Back-to-School Fairy makes a vist!

Well, I'm proud to say I did it! I survived the first week of school! It has gotten easier day-by-day, but I'm still not all the way there yet.

As a control freak, it's been hard for me not knowing what Zavion is doing all two and a half hours he's at school. I was used to knowing every part of his every day, and know I have to ask him what he did, what he learned, who he played with. And, I don't know if it's just a kid thing, but he's not so forthcoming with the information! He says he doesn't remember or doesn't know things, but then a few hours later or the next day he'll casually mention something about school that I hadn't heard yet. Ack...it's driving me bonkers! Maybe I'll get used to it, or maybe he'll get better at 'remembering' but for now, it's one of my biggest annoyances.

My one saving grace is that we live across from the school, so I at least feel better being physically closer to him than if he was somewhere else.

Oh yea, and I can watch him on the playground from the living room or bedroom window (I just need to find the binoculars now to get a better view).

Thanks to the hubby for sneakily taking this while I was trying to find which one was Zavion on the playground. ;o)

But, really, I wanted to share with you some fun stuff I did before school started, to get my boy even more excited for everything school...

I had seen this idea about the Back to School Fairy and thought it sounded fun! Since this is the beginning of many years of school for us (Zavion then Avalee) I thought it would be a great time to introduce new traditions.

There are several other blogs out there that have also done this, and after looking through a few ideas, I had an idea of how I wanted to do it. Obviously there are so many different ways you can do this, but this what I did...

I decided on a single visit from the fairy a couple days before school.

{I had heard of some doing multiple visits the week leading up to school, but I didn't want to set an expectation for Zavion, and I thought the one visit would be more special.}

I gathered some fun stuff for him, being careful to include learning things as well as just fun things. Also, I tried keeping it budget-friendly, getting most items from the dollar section at Target or using sales/coupons. I also decided to include something for Avalee, since it really wouldn't be fair to exclude her.

Everything was put into a large brown paper bag (from the grocery store) and I paper clipped a note from the fairy onto the front.



I rang the doorbell, then quickly came back in through the garage, and asked Zavion if he could answer the door.

He was very excited and completely surprised to find the package. The look on his face was just priceless!

Included in the bag:

A puzzle about the Earth's core

Math bingo game

Pencil case

Two packages of pencils

A football eraser

Paint and paintbrushes

A DVD (the most expensive item, but something he really, really wanted)

A Phineas and Ferb joke book (he loves this show!)

Goldfish crackers (back-to-school snack)

Giftcard ($5) to DQ (he always asks to go there)

And, a number puzzle for Avalee.

Attached was this letter:

Dear Zavion,

I know that you're starting Kindergarten in a couple days, and I wanted to introduce myself to you!

You see, I am your back-to-school fairy. I know you probably haven't heard of us back-to-school fairies before (I know we aren't as popular as the tooth fairy!), but we are out there, and take our jobs very seriously.

I've had the chance to observe you over the past little while, to get an idea of who you are and what you need from me. What I've seen from you makes me very proud to be your back-to-school fairy.

You are kind, compassionate and loving. The way you take care of your sister, involve her in everything, share with her and love her makes me oh-so happy! I also love how you help out your mom, and take care of her, especially when your dad was on his trip.

And, your love of learning is something that impresses me very much! I've heard some of the interesting questions you ask your mom and dad, and have seen how much you love studying your math book. You are a special boy and are going to have a great time in school!

So, I have included these gifts to celebrate this new and exciting part of your life! I know how excited you are to start school and I'm sure excited to see what you can do!

Since I know how much you love to learn, I included some flashcards and fun math bingo (I heard you also really like to play bingo) game. I also thought you might need some extra-fun supplies to do your new homework with, so I put in some cool pencils, erasers and your own pencil sharpener! And, for fun, I thought you might like to read this joke book (after you do your homework, of course)! I put in some after-school snacks, and since I know how much you love s'mores, I thought you might enjoy these! And, last but not least, I put in a gift card for Dairy Queen for you. I thought, you could go for lunch sometime or even for an after-school treat.

Zavion, I am so excited to be part of this new wonderful experience with you! I will pop by from time-to-time to check on you and see how you're doing in school.

And, like I tell all of my kids; go to bed on time every night (sleep is very important for learning!), mind your teacher (and parents!), do your homework and have fun!

Oh, and remember to hang up your backpack everyday (Mom shouldn't have to do that for you!)!

With Love,

Miss Back-To-School Fairy

I was so happy with how well this went, and I think it helped me more than him, haha!

He also got a brand new bunk bed, so he is very happy here with all his new loot sitting on his new bed! :o)


As we were going upstairs that night, Zavion said, “I think I'd like to write a Thank You note to the Back-to-School Fairy.” Colin and I just looked at each other and smiled, and of course told Zavion that that would be a very nice thing to do. He's such a wonderful guy!

The next day he wrote a note and drew a picture, then added some things to a paper bag to be 'delivered' to the BTS Fairy. So sweet!

I also plan to have some random visits from the BTS Fairy over the school year. There might be just some little notes to check in on him or maybe even a little gift here and there. :o)