Our children have been gifted with incredible teachers at every level of education. From infant daycare, to Montessori preschool, to public elementary school, we have found wise, talented teachers happy to partner with us in educating our kids. Each has shaped their lives in ways that are already visible, but whose full impact we might not know for years. Grateful, grateful, grateful.
Naturally, I wanted to find a way to keep these teachers close over the years, and that’s how we found our way to the graduation book tradition. You’re probably already familiar with it – parents choose a picture book and ask their children’s teachers to write a note in it each year, kind of like a yearbook. As a words gal, I love the idea of capturing memories and hopes for the future from these dear ones. June’s book now has several years of notes penned inside, and Shep’s has been broken in by his beloved preschool director. They’re both already on the short list of items I’d save in a fire.
While this tradition isn’t a new idea, it’s become a beloved one in our family, and so I thought I’d share a bit about it today!
How to organize a teacher picture book signing tradition
Though this tradition requires a bit of sustained effort over many years (your child’s entire K-12 education!), it’s really an easy lift: once you’ve chosen a book (see below!), you simply have to produce it at the right time each year for the teacher to sign – and, perhaps more challenging, keep it safe all the months in between. (We keep ours in our children’s memory boxes.)
Here’s the email I send to our kids’ teachers in late May:
Hi [teacher name]!
I hope you’re enjoying these last few days with your students! I will be sending in a picture book soon that I’m hoping you (and [assistant’s name], if she’d like!) would be willing to sign for our girl! I’m sure you’re very familiar with the tradition, but the idea is that you’d both choose any page and write her an encouraging note (no need to return it the same day – anytime before the end of the year!). We’ll then pass the book on to her teachers next year and beyond. (We do plan to let her read it along the way instead of waiting until graduation!)
She has enjoyed being with you both so, so much this year, and I know it will mean the world! Thank you in advance!!
Emily
Once receiving confirmation, I tuck the book in her backpack inside a manilla envelope. We keep it close until the end of the school year, then let the kids read the notes at our end-of-school-year/beginning-of-summer celebration. (I know some parents keep the tradition a secret until senior year, but I think it’s meaningful to be buoyed by these special teacher’s words along the way!)
14 Great Graduation Book Ideas
When looking for a graduation picture book, the key is to combine a meaningful message with illustrations that leave enough white space for writing notes. This is surprisingly tricky to find! Here are the two books we’ve used for our older kids, and a few others that are worth a look:
— The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be by Joanna Gaines | This is June’s book! I wouldn’t say it’s the absolute best story, but it’s sweet, the illustrations are lovely, and it has plenty of room for writing.
— What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada | Shep’s book! The black-and-white illustrations work wonderfully for adding colorfully-penned notes, and the message is timeless.
— Miss Rumphius | In terms of messaging, this would be my hands-down choice – but alas, I didn’t think it had enough room for notes. Worth considering, though!
— Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss | A classic! The sales of this one must be bananas in May.
— A World Wonder by Laura Wifler | Though I haven’t chosen a book yet for Annie, this is on my short list! We love this story of a girl with big dreams on a journey to discover what makes life truly meaningful.
— Journey by Aaron Becker | This is a visually-stunning wordless picture book – perfect for adding your own words of wisdom over the years!
— The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Martin | This seems to be a very popular option for graduation book gifts. I don’t care for her illustration style as much as some of these others, but this is a great pick with plenty of white space on the page.
— All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon | This simple, profound Caldecott Honor book follows a circle of family and friends over the course of a day. The breathy, windswept illustrations leave plenty of margin for notes!
— Because by Mo Williams | We have and love this picture book about the chain reaction one decision can make, which begins and ends (and begins?) with a life-changing musical performance. Check it out in person, though – the (beautiful!) illustrations take up a lot of the space on each page.
— The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson | The vibrant illustrations in this one are a marvel, but I don’t know that they leave quite enough room on the page for notes! Either way, the message is lovely and this is a book my kids enjoyed reading.
— Wherever You Go by Pat Zietlow Miller | This one seems a bit calculated to be an alternative to the almost-trite Oh the Places You’ll Go, but I think it succeeds! The verse is easy, the illustrations are whimsical and packed with detail, and it has plenty of “off you go into the world!” verve.
— The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein | Sob. This unforgettable story of love and empathy is a timeless pick. Shel’s spare, black-and-white illustrations leave plenty of room for colorful penned notes.
