We have arrived at that extraordinary milestone. Our kids were excited, and we needed to think of something to put together as a project. So we decided to share what we have learned, in the hope that it will help you. We propose one book, an artist approach, and three DIY projects for the 100 first days of school
The book
Emily’s first 100 days of School, by Rosemary Wells (New York, 1943). The classic author, well known for her Max and Ruby series, takes us through the exciting experience of a little rabbit girl starting in her school life.
On the first day of school, she leaves her mama's arms. “I’m too excited to cry,” she says. (We’re pretty sure that mama’s the one that eventually cries, though). ;)
The book is a celebration of school life and discoveries: the classroom, the teacher, new friends… The story goes along through the numbers, from 1 to 100, and it allows both parents and children to read a different story every day. Emily and her schoolmates start a secret collection of objects and add one little piece for each day of school. In the end, every friend reveals the 100 things they have collected, and Emily has her secret 100 too.
The artistic approach
As a mom and an artist, Gabriella (our founder) found that the First 100 days of school are an excellent opportunity to get involved with our kids in an art project: “Art projects are perfect to develop a creative idea, have fun in the process, and get a wonderful result that would make you and your children very proud”, she says. Among the many good ideas, we found around the Internet, we have selected a few that we think that capture the artistic spirit.
Toilet paper tube collection
This is so easy and practical that was our first choice (Gabriella did it with her son, Luca, this year). The tubes are simple to accumulate, and you can ask your friends to contribute (literally everyone has this at home). Once collected, you can make several different things with them (paint them as buildings, characters, spaceships, etc.). We painted them with neon colors to give them an abstract look. The result was so delightful that now that the project is over we’re having problems getting rid of them :)
Nulla dies sine linea
We know Pliny the Elder famous quote is more often related to writing, but it applies to this project too. Starting the first day of school, your kid will draw a line on a surface (we recommend a big but easy to transport support, such as a piece of cardboard or even canvas that you could later transform into an art piece and hang on a wall). Children can use whatever they like (markers, paint, crayons, etc.) and you can agree on a limited color palette or play with total freedom. The important thing is to complete that line every single day. The result is just fantastic, as you can see in the pic that Harry took for us from his own experience. (Thanks a lot to Katharine, his mom, for sharing it with us).
Sketchbook
Let’s draw, draw, draw! Most kids love drawing, and they’ll do it anyway. Having a notebook where they can make a little piece about their day at school, it’s not only a straightforward way to collect treasures from their first 100 days but also memories. If you want to take this a little further, you can ask them to tell you something about that particular day, and you can write it down below the drawing. This will turn into a beautiful journal about that unique experience, that you both can keep and revisit later.
