We are talking about something FUN today! After stressing over all the curriculum for the following year comes the Christmas of homeschool: back to homeschool traditions!
WOOT WOOT! Get out your googly-eyed pens, get pumped, and letās do our/my(?) favorite thing: make a list!Ā
Every year I get crazier with this, so donāt let me stress you with my psycho, but hopefully you get some fun ideas to bounce off of.
1. Back to Homeschool Construction Fun
The beginning of the school year is always an opportunity to change up your space, and you may be surprised how a new environment can make you and your kids feel ready to get started again. This doesn’t have to be an expensive venture and can be as simple as decluttering and swapping posters, or as extravagant as switching up the whole aesthetic.
How far I go usually depends on how much Iāve gathered the previous year to do or add. Itās usually organically added (except for a new theme, which I just keep my eyes out for throughout the year). I never have time during the year to do any upgrades so I make it a point during the summer to make all my projects into a fun tradition. The best traditions are the ones that work for you, I always say!
The very first year we did this our kids were young enough to really get into it. It was our first year with a homeschool room so there was a lot to be done. Unfortunately, we had to get started at the last minute because I had just had a baby; but because of this it manifested itself into something magical.
“The best traditions are the ones that work for you”
-SHM
What is now my homeschool room is technically meant to be a āparlorā. In the “olden” days this was a small living room where you entertained guests so they didn’t see the horror of the real living room. As much as I need that in my life, we donāt do much entertaining, so a school room it is! Because of its original design, my school room doesn’t have a door, so my children could see the room we were working on, and that’s just not magical!
SOOOooooo…
We decided to make it into a mystery operation and cover the entrance with a sheet. The kids were itching with wonder and questions, and we continued to feed their curiosity by slowly adding things like construction noise playlists, a sign on the door, and dinner time talks on the “hard day of work” we put in. The kids logically concluded that little elf men were helping us build the room (we had previously read the fairytale about the shoe maker), and honestly I couldnāt be more pleased with the way it turned out.
This is now an eagerly awaited tradition in my kids’ lives and a motivation for me to get to work on that list of to do’s (except now it’s fun!).
Seeing the kids’ faces light up over something that would normally go unnoticed will make all those dramatics worth it in the end!
2. Daddy is the “Teacher’s Helper”
Whatās better on the first day of school than Daddy being the teacherās helper!? We make the first day of school a full holiday for our family and we’re blessed to have Daddy take one of his days off from work to join us. He enjoys stepping in as “teacher’s helper” to find out what a day in the life looks like, while getting a feel for what weāll be up to this year.
The kids really enjoy seeing Daddy take part in their day to day (think bring your Daddy to work) and they love to show off all their favorite “school time” activities.
This is an awesome opportunity to have a family member or friend join too!
3. Back to Homeschool Outfits
We donāt do much clothes shopping in our family, so when we do get outfits, it’s a pretty big deal. One of the days that we do splurge for is: (surprise!) the first day of school.
We like to buy fun school-themed outfits for the kids that we can also use for any fun field trips. Last year we even got the girls themed bows that we can reuse every year!
We like to place our outfits in gift bags for the kids and give them out first thing in the morning. We wear our outfits for the rest of the day, and they love it! It also makes for great pictures during the rest of the day’s activities.
Just make sure you take any staged photos before you go eat or craftā¦ because kids… are kids.
4. Back to Homeschool Pictures
We love to get first day of school pictures. We usually hop outside in a grassy spot and take a picture with any readers or books we may have gotten for the school year. We also add in our curriculum box (see #6) for the anticipation and to capture the pure joy in real time. (Our box in this picture comes with our orders from my favorite curriculum retailer, Timberdoodle in case anyone is curious)
Adding an “About Me” board for each child is a great way to capture who they are every year. Weāll build on this more later.
5. Back to Homeschool DONUTS!
Here’s another thing we never seem to get as a big family. Donuts are one of those things that get forgotten, SO we get them for two things: back to school and birthdays.
The difference is we decide to be brave on back to school day and actually GO to the donut shop. This way the kids can pick their own donuts and get a chocolate or strawberry milk to go with it! Courageous of usā¦ but it makes awesome memories!
6. Un-Box That Box!
“Un-boxing” day is something I started early on in our homeschool journey. Not to be confused with the Boxing Day holiday in other traditions, this is just a super fun way to give everyone their new supplies and kick off the school year!
