Back-to-School Memories: Stories Parents and Children Can Share

Back-to-school season is often filled with new backpacks, school supplies, schedules, and first-day photos. But it can also be a wonderful opportunity for something less tangible and more lasting: family storytelling.

Children are often surprised to learn that their parents once worried about the first day of school, had a favorite teacher, sat next to a class clown, disliked a certain school lunch, or looked forward to a favorite subject. Sharing these school memories can create meaningful parent child conversations and help children see their parents in a new way.

Parents might tell a child about the teacher who believed in them, the field trip they never forgot, the time they were nervous about speaking in front of the class, or the funniest thing that happened in the cafeteria. Even small memories can become important family stories.

Back-to-school season is also a perfect time to create new traditions. A few simple ideas include:

• Have a special first-day breakfast and let your child choose the menu.
• Take a funny back-to-school photo in addition to the traditional one.
• Ask everyone in the family to share one favorite school memory.
• Create a “first week of school” page where your child writes or draws something funny, surprising, or exciting that happened.
• Let your child choose one new family tradition that you repeat every year.

Parents can also move beyond the familiar question, “How was school?” Try asking, “What made you laugh today?” “What surprised you?” “Who did you talk to?” or “If today were a story, what would you call it?”

For younger children especially, these questions can turn ordinary experiences into opportunities for imagination and connection.

Every school year creates new memories. Some will be big. Others may seem insignificant at the time. Years later, however, those simple moments can become the stories families tell again and again.

At Growing With Stories LLC, we believe stories are everywhere. Sometimes they are found in books. Sometimes they begin with a parent saying, “When I was your age…”