Back to School: How to Make a Blessing Backpack for Your Grandchild
How can we encourage our grandchildren as they head back to school? A blessing backpack!
Back to school means new teachers, new classmates, and new material. Perhaps even a new school or a new season. A transition to kindergarten, high school, or even college.
While beginnings offer a fresh start, the unknowns can be scary. Unsettling.
And the expectations? Heavy.
As a grandmother, I treasure the opportunity to pour into my grandkids spiritually. To challenge them to do life with God. All of it. Even going back to school.
I want my grandchildren to start the new school year with the peace only He can give. I’ll let my sweet daughters-in-law shop for the new backpacks, the school supplies, and the next size up in shoes. I’ll come alongside them with a surprise, bonus backpack.
One for each grandkid.
Filled with supplies that encourage them to navigate this school year with God.
Will you join me?
Here are some suggestions for your grandchild’s back to school blessing backpack. Many will sound familiar from our Build a Better Easter Basket post back in spring. Time to restock!
1. Craft a blessing or a letter for the new school year.
And he [Jesus] took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:16 NIV
Biblical blessings carry impact. Back to school is the perfect time to bless your student.
Click here for a previous post on how to craft a biblical blessing. I’ve included a template there. Personalize these blessings or correspondence for each grandchild.
2. Consider Christian jewelry, stickers for their notebooks and folders, or art for their homework space to keep God front and center this school year.
Ancient Israelites kept visual reminders of God and His word. It still works.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your forehead. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:8-9
Amazon has plenty of faith-based stickers and art.
3. Gift an age-appropriate devotional or Bible study.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8
I’ve listed a few options on the handout, but there are a lot to choose from. If you have a favorite, please share in the comments.
4. Provide memory verse cards that you can learn together.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Arm those grandkids with some timely verses.
5. Include a prayer journal, coloring book, or prayer chart.
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3
Journaling is a great discipline whether they are recording their prayers or keeping a track record of how God works in their lives. Amazon stocks them for every age.
6. Shop for colorful pens, pencils, and highlighters. Add sticky notes, index cards, and maybe a planner for teens.
Then the LORD replied, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” Habakkuk 2:2
We retain more when we write things down. Art allows some kids the option to draw and doodle while they pray or think about a Scripture passage.
7. Include stories or literature that point your grandchildren to God.
Then he told them many things in parables, . . . Matthew 13:3
Fiction is a powerful tool, one that Jesus used often. God wired our brains for story, so use His design to your advantage. Check the handout below for recommendations.
8. Activities: Interview your grandchild.
Try interviewing your grandchildren to tease out some potential prayer requests or concerns.
What are they most excited about?
What is their greatest concern?
Is there something in particular they look forward to learning or participating in?
At this stage in life, what do they want to be when they grow up?
Out of the Backpack
Once that first week of school is over, then what?
Snail Mail: Cards, care packages. How can you surprise your grandkids in those moments when the school year feels long?
Homework Hotline: I found this tip from Nana Jill. She recommends a weekly check-in for school updates and homework help.
If you’re local, make sure Grandparent Day is on your calendar.
School swag: If your grandchild is involved in extra-curricular activities, invest in some school swag or check your closet for something in their school colors to show your support. You can dress up for game day even if you’re miles away. Send a video cheer.
Most importantly, after you’ve filled those backpacks, pray. If they are excited about the new school year, celebrate its beginning. If they are anxious, ask about their concerns and follow-up later to see how things are going.
Let’s pray now: Father God, a new school year is a big deal. Go before each child and prepare the way. We pray for the teachers and friends You have chosen for them this year. Help them get to know You in a new way. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Make back to school an adventure with God.
Bonus: My first book, The Mystery of the Missing Falls, launches August 25th. It’s a mystery for ages 7-12 with some covert discipleship. Spiritual content for this first mystery focuses on prayer and hearing God speak. The Kingswell Kid Detective series. Kid-sized mysteries. God-sized truths.
P. S. Please share any of your favorite backpack items or back to school ideas in the comments. Thank you!
Resources for Back to School: How to Make a Blessing Backpack for Your Grandchildren
Scripture to Help Grandparents:
Kingswell Kid Detective series: The Mystery of the Missing Falls Pre-orders available now.
Next week’s post: Discovering Your Grandparent Superpower.
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