THOMPSONTOWN — The first day of school reveals many time-honored traditions for households throughout the Juniata River Valley.

For most families, photos are involved, capturing the students in their school garb and holding signs with their grades plain as day. There are other traditions, such as family breakfasts or the start of daily walks to the bus stop.

Jeremy and Wendy Kerstetter, of Thompsontown, have been documenting their children’s ascent through the school ranks since their daughter, Kara, was in kindergarten at Juniata Christian School.

They let some sidewalk chalk do the talking.

“I’ve had a little tradition of making a chalk drawing for her first day of school each year,” Wendy explained. “She’s a senior this year, so it feels extra special.”

Sure enough, Wendy had her chalk ready and raring to go for opening day, which was Monday, Aug. 18.

“Both of my kids now attend Liberty University Online Academy,” Wendy said. “Kara started there in seventh grade, and Adley is in ninth this year.”

“For Kara’s first day of classes, I kept up the tradition with another chalk drawing in the driveway,” Wendy quipped. Adley actually started last week, but Mom took the “first day photo” when Kara started. She called it one of the “homeschool perks.”

Wendy draws the images on the road to their house for a few reasons. First and foremost, their driveway is stone, which doesn’t provide a smooth surface for her artwork. As someone who has created murals, she isn’t intimidated by large areas.

They’ve certainly grown in overall artistry over the years, looking back at Kara’s kindergarten art – ordinary words “4th Grade” – to drawings with a definite flair this year.

“It’s been a fun tradition not just for us, but for our neighbors, too,” Wendy said. “We moved into our house when the kids were 3 and under 1, so our neighbors have truly watched them grow up. Every year, they look forward to seeing the chalk art in the driveway and finding out what grade the kids are in.”

She tries to make the images as creative as possible in the time she has. Although she has more time now since both of her children are homeschooled online.

“When the kids went to Juniata Christian School, I was a lot more rushed to make sure they were ready for their first day before the bus got there,” Wendy recalled.

“I taught myself to do the faux calligraphy and so my lettering has gotten better,” Wendy added. “Our driveway had some work done on it a few years ago, which made a much nicer area to work on. Our road used to be a little rougher which made the chalk drawing a little more challenging.”

The Kerstetters aren’t certain why they started with chalk images, compared to other alternatives.

“I believe we had chalk laying around and decided to make a fun, creative moment and experience,” Wendy said. “There wasn’t a lot of planning and I just free-handed the images. Then we did something similar the next year and at that point we had started a tradition that I really enjoyed.

“I’m a creative person and tend to think outside the box,” Wendy added. “I think I enjoy creating the chalk images and taking the photos much more than the kids do. I guess that’s sometimes what we do as parents. Thankfully my kids indulge me and know it’s important to me and they know I don’t want to miss the moment.”

Like most parents, these moments are here and gone before they know it. The images let her cherish the moment for as long as they remain on the road. Then she’ll have the picture to treasure.

“It’s a big deal when your child goes to school for Kindergarten and then the first days of K through 12th grades,” Wendy said. “I have a background in art from Shippensburg University. I wanted to create something memorable and a creative photo for that first day of kindergarten that I’ll have for this very year when we’ll soon be celebrating her graduation.”

Wendy laughed when asked what her kids think of the family’s first day of school tradition.

“Well, my teenagers said I’m not quite the typical mom and can’t do the ‘normal things’ like a chalkboard or a first day of paper without a creative flair,” Wendy joked.

“She (Kara) also lovingly and respectfully said I can be a little ‘extra.'”

And, that’s OK. After all, there’s only one first day of school each year.