— Why Not?by Kobi Yamada | Honestly, this one seems designed to be used as a graduation book rather than as an actual picture book for preschoolers, so let’s give it its moment! :) The beautiful illustrations and encouraging text are an invitation to embrace big possibilities.
— The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth | “When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?” These questions are asked and answered in this picture book based on a fable by Leo Tolstoy. Simple and direct text paired with whimsical watercolors make for a satisfying package.
I’d love to hear: does your family do the graduation book tradition? If so, what books do you use? I’d love to hear!
In March, I mentioned a trio of unwelcome disruptions to our family’s typically-stable life. Interestingly, all three arenas have experienced movement of some sort just one week into May. Not resolution, necessarily, not total healing, but movement — and as my physical therapist sisters like to say, motion is lotion. Sometimes, you just need to move forward, even if you’re not sure if it’s the right step, even if you’re sure it’s not a forever step.
One tiny example? I now find myself an interim movement and music instructor :) After abruptly saying goodbye to our preschool (the preschool we’ve had children enrolled at for 8.5 years, sob), Annie just completed her first week at a short-term teacher-led and parent-organized co-op. We’re all chipping in as we can, and for our family, that mostly means bringing the snacks and leading parachute chaos every other Wednesday.
Here’s what else we have on deck for May!
The garden on April 20th and the garden yesterday!
On my calendar: — Teacher Appreciation Week! We’re going with gift cards for a favorite shop in our cute downtown for our kids’ primary teachers, local ice cream shop gift cards for secondary teachers, and small Target gift cards for specials teachers. And hand-painted cards for all, inspired by Jodi’s ideas! — Mother’s Day! I’m organizing something special for the ladies at our church and celebrating my own wonderful mom and mother-in-law. — A weekend trip to Wilmington! The last time John and I visited I was a few weeks pregnant with June, so things will be a bit different this time around. The battleship, the beach, and some fun restaurants (here, here) are on our itinerary — recap to come in due time :)
What I’m loving right now: — Let’s make this the John edition! I recently rounded up a bunch of his favorites here (maybe helpful for early Father’s Day shopping?) but wanted to highlight a few, starting with this soft, sunwashed sweatshirt. He has it in red but I’ve hinted I’d like the periwinkle in my own closet. — John has suffered from back problems off and on over the last few years, and two things have recently helped. One is switching to a standing desk. We have it in the prettiest green and he now stands for basically his entire workday (!). — The other thing that’s helped is an online healthy back course. Y’all know John loves his Instagram ads, and this was another success story! We’re big believers in traditional physical therapy, but it can feel hard to get there a few times a week with work and kids. Doing these exercises faithfully each day for 21 days really helped him get back in a good place without leaving home.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
What I read in April: — Table for Two | While I loved The Lincoln Highway, this collection of short stories might just be my favorite Amor Towles creation yet. The writing is so sharp, the characters so deftly sketched, the endings so satisfying. Plus, I don’t know, there’s just something that feels posh about reading a short story collection?! Ha! Perfect bite-sized treats to read before bed. Highly recommend! — Wedding People | This was a blockbuster hit with the gals of Articles Club (and I was 705 on the library hold list at one point!), but I might actually have quit it early if it hadn’t been the one book I packed with me on my weeklong work trip. (There’s quite a bit of language in it, which I generally don’t care for.) Cornered into continuing, I found myself reading too long into the night by the time I got to the halfway point, eager to see where the characters and plot would land. I was happy with the ending, and chuckled aloud several times, so take all of that for what you will :)
Revisiting myApril goals: Film Annie in April Take Rosalie’s watercolor landscape class Complete two more watercolor postcards Record the first TCF audio AMA with John (Done! And it’s live!) Review the TCF course outline with John Finalize and print itineraries for our reunion weekend Choose a new Psalm and begin memorizing it as a family (Thanks to Abby’s suggestion, we are working on Psalm 100!)
May goals: — Hire a bathroom contractor now that all estimates are in — Complete three more watercolor landscape postcards — Edit Annie in April — Finalize, print, and send itineraries for our reunion weekend — Make reservations for our reunion weekend — Refresh our plan for summer days at home — Plan for and lead dance class; wrap up my third grade book club
Though John was joking when he talked about ordering up the “perfect weather package,” you could have fooled me – the weather for our time on Hilton Head Island was practically perfect in every way: mid- to high-70s during the day, sunshine and blue skies, a cool sea breeze blowing in off the ocean, and low humidity. Bliss!
