Back-to-school time is upon us, and you’re undoubtedly planning for school clothes, supplies, and after-school care. In the midst of it all, it’s easy to forget that another year is beginning, and the memory needs to be captured. On the first day, or first week, of classes, snap a few photos of your kids to commemorate them tackling another grade. We’ve all seen the first-day-of-school photos on social media, but it’s fun to be a bit more creative with your pics. Here are several ways to capture creative photos for kids without taking a lot of time to do it.

Say It With Chalk

Bring out your child’s artistic tendencies with some sidewalk chalk. Have them draw a chalk picture on your driveway and get their photo made beside it. Flowers, trees, words, or even the grade they’re going into makes good subject matter. Get them to pose beside it, above it, or inside the drawing – depending on what it is. This is an easy and inexpensive way to make the back-to-school photos a bit more imaginative than simply posing in front of your front door.

Don’t Focus on Their Faces

A photo of your kid’s smiling face is cute, but channel your creative side and snap photos in other ways to capture the day. Set a stack of books on the ground and take photos of your child’s new school shoes beside them, or have him or her hold a rich red apple and snap only their hands. Another fun photo is to tape a sign (not “Kick Me!) to their back that states the grade they’re going into.

Catch Them in Bed

Who says your yearly back-to-school photo must be of your kid smiling and ready to jump in the car or on the school bus? Draw up a sign announcing their new grade, or cut out a flag that says something funny about the end of sleeping in, and snap photos of him or her lying in bed holding it. This is a more realistic picture than the usual back-to-school photos most people take.

Put Their Acting Skills to Use

If you want to veer more toward the humorous side, get your kids, and even your spouse, involved in some “against their will” back-to-school photos. Snap shots of them not letting go of the front door, acting like they are crying, and of your or your spouse shoving them unwillingly into your vehicle. These types of pics lighten up the mood and make for some hilarious social media posting.

Buy Them a “Class of” Shirt

This is particularly charming for younger kids. If your child is starting Kindergarten, purchase an adult size “class of” shirt with the year of his or her high school graduation. Snap a pic of them in the shirt. It’s sure to be adorable.

Do Some Before and After Photos

Another cool way to take back-to-school photos is to use them as a marker. This is especially effective for younger kids. Draw up a big sign that lists your child’s milestones. Height, being able to read, knowing the 50 states and capitals, knowing multiplication tables, learning how to write, and what they want to be when they grow up are a few of them to use. Take another one at the end of the school year to show how much progress he or she has made. Make an album of the yearly pics so the child can look back on it decades later.

Use Their Stuffed Animals… or Whatever They Love

No matter the kid’s age, this one is a funny and cute way to memorialize a new grade. Take their favorite things from home and line them up in the driveway. For younger kids, it may be stuffed animals or Barbie dolls. For older kids, it may be their tablets, video games, the family dog or cat, or sports equipment. Shoot the photo from behind the line of favorites, so your kid leaving is in the background of the photo. It will look like the child’s favorites are seeing them off.

Going back to school is a memorable time that should be captured with photos. Instead of snapping the same old pictures that everyone else takes, put some thought into your child’s likes and personality, and come up with some creative photos for your kids. They will love being able to look back on the memory years down the road, and so will you.