Paper Chain Countdown- Back to School

I cannot even believe I am typing the words “back to school” right now! I have been basking in my denial that summer is coming to a close long enough. Although summer always ends sooner than I would like, I am excited to see all the growth this next year brings.

Brinley is very excited, and a little nervous, about going to school all day. It will be a huge adjustment for all of us and I’m anticipating some big emotions as we settle into a new routine. I love a classic paper chain countdown to help build excitement for an upcoming event, and the start of the school year is no different.

Here’s what you need

• Paper. You can use plain paper, scrapbook paper, or download the template I designed here.

• Scissors. We have this brand (love the blade covers) and this brand (can’t go wrong with a classic). I also love using my paper cutter for projects that involve a lot of cutting.

• Tape, glue, or a stapler. I prefer the stapler with the kids. The tape always gets twisted, glue gets too sticky when I’m trying to help out more than one person, and the stapler helps with hand strength!

Set up

2-5 minutes

1. Print your template or gather your paper.

2. Have the kids help cut the strips of paper if they are old enough. My 3 year old is still working on cutting skills and hasn’t mastered straight lines yet, so for this activity I decided to help her since we wanted it to make a functional chain at the end. My 5 year old took a bit of time, but was able to cut the strips herself. Depending on the day and what else we have on the agenda, I might pre-cut the strips or use my paper cutter to speed things along.

Clean up

1 minute

1. Recycle the paper scraps.

Tip: number your days or use the printable template from the blog’s store. I’ve forgotten to number for previous chains and then I end up counting every day because we can’t remember if we are on the correct link.

After we cut the paper, I let the kids decide if they wanted to use tape or the stapler. (Glue was not an option for us today!) They both loved the stapler, so I took turns helping them hold the ends of the paper in place.

We made two separate chains because Brinley and Vaila start school on different days. They both excitedly tear a link off in the morning before breakfast every day and love talking about the first day.

Kids do not have the ability to grasp time quite as firmly as adults do, so having the paper chain gives some clarity and concrete meaning when I say “2 more weeks”. Vaila usually thinks she is going to school tomorrow…every day. This gives us an opportunity to walk over to the paper chain and look at how many links are left.

After our chains were assembled, I used these hooks to give each child a place to hang their own. We need to keep them out of reach of a very curious little sister, but still accessible to the older kids. Hanging works well for us in this season.

This has been a highlight each day in our house as we start gathering school supplies and reading books about school. My kids do well with a lot of preparation, so I lean into that. I’ll have another back-to-school specific post soon, so check back next week if you have kids headed to the classroom this year.

Reminder that the store will be updated with more products in the upcoming days and weeks. The template shown here is available now and there is a discount code in the blog post from yesterday!

I’m hoping we can finish out the summer with a few more fun activities away from the house as a family. I know we will be spending as much time as possible outdoors before the cooler temperatures hit. Sending you calm and relaxation as you wrap up your summer.

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