Parenting Guru: A fancy family feast becomes a new tradition

Every summer I wonder how to help my four kids make a good transition from the relaxed pace of the summer to focusing on a positive and productive school year.

This year we started a new family tradition that seemed to help everyone feel prepared for the change. The night before the new school year started, I set the table with our best china and crystal, cooked everyone's favorite food (homemade pizza!), and decorated with fresh flowers and paper stars.

The kids came home from an afternoon at the park to discover the table set for the feast. We enjoyed toasting each other with juice and (colored) milk while we ate our pizza. When we were done, we took turns writing down a goal for the school year (mom and dad too!) on a paper star. We posted our goals on the refrigerator so everyone can see what each of us hopes to accomplish this coming year.

We were thankful that the china and crystal survived the experience. The kids are still talking about that meal and wondering when we can do something like that again. I learned it only takes a little extra effort to make the kids feel really special and help make a transition seem more exciting than scary.