First Day of Homeschool Ideas
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Back to (Homeschool) Week!
It’s officially back to school time at my house and on my Youtube Channel.
The homeschool room is decorated, the books are out, and I’m planning in my lesson planner. Back to school is in full swing and I love it.
This is like Christmas time for me. I love the first of the school year. There are few things I enjoy more as a homeschool mom than box day and the first day of a brand new school year. It’s so full of possibilities and new adventure. Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my fair share of not-so-good first days. But for the most part, the first day is usually exciting and fun for everyone.
I’ll tell you about some of our fun first day of homeschool ideas that have become our first day traditions!
Read about our personal homeschool traditions and think about what you want to do for your first day.
Food is always a great go-to for cheap and fun first day fun!
First Day of Homeschool Ideas
Going into homeschooling, I knew that the first day was important. I learned this early on in my teaching years. The first day can start you off on the right path or the wrong one. I also knew that this would be different from a large classroom as I was going from a class of 35 down to my own 2 children.
I started thinking about the things that really get my kids excited. The special occasion type of things that never failed to put a smile on their faces. Immediately, I was able to make a short list.
Decorating the Homeschool Room
Each summer, we decorate our homeschool room. This is a family project that we all get involved in.
We pick out a theme as a family, something that both kids like and enjoy. Then we work around that theme making homemade decorations and shopping & purchasing items to make the room really special.
This works like a charm! Yes, even for my teenage boy! He gets really involved with this project.
I’ve found that by including him and having him help us, he feels valued and loved. He feels that his opinion and things that he likes matters.
This makes not just for a fun school space, but it makes the build up to the first day of school really exciting!
We’ve been doing this for about 3 years now and it’s definitely my favorite first day of school tradition.
Red Velvet Pancakes (and other fun breakfast foods).
It sounds really basic, but hear me out.
Food is like magic. Especially when you can easily make it fun and exciting!
Holidays are always fun because we make special food and have traditions around them. The first day of homeschool is like a holiday!
We sometimes make a special breakfast to get us in the right mood.
There is no better first day of homeschool breakfast like Red Velvet Pancakes. My recipe is here!
Your first day of homeschool can be fun, engaging, and full of surprises!
Don’t be afraid to have fun and make this day special for you and your kids.
First Day of Homeschool Pictures
Confession time.
I’m usually REALLY good about taking the first day of homeschool pictures. I had my camera out, the signs printed and put into frames. I even had them on their desks.
It’s week 3 of school this week and I have STILL not taken that photo.
Don’t tell anyone, it’s really embarrassing. Their first day of homeschool pictures will be from week 3 of homeschool. Oh well 🤦🏼♀️
However, in years past, I’ve always taken a first and last day of school picture. I like to be able to look back and see how they grew.
The first day of school in 2017. Look at these cute faces that were SO excited to learn. Our homeschool room theme was Camping, and it has been my absolute favorite theme. This was a really, really fun year! Grades 1 and 5!
Celebrate During the Week!
On Friday this week, we went out to celebrate. Why not?
We took the kids to Sonic and had cheeseburgers for lunch. One thing I love about homeschooling is the freedom to do these things with our kids.
There’s nothing more fun for a couple of boys to do than to go get cheeseburgers for lunch just because.
Celebrate the start of the school year by going out and having a surprise lunch with them. They’ll LOVE it. Don’t tell them ahead of time, just go do it. Tell them you need to run an errand and they are coming with you (if you have older kids).
One thing I used to do with my youngest was what I called Donut Dates. He and I would go out for a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts together, just us two. He was preschool age and it was so much fun for both of us. I look back on those days really fondly. You’ll cherish this time with your kids, so make time for some one on one days with them.
What do you do for the first day of homeschool? I’d love to hear!
Until next time,
Mandy
