Back to School dinner and FHE

Today I'm sharing the Back to School dinner we had 
before starting our new school year.





As I was trying to decide on a theme for our dinner and school year, 
I found this talk by President Uchtdorf.
You should go read it.  It's really really good.
It talks about how Now is the best time to start doing something that we want to do.
Now is the best time to learn a new skill, pick up a good habit (like daily prayer) 
and be our best self.
I thought that was a great theme for the start of a new year!


After finding the talk, I planned out the rest of the decor, place settings and FHE.


All decor always starts with my mantel.


I made some flashcards that I stuck into my bookpage photo holder.  
You can get the flashcards here.



I wrote the message on a chalkboard in my stash.
I picked up the metal ABC's  at Walmart.


I used my Heidi Swapp lightbox and some word strips I purchased at the $1 store.


I took pictures of my kids holding a homemade chalkboard sign.


I bought this frame from Goodwill a long time ago.


For the "chalkboard", I used a permanent chalk pen on black poster board.
Poster board is much easier to use than chalkboard.




I got the idea from Katie on instagram.


I used black and white striped fabric from my stash on the table.
For the centerpiece, I used a clock, some pencils and some rulers.


For each place setting, I used a chipboard letter board as the place mat, 
black and white paper plates, large binder clips holding name strips, 
and a small treat at each place setting.
The most important thing I did is hand write notes to each of my kids.


After dinner we had a discussion about setting goals and the
things we are hoping to accomplish during the school year.



Happy School Year!