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Fun Ways to Celebrate Back to Homeschool on your First Day

by Amy Blevins 12 Comments

Posts contain affiliate links. This means, if you choose to make a purchase, I will make a commission at no extra cost to you. For more information please see our full disclosure.
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I know lots of people homeschool year round, but we always find that we need a break, mentally and physically, from the tasks of learning. We love lazy summer days at the pool, trips to the theme park, and weeks spent with cousins just having fun.

But Labor Day is fast approaching, and with it comes our “first day of school”– homeschool style.

Every year, I love to find and make fun things to celebrate our first day back to school. All the kids get new school supplies, some which they pick out and some which I buy to surprise them.

We get the normal stuff–paper, pencils, colored pencils, glue, folders, etc. But I also like to gift each child with age-appropriate extras like stickers, washi tape, more expensive colored pencils or drawing pencils, a sketchbook, or something extra I know will really resonate with that child.

It doesn’t have to be much, just a little something fun. Last year I picked up some Scratch-Art paper for the little kids and that was a big hit!

Here are some fun ways to celebrate your first day back-to-homeschool, or “not-back-to-school” day as they say.

Create a Portfolio for Last Year

Every year on our first day back-to-homeschool, we go back through all of our supplies and books and work to purge the old. We gather up our favorite pages from each subject and create portfolios to save for posterity. We put them all in a 3-ring folder, and the kids create covers using full-sheet sticker paper. It’s a fun way to debrief from the year before and also gives us a chance to consider what we need to work harder on in the year ahead.

Teacher-Student Conference

On our first day of homeschool each year, I sit down with each child and discuss any expectations I have for the year. We go over which subjects they will cover, how much work they need to do each day for each subject, what strengths and weaknesses we will focus on, and talk about each of the books or materials they have.

School Lunch

One of our favorite traditions for our first day “back-to-homeschool” is a trip to Chick-fil-A for our “faux” school lunch experience. We all get shakes to celebrate a new year and new beginnings.

Head to a Playground to Celebrate Back to Homeschool

If there is one thing my kids kinda “miss” from public school, it’s daily time on the playground. Whenever I can, I pack up the littles and head to a nearby jungle gym to play. What a great way to enjoy the first day everyone else is back at school and the playgrounds are mostly empty–especially when the pre-k crowd is napping in the afternoon.

Are you ready for a new (home) school year?

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Disclosure

12 Comments
Homeschooling

About Amy Blevins

Amy lives with her husband and six beautiful children in Northern Virginia. Besides blogging, Amy enjoys homeschooling, hiking, reading, singing, teaching, and serving Jesus above all. Welcome.

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  1. DeAnn O says

    July 26, 2018 at 6:14 AM

    I would finish buying my son’s curriculum for this school year if I won the gift card. I’ve just started buying as I can afford it – it’s tight this year as I had a stay in the hospital in Nov. 2017 and we’re still paying for that. Thanks for the opportunity to enter to win. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Jenny Foltran says

    July 26, 2018 at 7:34 AM

    I would be so excited to win a gift card!

    Reply
  3. apple blossom says

    July 26, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    classroom rug

    Reply
  4. Monica Ellwanger says

    July 26, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    A museum pass for fun field trips

    Reply
  5. Ruth Patterson says

    July 26, 2018 at 12:01 PM

    Thanks for offering a variety of methods to enter this giveaway. I don’t do twitter or Instagram so there are some that I can’t enter.

    Reply
  6. HSing It Up says

    July 26, 2018 at 12:02 PM

    Another fun way to celebrate Back-to-school is to have your child create a “time capsule” of sorts, that they can open at a later date – either the beginning of next school year, or when they start or finish high school, or any other time you choose. There are tons of ideas for what to put in them, but a letter to their future self and/or a “questionnaire” about their favorites and goals can be fun for them to read later on. Things that show the latest technology and prices may also be fun to look at in the future.

    Reply
  7. Heather Christine says

    July 26, 2018 at 12:29 PM

    I would love to win a Rainbow Resources gift card! It would really help in purchasing this year’s curriculum for my four children. Thank you for the opportunity!

    Reply
  8. Heather says

    July 26, 2018 at 12:39 PM

    I would get art an science supplies and history teaching resources

    Reply
  9. Natalie says

    July 26, 2018 at 1:02 PM

    Oh I love Rainbow Resource – they have so much to offer, and individual items are usually at cheaper prices that the grade-level-box-sets that other companies sell. I have found a ton of useful math manipulatives there in the past, and plan to continue buying our Singapore Math workbooks through them.

    Reply
  10. Brittany M says

    July 26, 2018 at 2:26 PM

    I would put it towards the rest of the books needed for our upcoming school year.

    Reply
  11. Marissa Wright says

    July 27, 2018 at 3:22 AM

    So much to choose from, it’s hard to narrow down…decorations, manipulatives, games, curriculum. They have a great selection.

    Reply
  12. Kimberly says

    February 8, 2019 at 11:05 AM

    Hi! Just wondering what you use for you curriculum? Thanks!

    Reply

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