It is called this because of the fact that we LITERALLY unbox a giant box full of stuffā¦( I know Iām not the only one obsessed with giant boxes). I essentially get a massive box and add everything for the coming school year in it. On the first day of school I sit my kids around the box and they (one-at-a-time) blindly stick their hands in and pull out an item to show everyone. We then talk about all the fun the new item is going to bring in the new school year. I always like to mix in things like new pencils or reward stickers with the curriculum to keep them excited.
If your kids groan at “boring” things like textbooks, then you can always remove them, but you may be pleasantly surprised at how pumped a box of mystery textbooks can make your little learner.
But when the box is empty then what do you do with it? Bust out the crayons and give the kids some coloring time!
7. Unit Reveal
I like to announce our first unit Christmas-style with all our first unit of the year supplies laying out. I am not a big “set-in-stone” scheduler, but I usually think about the first unit of the school year one year in advance. I like to make it something exciting like space, dinosaurs, knights etc., and I keep my eyes open all year for some fun things for the unit, since this usually ends up being our biggest one of the year.
I also like to adjust our school room to match the theme for the year, and planning ahead gives you the advantage of finding good deals. You can scour party supply stores or the party section at Dollar Tree throughout the year- both are amazing places to get cheap room dƩcor (bonus if one of your kid wants a science or history themed birthday like I lucked out on one year!).
After saying that, I would also like to add that your theme doesnāt have to be a “classic” school theme like science or history, it could be just a theme they are into, like a tv character – whatever can get your kids excited about their first theme of the year! When the kids enter their space for the first time that day they instantly get excited to jump into the school year, WIN!
8. All About Me
We like to start our first day of school with our favorite subjects: our kiddos!
We fill out an “All About Me” survey and then review it together, make handprint apples, measure ourselves on the wall, and draw pictures of ourselves. This is a great time to capture who they are once a year, and I have never regretted it.
This day is the day to do all the cute things we want to do as parents to immortalize our kids as they are but never seem to have the time to do. Now it’s a scheduled day! Dad usually mans the whiteboard to help with spelling and to write everyone’s answers down as we share, making this a great time for mom to sit back and take it all in.
I picked up a pack of really fun āall about meā sheets from Wal-Mart during back to school time that will last us years, but you can also find some fun ones on Teachers Pay Teachers, or make your own!
9. Introduce New Incentives
The first day of school is a good time to go over how your year is going to go, so I like to introduce any new things we’re going to try. This can include things like a new daily prayer, school time rules, new morning ice breakers, read-alouds, daily affirmations, or incentives.
Last year we discovered desk pets, so the kids got really excited at the prospect of being extra good and getting some little friends!
10. Back to Homeschool Read-Aloud
Guess whaaat? There are homeschool back to school read-alouds!!!
Although some books are universal for both school and homeschool (depending on your homeschool style), they just don’t hit the same. I was so excited to finally find some amazing back to school books for homeschoolers.
My favorite Iāve found so far is āThis Is My Home, This Is My Schoolā by Jonathan Bean
11. Pick the Year’s Themes
After our back to school read-aloud, we like to talk about what our homeschool day-to-day looks like and what we like (or don’t like) about it. Then we talk about what the kids want to learn about during the school year and make a list of unit ideas. The kids each pick their very favorite topic and I start the search. These are usually our second biggest units. I try to find a list of books, both non-fiction and fiction, and some crafts to go along with their units. The kids really get excited to start the year once they have some ownership in the school planning!
12. Eat Out and Get Ice Cream!
Eating out is another thing we NEVER do as a family of 6, but this is a special occasion and those cute outfits gotta see the light! We like to go somewhere to sit down but that is still kid friendly, bonus if they have dessert! This is also a great opportunity to bust out any summer reading coupons and give the kids a sense of pride as a little goodbye to summer.
13. Back to Homeschool CUPCAKES!
To make sure my kids party-the-party just a bit more, I like to get some cute cake toppers and make school-themed cupcakes. This year Iāve discovered that Wal-Mart has a customizable book cake and Iām currently begging my husband for it. Like you, heās probably going to say they’ll have enough sugar but Iām gonna try to philosophize my way out of this one with my closing to you today.
Conclusion
A bit much? Maybe.
But what better thing is there to celebrate than another year spent as a family growing together? You caregivers get to give them the gift of love, knowledge, and memories that will last a lifetime, and that my friends is worth all the celebrating in the world.
Much love everyone, and happy first day of school!
Gracefully yours,
P.S. – love the idea of traditions, but still unsure of yourself? Check out my post on the 25 Things You NEED to Know to Start Homeschooling.