Goldilocks and Bryan's Bears {vintage back to school party}

Grace and her preschool classmates are "Bryan's Bears" so I decided a little wordplay was in order. My love for the classics won out and Goldilocks and Bryan's Bears...A Vintage Back-to-School Party was born.This little party started out BIG in my head...inviting the 12 littles in Grace's preschool class for a fun party to celebrate the new school year because life should be celebrated...I think that's going to become my new motto.But our travel plans didn't let that happen (...and I'm all for an impromptu, last minute weekend away!) so we went with Plan B: a small celebration at home to present the little pumpkin with her school supplies and just celebrate the beginning of another fun school year.Don't worry school friends - Mrs. Bryan and I have been talking about this concept all summer and we're putting together something fun for nursery rhyme/classics week in the Fall! Checking things out...Her four-year-old-little-girl-giggles are contagious!We kept the food about as simple as it gets. Chocolate cake + ice cold milk. Two of the little pumpkin's favorite things in the whole wide world.I love making a big fuss of little celebratory moments in my littles' lives so presenting the little pumpkin with her new backpack & napmat was no exception. She was sooooooo excited that her backpack was PINK and "so girly and cute".Armed with her new backpack, she then went on a school supply scavenger hunt throughout our house filling up her cute backpack with all the essentials she will need this upcoming school year. Reading clue #1...her reading has just blossomed this year. We're so proud of you, Grace and amazed at how your reading has just taken off. At the same time, it's bittersweet to see you growing up so fast. *sniff, sniff*ON.THE.HUNT...let the wild rumpus begin!The last clue...my favorite. The scavenger hunt was so much fun for the little pumpkin - we're definitely doing it again next year! I used the cute free printables from Happy Home Fairy - so perfect! If you've never checked out Happy Home Fairy, you're missing out! Check it out!A couple of weeks ago we were talking about school and the little pumpkin told us she wasn't sure she wanted to play with the new kids in her class (6 buddies from last year + 6 new friends). She said, "when they're kind of old friends THEN I'll want to play with them, but I'm going to be shy around them until they're old friends."We took the opportunity to talk about why it's fun to make new friends, why the new kids might be feeling even more nervous than she will be since they don't know anybody, and why it's important to always be kind to everyone and reach out. And so with that inspiration.......our theme for the year became "be kind". I love creating opportunities for the littles to practice kindness. I could go on and on about why I think morals are so important and why I feel character building is probably a parent's second most important job behind teaching your littles all about Jesus and lovin' them with every fiber of your being, but I won't :).....I'll just leave it at "because it does a heart good".So just like last year we filled an extra pack with school supplies to donate to one of the local schools that struggles in this area.I had one last surprise for the little pumpkin...a letter from Twink, the back-to-school fairy! Yes, Twink left Grace a VIP letter and a bottle of Pretty Pink Pumpkin Polish with Jitter Glitter for her little piggies! he he heHere's a close-up if you want to read the poem I *ahem* Twink wrote for the little pumpkin...and no, it doesn't rhyme. 1:30 a.m. the night before is not a good time for rhyming...Most of the grands weren't able to make it due to their work schedule, but Noonie was able to come and she brought Grace some fun school goodies and Hudson some books.Can't wait to celebrate back to school Mother's Day Out with you, Hudson, in a couple of weeks!And just like that, Baby Bear and his family came back from the woods and Baby Bear said, "Who's been sitting in my chair?" "And who's been eating my porridge???"Too BIG, Too little...Just right.And so the story continues...Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear AND "Pumpkinlocks"...Celebrated many more milestones together...And they lived happily ever after. The end.

Resources~
Scavenger Hunt Cards: Happy Home Fairy
School Subway Art: eighteen25
Milk Bottle Chalkboard Labels: Love Party Printable