pencils.
If you know your child will be able to store and use their own pencils, you can personalize your messages. But in some classes, all items are common. You can still do this; another child in your child’s class could probably use the reminder, “You are a star!” or “You are important.” Maybe you can still put in your child’s pencil case a special one with the words “I love you”.
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