First day of school: what goes in the school bag?
A school cone is simply part of the first day of school. Find out here what you can put in your child’s school bag. We have also put together helpful tips for you on how best to store the contents in the school cone so that the school cone doesn’t break straight away.
School cone on the first day of school
Since the 19th century it has been customary in Germany to give school children a school cone on the first day of school. It used to be traditionally filled with sweets, dried fruit, nuts and other sweets. Nowadays, parents also pack small gifts in their school bags to make their big day even better. The anticipation of the gifts mitigates even the worst excitement before school starts. The school cone is usually unpacked at home after the first day of school.
The school cone is often made in kindergarten together with the other preschool children, but you can also find ready-made bags to buy in stationery stores or on the Internet. You also have the opportunity to make your own individual school cone for your child at home. You can find creative tips, suggestions and handicraft instructions in our article “10 tips for making a school cone” .
Ideas for filling the school cone
The school cone is traditionally filled with sweets or small toys, but useful gifts that your child needs for school are also suitable. The following things are particularly suitable for filling:
- letter cookies
- Lunch box and drinking bottle for the break snack
- Umbrella, wallet or backpack to match the knapsack
- T-shirt or sports shorts for physical education classes
- Hair clips and hair ties for girls
- Lucky charms, like this pretty metal guardian angel for the first day of school by ART & emotions,advertisementor stuffed animal
- Lanyard with your own front door key
- handicrafts or special pens
- radio play
- Voucher for a joint excursion
- Skipping rope,advertisementRubber twist or ball to play with during the long break
- Friends book or poetry album
- Flashlight and magnifying glass for little hobby explorers
- board game
- Puzzle book , such as the learning fun puzzle book “The Little Dragon Coconut – First Writing” (found on Amazon)advertisement
- Books for beginning readers – our recommendation: “Enchanting stories for first-time readers. Ponies, Fairies and Princesses” from the “Leserabe” seriesadvertisement
- Candies, chocolate bars or other loosely packed sweets
In our article “Sugar cone: creative ideas for filling” you will find further suggestions and tips on how to make your child happy. Discover great photo gifts for school enrollment at smartphoto.advertisement
Pack the school bag correctly
If you fill your child’s school cone, you should proceed with a system in order to optimally distribute the gifts. These tips will help you when packing the school bag:
- Fill the tip of the school cone: You should fill it out very carefully so that the tip does not bend over so quickly. Something sturdy and pointed, like an umbrella or a large pencil, works well to stuff the tip of the school cone with. You can also use a pointed bag filled with sweets, such as candies, roasted almonds, or other treats your child likes.
- Stow away heavy gifts: So that the weight is well distributed and your child does not have any problems carrying it, particularly heavy gifts should be stowed as far down as possible. Because when heavy things are on top, it is more difficult to balance the school cone in your arm without it tipping over to the ground. In addition, sensitive, fragile things are not crushed by the heavy things.
- Fill gaps: You should stuff the gaps well so that the contents of the school cone don’t get mixed up again. Colorful crepe paper, newspaper or the sweet alternative are suitable for this: loose candies or other sweets.
- Make the surprise bigger: To make unwrapping even more exciting for your child, you can also wrap the presents individually in wrapping paper. This also saves you a lot of filling material to stuff the school cone. Especially great gifts shouldn’t be the first thing to appear, but should be a bit long in coming; that increases the tension.
- Not too full: Your child must still be able to carry the school cone. When packing, make sure you don’t pack too much, otherwise it will be too heavy and tear like an overfilled shopping bag. In addition, the school cone is easier to tie if you leave some space at the top.
- Close carefully: Finally, when all the presents have found their place, you still have to carefully close the school cone. There is usually a layer of crepe paper attached to the edge at the top, which you can carefully tie together with a large bow. To prevent the crepe paper from tearing, you can reinforce it with clear tape on the inside. Also make sure that the contents do not stick out or spill over, because the crepe paper is not very stable.
If it rains on your child’s first day of school, you can protect the school cone from getting wet with a large, transparent rubbish bag so that the paper or glue doesn’t soften and the school cone falls apart.