The part of our spring break we actually could control – the itinerary – was pretty good, too :) I’d love to tell you about it, and share a few photos, too, if you’d like to see.
We chose to make the drive on Monday morning, meaning that we had the whole weekend before we left to pack, prepare, relax, and look forward with anticipation, a beginning that seemed positively luxurious. Listening to The Wild Robot audiobook (which we did for free through Spotify Premium) made the five-hour drive go by in a snap – it was equally engaging for the 3-, 6-, and 9-year-old riders as well as the grown-up ones. Plenty of audiobooks have not held all three of our kids’ attention, but this one was a winner all around.
With a lunch stop (at Lowcountry Produce, an old favorite!), we arrived on the island around 4pm and drove straight to pick up our rental bikes. (We had planned to bring our own, but a craaaazy situation the week before we left – getting gas from a station that had its diesel and regular unleaded tanks swapped, meaning we filled up with diesel (!!!) – left our car in the shop and us driving a rental van to South Carolina). We had enough time to unpack, explore the house, and make a quick trip to the beach before a storm blew in and rain began to pour.
As usual, John did a fantastic job finding our rental house. It’s always tricky to situate yourself in a place you’ve never been, especially on an island as large as Hilton Head, but we’re happy with where we landed – about a 10-minute bike ride from Coligny Plaza (a central cluster of shops and restaurants) and just 88 steps (as promised in the listing!) from a stretch of wide, pristine, nearly empty beach.
The house itself wasn’t fancy, but it was a family’s dream – as far as we could tell, lovingly stocked by a pair of grandparents. There were sand toys for the beach and pool toys for the heated pool; a beach wagon, towels, and chairs; a stool to reach the bathroom sink; and books, toys, and stuffies in the double-over-double bunk room. The only negative, in my view, was that the pool was not fenced, and so I was on low-key alert at all times, and we had to keep the kids on a tighter leash than usual in terms of being outside without us. You can find the Airbnb listing for “Beach Nest” here or book directly with the owners, Rick and Denise, for a discount here. (No kickback to me – they just had a little card with the info in the house and I thought I’d pass it along!)
The rain tapered off as we pulled up to Fat Baby’s Pizza. It’s a casual, family-friendly spot, and we were seated right away when we walked in at 6:30. They serve enormous slices of thin crust (though not New York-style) pizza. The kids gobbled up the pizza and were entranced by the screens at each table that displayed the colored placemats of past pint-size diners. They studiously bent over their own coloring sheets, scanning them just before we left – and were delighted when they showed up on the screen, too!
We stopped at Publix on the way home for some drinks and a few beach snacks, then tucked everyone into bed.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast at home, we loaded up the wagon and headed straight over the dunes to the beach. While the water was a bit too cold for full-on swimming, the kids had a grand time skipping through the waves, building sandcastles, and throwing the frisbee. We fully availed ourselves of the house’s beach supplies, adding only our trusty Shibumi, the pride of North Carolina.
We walked back to the house after a few hours, showered off, and then rode our bikes the short trip to The Sandbar, just down the road at Coligny Plaza. (That’s the bike path, below.) Though not directly on the ocean, it had the feel of a beachside shack, and we ordered accordingly: fish tacos for me, a sausage, peppers, and onions sub for John, and various fried things for the children.
After lunch, we decided to venture across the road to Lowcountry Celebration Park, a sparkling gem of HHI. And rightly so – it’s a very cool playground with a pirate ship climbing apparatus at its center and water elements and boardwalks (with gators!) all around. The playground was nearly empty when we were there in the early afternoon; John and I happily swung on a bench swing, watching our kids play and listening to the HHI Symphony rehearsing in the amphitheater for a performance that night.
After an hour or so, we biked back to the house via the beach, changed clothes, and switched into the van to drive to Harbourtown, a marina and shopping hub nestled in Sea Pines.
Sea Pines is a giant, beautiful resort community that takes up a quarter or so of Hilton Head. We were thrilled to find a surprise Sea Pines pass waiting for us at our rental, but were prepared to pay the $9 per day entrance fee. (If you go, know that the fee must be paid in cash.)
We gazed around, exclaiming, as we drove through the live oaks, taupe-and-green Lowcountry homes, and alligator-filled lagoons that make up Sea Pines. Then, with a bit of time before our dinner reservation, we did the tourist thing and climbed the Harbourtown Lighthouse. There’s a beautiful view at the top and some fun Coast Guard history as you climb the steps. It’s a quick attraction and we still had time to admire the ships in the marina and play at the playground under the oaks before our 6pm reservation at Quarterdeck.
