Make memories with your kids by using these first day of homeschool ideas. A simple way to start the year by connecting with each other.
Back to school is always a huge deal, with advertisements and school supplies everywhere! Your children may feel like they are missing out because they don’t attend public school, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can create simple first day of homeschool traditions as a family. Each year, it will be something your children look forward to that makes the first day back something to look forward to instead of dread. Check out these simple ideas for a great starting point to make your own first day of homeschool traditions.
First Day of Homeschool Sign
The first simple idea is to make a first day of homeschool sign. If you are on social media at all, you know that this is a very popular thing to do. (No pressure to post yours at all!) But I love doing this to have a record and to see how much my kids change and grow through the years. You can even do a last day of school picture.
You can grab a letter board, white board, chalk board, etc. and fill it out with your child’s name and grade. Include writing down what they want to be when they grow up to make it even more fun. Super cute and funny to watch this change through the years, or really cool to see if it stays the same!
Another fun way to make it more personal is to use their favorite color/animal. I hopped on my Canva app (a free version is available and it’s a great way to make quick graphics) and made a first day of homeschool sign for each of my kids that included their favorite animal. Printed it, laminated it, and it was perfect for them to hold up for the picture. Just a super simple and fun way to make their faces light up…because some kids take a little more convincing that pictures are fun, lol.
First Day of Homeschool Food
Because breakfast is the first meal of the day, this is the most popular choice to make special for the first day of homeschool. You can do pancakes, waffles, donuts, or load everyone up and go out to a special breakfast. Bring Dad along too! Having this special tradition will help your kids to be excited for their first day back to homeschool every year.
If you decide to do a special breakfast at home, try to include the kids in the baking process. My kids love to help out in the kitchen. Even though it takes a little longer, they will have fond memories of it forever!
If breakfast isn’t your thing, change it up and do a fun lunch, dinner, or even snack tray. The beauty of homeschooling is that you get to make it your own!
About Me Page
I love this idea of filling out an about me page for each kid on the first day of homeschool. Take the time to sit with each one and fill it out. It gives you a little one on one time and you might learn something you didn’t know. Plus, you get to save it and compare each year to see what has changed.
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First Day of Homeschool Supplies
Buying back to school supplies was always one of my favorite things to do. I loved picking out new notebooks, binders, pencils and pens. Your kids will too! You can do this on your first day of homeschool as a fun outing (maybe after your special breakfast…), or a few days before you are set to begin.
If you don’t want to take all of the kids to the store, another fun thing to do is buy all of the supplies and lay them all out on the table for the first day of homeschool. It’s almost like a Christmas stocking, just with pencil pouches instead, lol.
If you feel like doing something even more, set up a little scavenger hunt. Let the clues guide your kids all over the house to gather all of their homeschool supplies. Rope your husband in to set this up with you! It’s good to include dad in some of the homeschool process.
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Check out a few of our favorite homeschool supplies:
Interaction and Entertainment
The first day of homeschool doesn’t mean you have to jump back in full force to book work. It’s ok to ease into it. When we have been on a longer break, I like to gradually add subjects into our day. I begin by adding our morning basket back into our routine (although this might be something that sticks around in a condensed form during breaks). Over the course of a few days, I will slowly add our loop subjects back into our morning basket. Once I feel that the kids are ready for more, I gradually add our core subjects back into our routine too.
There are so many things you can add in to the first day to make it memorable and a great start to a new school year.
- Do a science experiment that is sure to entertain. Something with bubbles, explosions, fast reactions to make it even more memorable!
- Take a field trip to introduce your kids to something you will be learning throughout the year. Check out your science and history curriculum to get ideas for field trips to take in your area.
- Make it a day full of games and puzzles. Games are a great way to include some educational elements, while also being interactive and entertaining. So much connection, relationship building, and character building happens while playing games together. We also love doing puzzles as a family. Don’t underestimate your kid’s abilities. We pull out 1000-piece puzzles and work them together as a family, rolling it up when we need them out of the way.
Check out some of our favorite games:
*Keep in mind that our kids are ages 8 and under. Skip the junior versions of these games if your kids are all older.
- Uno (for color and number recognition)
- Catan Jr. (for strategy)
- Monopoly Jr. (for money and property knowledge)
- Life Jr.
- Candyland (for color recognition)
- Camp (for the nature lovers)
Whatever you lean toward, make it something that works for your family. If you get stressed out just reading some of these ideas, don’t attempt it. Do what you feel are able to do to start your homeschool year off, keeping in mind that the main thing your children need is your presence.
Do you have any first day of homeschool traditions? Let me know in the COMMENTS. I’m always looking for new ideas.
Check Out These Posts:
- Homeschool Supplies
- Daily Rhythm
- Homeschool Loop Schedule
- How to Put Together a Morning Basket
- Simple Homeschool Breakfast Ideas
- Homeschool Kindergarten Schedule Ideas
Favorite Pancake Recipes:
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