Homeschooling is supposed to be fun right? How about making the first day extra special with a few homemade traditions? Try a few of these to brighten up the day:
- Let your children pick the menus (in advance) and serve up their absolute favorite foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Homeschool in your PJ’s or whatever your most comfortable outfit is. If you are used to dressing and preparing for the day first thing then this can be a fun, relaxing way to ease into the first day.
- Start the experience by creating a first-day-of-homeschool booklet – complete with first-day pictures and measurements of height and even doing body tracings if you like. Allow your children to record (in their handwriting) the first-day menu and activities. Of course, decorate it with pictures and drawings. Follow this up with a last-day-of-school booklet and you’ve got some annual keepers that will be treasured for a lifetime!
- Decorate all the school folders and binders to the nines! Allow them to use their favorite tools – markers, stickers, colored pens, glitter. Whatever will help them take ownership of their learning experience.
- Interview your children – record the interview and save it with the first-day booklet. Ask them what they want to be when they grow up and what their goals are for the school year. What are they interested in learning? Are there places (achievable places) that they would like to explore or field trips they’d like to participate in? Would they like to take up an instrument? Where would they like to study (outside, indoors, in their room) if given the opportunity? Try hard to make as many of the things they desire happen during the year. It is delightful listening to past year’s recordings! Take time to listen and discuss how your children think they’ve grown and reminisce on some of things they got to do from their list in previous years.
Consider hosting a back-to-homeschool party for your friends and neighbors. This could be a dessert party or a backyard cookout or a skate party – whatever sounds fun to you.
Whatever you do, have fun and create lifelong memories.
Enjoy!