Though Quarterdeck was one of our fancier dinners, we found it to be quite family-friendly: the tables are situated around a bar, so the noise level was pretty high, and the atmosphere was upscale casual. The kids’ entrees also came with a side option of roasted vegetables, which, being the mean parents we are, we made all three order. (One ate all of them, one ate half, and one ate almost none, which we considered a success.) Back at the house, we cuddled up to watch the first half of The Wild Robot movie.
Wednesday was another beautiful morning, and we started with breakfast at Watusi Cafe. It was a bit hard to tell what we were in for from the internet, but what we found was an upscale setting with a decidedly warm and friendly feel. Our waitress, Bernie, was a huge part of that and it was a delight to chat with her. The food was delicious, too… even though Shep looked like he had rolled in chocolate chips after finishing his loaded pancakes.
From there, we drove out to the west side of the island to meet our captain for an 11am dolphin tour, booked through Dolphin Discoveries.
We had originally planned to rent kayaks and explore the marsh that way, but couldn’t figure out the proper combination of family members and boats to make that work at our kids’ ages. So, we splurged for the more expensive private boat tour, and were very glad we did. We loved our captain, saw tons of dolphins just a few feet from our boat, learned more about the area and its waterways, and skipped the frustration that inevitably would have resulted from two adults trying to paddle three small children in the hot sun with nary a dolphin in sight.
Back on land, we hopped in the car and made a brief visit to the Coastal Discovery Museum. I would not necessarily recommend it if you’re planning your own vacation – we wanted to visit because it was nearby and I had been there for a Southern Weddings photo shoot many years ago and wanted to show a specific arching tree branch to the family, but it’s a tiny operation and not much of an attraction.
But from there, we drove about ten minutes to Fish Haul Beach Park, which I would recommend. It’s a quiet beach with tide pools, muddy flats, sandbars, and rocky outcroppings, perfect for exploring – which we did! We even managed not to lose any shoes in the mud :)
After an hour or so of exploring, we headed back to the house and the kids finally (their words) got to cannonball into the backyard pool. I loaded up a plate with snacks – slices of Croc Bite cheddar cheese, circles of salami, crackers, grapes, baby carrots, and pickled green beans – and we devoured it in between games of Marco Polo. Eventually, John hauled himself out and fired up the grill to cook a few hot dogs, which we ate poolside.
With the sun low in the sky, we showered off, hopped on our bikes, and rode on the beach to Coligny Plaza for ice cream cones at The Frozen Moo.
Thursday we had another quick breakfast at home, then drove back to Sea Pines to hike the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Where the Coastal Discovery Museum’s trails were a bit underwhelming, the Sea Pines ones were glorious, with boardwalks twisting through green swamps, spindly waterbirds, a wildflower meadow dotted with bright blooms, and alligators lurking in lagoons. We explored for about an hour and it was well worth our time.
Lunch was at Truffles Cafe in Sea Pines, where we had made an emphatically unnecessary reservation – there were maybe two other tables occupied in the restaurant. This was probably our worst meal choice of the week, not because the food was bad – it was not! – but because the atmosphere wasn’t really matched to what we were looking for. It was more of a ladies-who-lunch vibe, and would have been a better pick for a fancier dinner. Just not really what we needed for a quick lunch after hiking!
We headed back to the house, changed into our suits and sunscreen, and trotted out to the beach for two hours or so for more sandcastles, wading, and kicking the ball around. Then it was back to the pool for another two hours of Marco Polo, tag, and cannonball contests. The pool was small, but just big enough for our family of five to happily play, and plenty warm thanks to the heater.
Then it was time for showers (is there anything better than showering before dinner after a day outside at the beach or pool?) and a short drive out to Hudson’s, a Hilton Head institution for over 50 years. 90% of their seafood comes from local waters, including from their own boat and processing facility right next door. They don’t take reservations, but our 45-minute wait for an outdoor table on the docks (our longest of the week) was well worth it. The kids loved watching the terns wheel and dive and the crabs scuttle in the tanks, awaiting their fate.
Our original plan was to mini golf after dinner, but with the wait we ended our meal later than we expected, so we headed home to watch the second half of The Wild Robot and shifted mini golf to the next day, our final night.
We had left the itinerary for Friday, our final day, mostly open. We ended up repeating several favorites from earlier in the week: a bike ride for breakfast at Watusi Cafe and playing at Celebration Park, then time at the beach followed by playing at the pool and charcuterie snacks back at the house.
We had an early dinner reservation at Coast in Sea Pines, and it was the perfect way to end our vacation – I’d highly recommend placing it as a capstone to your trip, if you can swing it. Coast is a beautiful oceanfront restaurant, and we had made an outdoor reservation. There was live music, golden late-afternoon light, and yummy food: just one of those meals when you look around at your beautiful family and beautiful surroundings and soak in how grateful you are. We walked out to the beach after dinner, then mini golfed at Pirate’s Island, as promised.
(A note to the kind readers who gave me HHI recommendations, many of whom mentioned Gregg Russell’s Harbourtown concerts: we had planned to go to his Friday night concert, but a sign was posted earlier in the week to say it was canceled! Next time, I suppose :))
As always, thank you for letting me share! I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about Hilton Head in the comments!
At the beginning of this year, I declared 2025 “the year of dating.” I clarified that this goal wasn’t about more or more elaborate dates; it was about renewing the spirit of new love. If I had a sense that a correction might be necessary at the beginning of this year, it became clear it was necessary as the months unfolded, as little failings between us two were exacerbated by forces outside our control: the weight of stock market swings (and accompanying stress at work for John) as well as a trio of losses close to home. Slowly, and then all at once, this culminated in a tearful meltdown one night and then a long, honest chat about what we each were missing in our marriage right now.
The things we wanted are small and inconsequential on their own — a hug every day, more nightly walks, an emptied and filled dishwasher on days I’m off work, a little thank you if I get the kids through baths while John’s napping. Indifference in attending to them, though — which in our case, to put it bluntly, comes down to valuing the self over the partner — can start a downward spiral.
Really listening to and respecting what matters to each other was hard. Acting on it, surprisingly, has been mostly a joy. Tiny acts of marital sacrifice have been re-ennobled for both of us.
Will we need another reset at some point in the future? Of course. Such is the privilege of a long marriage. We are not, alas, our glory-selves yet :)
On my calendar: — Our spring break trip to Hilton Head Island. You all have been so gracious to tell me over the years how much you love a Thomas family trip recap (me, too!), so expect one later this month. — A few tune-up swim lessons for the big kids. What once felt overwhelming – our neighborhood swim team – has become a treasured part of our year. It’s also a sport where we see an inner drive to improve in our kids (not the case in all pursuits!), and we want to honor that. — Planting things! I got a bunch of cosmos and zinnia seeds from the hardware store and am planning to just sow them willy-nilly in our back bed after the last frost and see what pops up.
What I’m loving right now: — I’m not sure I’ll have time to write a blog post about this year’s Easter baskets, but I did want to share some of the goodies I’ve collected! As always, it’s a mix of new, consignment, and hand-me-down finds. I’ve linked everything I can here — especially fond of the Anne of Green Gables devotional for June, the Butterbeer goldfish, and the best swim goggles. — I was influenced by my sister-in-law to switch out the hand towels in all of our bathrooms for these fluffy white waffle ones from Target. They’re great! — I’m a few months late in sharing this, but it truly blew me away — a pitch-perfect mashup of dozens of musical guests from the first 50 years of SNL. A very fun six-minute listen.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
What I read in February: — Delicious!| Am I becoming curmudgeonly in my old age? It took me awhile to warm up to this novel that everyone else seemed to love. It did win me over in the end, but the writing just felt a little simple and the characters, flat, after the dazzling humility of Gilead.
Revisiting my March goals: Complete Easter basket shopping with the kids Organize Annie’s closet Track down final RSVPs and contact information for the reunion and confirm locations Finish planning and enjoy HHI trip Strength train 2x/week Practice piano 2x/week (Averaged about once a week, which is more than last month!) Figure out a plan for bathroom (No final decision yet due to some rescheduled meetings, but I have reached out to several more contractors.) Disassemble Annie’s crib and rearrange her room a bit Choose a PCP and call about making an appointment Complete two more watercolor postcards (One done!)
April goals: — Film Annie in April — Take Rosalie’s watercolor landscape class — Complete two more watercolor postcards — Record the first TCF audio AMA with John — Review the TCF course outline with John — Finalize and print itineraries for our reunion weekend — Choose a new Psalm and begin memorizing it as a family (any suggestions?)
