Fun First Day of Homeschool Ideas
Use these ten fun first day of homeschool ideas on your first day back after the summer break to help ease your children into their new routine.
- Go on a field trip
Bring education back in slowly by taking an educational excursion. Use the first day of school to go somewhere that your child can explore and learn: a museum, the zoo, or a local landmark. Don’t make the day too education-heavy but enough so that your child is learning without even knowing it! You don’t even need to do a report about it or print out worksheets that coincide with what you are learning about. Just let the experience do the teaching and have a conversation about it on the way home or at the dinner table with the whole family.
- Make a special breakfast
If you have a specific breakfast routine, then switch it up on the first day of homeschool and make it special. Have dad make his famous strawberries and waffles or make your child’s favorite smoothie or chocolate-chip pancake recipe. Make it fun and make it memorable!
- Do school outside
Pack your bags, bring a blanket, and do school outdoors. Let your kids gather around you as you read to them or let them find a cozy place in the yard to work on their own. The outdoors might help ease them into the fact that homeschool is back in session.
- Start with a four day week
Rather than going from no school to a rigorous schedule, consider beginning with only a four-day week. Start on Tuesday or take off on Friday. Do what works best for you, your kids, and your schedule. Let your kids ease back into the school year without too much pressure.
- Begin a fun new read-aloud
Give your kids some options and let them pick the first read-aloud of the year. Make it exciting. Hype it up. Find a unit study, activity, or craft to go along with it, and make it the highlight of your first week back to school.
- Have a half-day
Schedule your first day so that your children are not working on every single subject. Give them enough work in the morning to get them used to the idea of school.
- Shop for school supplies
Let the first day of school be the day that you simply get the kids excited about the new year. Take them to the store and let them pick out a fun set of pencils, glitter glue, colorful scissors, and whatever else you may need. Folders? Binders? Pencil pouches? Let them be the ones to pick them out and set up your space on the first day with your new materials. Use this day to simply get ready and get excited. Explain to them each subject they are going to be taking and what they will need for each of them.
- Decorate a journal or notebook
Make the first day a crafty day. Let your child decorate their own nature journal or notebook(s) for their different subjects. Let them be creative and have fun as they prepare for the upcoming school year.
- Go out for dinner
The first day of school can be daunting. Kids may think that they are trapped because they don’t have the freedom that summer often brings. They may be afraid of the work set before them and think that they don’t have what it takes to make it through the next school year. Rather than allowing your child’s mind to worry about what is ahead, give him something to look forward to that evening. Plan a meal out with the whole family: either a picnic at the park or a visit to your favorite family restaurant. This may help ease the first day of school stress that some children may face.
- Memorize a Bible verse
Pick a short and simple Bible verse for your child to memorize. This can give him the confidence needed to start the school year off right. If he is nervous about what lies ahead, boost his confidence by showing him that he can do it. Have him set a small goal to memorize an easy verse by the end of the first day and then praise him for his accomplishment!
How do you celebrate your first day back to homeschooling?
