Back 2 School Footprint Art

The school year is starting here! While it was a bumpy start to begin with, our mornings are becoming more and more organized! We aren’t early risers in this family so besides the first 15 minute fight with trying to wake everyone up, I’d say we are making our way towards successful school adventures.

Sending your kids off to school after a long summer break can be bittersweet. I’ll be the first to admit to mixed emotions – a little bit of jubilation, a fraction of loneliness, a lot more relaxation (you don’t realize how relaxing walking through the grocery store ALONE can be! HA!), and a fair amount of nervousness for your children’s sake. I just want to bottle up every memory of them, every cuddle and laugh we share, because it all happens way too fast. Next thing I know, we are going to be filling out college applications. So while I’ll be enjoying going shopping with my cup of iced coffee through EVERY aisle that I WANT to go through, but once my little ones get off that school bus I am going to soak in as much as I can.

Speaking of school buses and memories…I love documenting these different phases of life. I keep little notes my children write, meaningful projects from school, I have them fill out self-interviews at every birthday, and I have a collection of little hand and footprints from their birth up until now. Those little hands and feet will never be this small again! So as we kicked off this new school year… you guessed it! I had to put together a footprint craft to mark the occasion.

This was a craft for my youngest, but there’s nothing wrong with slapping some paint on those big kid-sized feet, but just know you will just end up with a much larger school bus.

Materials Needed:

• thick, white paper (like acrylic paper, or card stock)
• yellow paint
• paintbrush
• black and red permanent marker

Step 1) Paint that little footsie and plop it down on the bottom portion of your paper.

Step 2) Allow the paint to dry and then add 2 black wheels with your permanent marker (photo 1) and a set of doors and window (photo 2).

Step 3) Add a red hexagon or octagon for the stop sign. I couldn’t draw 8 sides without my shape looking like a red blob, but I am aware that a true stop sign is indeed an octagon! Then, add an additional 4 or 5 black windows down the length of the footprint (photo 3).

Step 4) Add the year and your child’s name, or “1st day of ____” as I did (photo 4).

A final suggestion that is totally optional, but I like to laminate our craft so it will last a while. At least through all of my tears as they are leaving for college, anyway.

You can also check out how we made that name tag pencil to make your collection complete! I hope everyone has a smooth start to the next school year. Remind your children: “You’re off to great places. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!” – Dr. Suess

Find Out More with MyMilitarySavings.com!