Back to Homeschool: Make the First Day Fun

Back to homeschool time for kids can either be a bad experience or a great one. As the parent, you can set the tone for how your students will view the rest of the homeschool year. Kids look forward to starting back to homeschool — if there is something that might pique their attention. Make the first day of homeschool fun with these ideas that will get your kids encouraged and motivated to start their next academic year.

Do you remember some of the best first-day-of-school experiences you have had as a child? The very reasons your first day was awesome, could be what helps your kids have an excellent first day as well.

New books, new supplies, new clothes; they all added to the excitement of starting school. Even if school wasn’t your favorite place to be, at least one of these things could put a smile on your face.

Now that you and your children are in a homeschool environment, the possibilities are endless for you to make their first day back to homeschool fun and enjoyable. 

Making the first day back to homeschool fun starts with a little bit of planning. Preparation and planning for first-day fun when headed back to homeschool can go a long way.

Here a few brief tips to prepare for your first day back to homeschool:

1. Start your year off with a decent bedtime. When kids get enough sleep, their attitude toward the day is often more favorable.
2. Maybe have an end-of-summer fun meal (i.e., a BBQ, your kids’ favorite meals and even dessert) for them the week or even day before you start the first day of homeschool. Celebrating the end of summer can make their transition of going back to homeschool slightly more comfortable to digest. 
3. Starting back to homeschool daily may not be their most exciting thing to do; they have to face back to set schedules, back to learning and studying. If they haven’t done any homeschool during the summer, the summer slide can make catching up a challenge, so be prepared.
4. Remember that it is OK to take a few weeks to adjust and get back into the swing of things. Practice routines and rules often, so that your children understand how the regular homeschool days will go.

Now for the fun part!

Make the first day back to homeschool fun with these ideas your kids are sure to love:

Head outside and make your first-day-of-homeschool memories. 

Make a first day of school sign, and take awesome photos to remember the day. Have your kids strike a pose and get the day started!

Make a special back to homeschool breakfast!

Cool their favorite breakfast meal and have them wake up to the sweet aroma.  Note: You may even want to take breakfast requests the day before. I know many families will be against a sugar rush the first day back to homeschool, but happy-face pancakes are usually a hit for times such as these.

Have students take a back to homeschool survey.

You may not want to give any in-depth lessons on the first day. Having your child answer a few survey questions can get them back in the schoolwork groove.  The survey can ask basic things like:

• Favorite color
• Favorite book
• Favorite meal
• Favorite hobby
• Favorite subject in school
• Another state (or country) they would like to visit in the future
• Favorite thing they did during the summer

Note: Then give a similar survey at the end of the school year so your child can see how they have changed.

Decorate like it is a celebration– because it is!

Deck out your school area like it’s time to celebrate. