This post is sponsored by the Goldfish® Brand, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
With Back to School just around the corner, I have pulled together some of the best ideas for 1st day of School photos, DIY notebooks and binders as well as some fabulous homework stations and after school snacks! Everything you need to set yourself up for an amazing school year!
Graduation Year Shirt and First Day of School Pictures
This darling graduation year shirt is the perfect 1st day of school tradition. It lets you see how much your child has grown from year to year by how they fill out the shirt. The shirt I made for my daughter was a large t-shirt with her graduation year, 2027 painted on the front. It is a simple and fun DIY made by cutting out the graduation year from freezer paper, ironing it onto the from of the shirt and then using a foam brush to dab paint on the year. You can find detailed instructions here.
DIY Notebooks



Flower Notebook
This cute and flowery notebook is a darling way to add some flair to your science or math notebook. It will also help you find it easy in your locker because it will be different from all of the other books! Find the full tutorial here.
Notebook Covers
Decorating your notebook not only adds some personality to a boring notebook but it helps you know which notebook to grab for which class. I have created some fun and colorful printables to slip into the front of each of your notebooks to add a pop of color.
These brown covers are modeled after traditional notebooks for a fun take on your current notebooks. Download these covers here.
These Geometric covers focus on fun bright colors for each of your subjects. You can download these funky covers here.
You can’t go wrong with Chevron. You can download these zig-zag covers here.
This smaller Chevron print is perfect for someone who wants a little more zig-zag but not quite all the way Chevron. You can download these covers here.
Pencil Boxes/Pouches
Easily add a touch of gold to a pencil pouch for classes this fall. You can personalize with flowers, names or pretty much anything else that strikes your fancy. Find the full tutorial here.
Perfect for fans of sparkles and glitter, this pencil case is full of both. Find the full tutorial here.
These cute game piece boxes personalize your pencil box with your name and personality! Find the full tutorial here.
Fun Lunch Ideas
If you are anything like me, you are worried that your child isn’t eating their lunch when they are at school. These fun and creative ideas will help make them want to eat their lunch!
Red, White and Blue lunch- This red, white and blue lunch is full of fun things to dip in yogurt and is rounded out with fruits and veggies.
Snowflake lunch- Who wouldn’t love a quesadilla cut into a snowflake?
Flower Lunch- With a flower PB and J and toadstool cheese sticks, this lunch is sure to be gobbled up.
Bookmarks
This darling bookmark made from a book page is the perfect way for your child to mark their place in all of their after school reading. Find the full tutorial here.
Photo Bookmarks- There will be no doubt whose bookmark this is! Find the full tutorial here.
Homework Stations
Nothing makes homework easier than being prepared with a homework station, here are three fantastic stations to help your kids get straight to their homework when they get home.
Can Homework Station- This homework station is probably the easiest to pull together and is perfect if you have a designated place for homework to be done.
Spinning Homework Center- This homework station is perfect if you will have multiple children working on homework at the same time. It is so easy for them to rotate the station and get the supplies they need. Find the full tutorial here.
Portable Homework Station- The perfect homework station if you don’t have a designated place for homework, this station easily travels where you need it to go. Find the full tutorial here.
After School Snacks
When it comes to after school snacks, there is one snack that is always high on my list. Goldfish® Crackers. After my kids spend all day at school, they need a good, wholesome snack that will help them get through homework and we almost always choose Goldfish. Cheddar Goldfish Crackers are always baked with real cheese and the colors come from plant sources, such as annatto extracted from the reddish seeds of the Achiote Tree.
Baked with Whole Grain Cheddar Goldfish have 12 g of whole grain per serving. Goldfish Crackers have no Artificial Flavors or Preservatives, so they are the perfect snack for your kids to munch on while they do their homework or after school reading. My kids love to do their math homework with Goldfish, using them too add and subtract. We call it Goldfish math in our house and it makes homework so much more fun. You get to eat the math problem when you are done. What other homework can say that?
I love that Goldfish Crackers are prepared with so much care and good ingredients. I put a lot of effort into making sure my kids are prepared for homework and after school and I love that they do too!
What are you doing to get ready for school to start?
Look at all that stationery and the snacks I am in love and would love to have these fo school
Oh goodness, these are all such lovely ideas. I especially love the shirt one and taking a picture each year to see how your child has grown. I have to try that one with my son 🙂
I’m a teacher and I really don’t want to think about back to school (LOL), but these are cute ideas. I wish I had done the shirt with my son, but he’s turning 15 on Wednesday so it’s too late. LOVE that idea.
I can’t believe it is almost that time of year again. I don’t think I’m ready for school to start. There’s too many things I still want to do with my kiddos. I like all your DIY stuff here and kiss me some good ideas to get done before school starts.
These are all such cute back to school ideas. It’s hard to believe we are already thinking about going back to school! Summer just started!!
How cute is all of this? I love it. The back to school time is rough for me, but snowflake quesadillas would make it so much better for me.
And we love Goldfish all the time.
I work at a school, so the summer is flying by. Less than one month before all the students are back in the building!
I can not believe how fast summer is flying by. I am slowly getting ready for back to school. I will have to make a few of these notebooks. I am in love with the graduation year shirt. it is a fantastic idea.
These are great back to school ideas! I love that monster notebook, you make going back to school seem much more fun.
The different notebook covers are so cute and creative. Those would have been so much fun as a kid. I think my favorite are the buckets used as pen, marker, and pencil holders. They are way adorable, and I need those for my desk at work!
I absolutely love the shirt idea! It’s too late for my oldest but I definitely want to do this with my youngest now.
I don’t have small children anymore, but this is such cute lunch ideas! I will send this post over to my cousin whose kids are all below 9 years old and all of school age.
These are such cute first day of school photo ideas. I can’t believe how quickly summer goes by each year.
These are all really great ideas, need to keep posts like this for my little one, time flies so fast.
Oh my gosh, that Monster notebook is just about the cutest thing ever! I want to make one for myself! These are all such fun DIY back to school ideas!
I love the Monster Notebook! Right out of Harry Potter. Not sure the kids would make the connection but they’d love it all the same.
I almost came apart over those darling cheese mice – but I think those photo bookmarks take the cake! No mistaking who they belong to, either!
I am loving all of the DIY back to school project. The Can Tin Homework station is very cute.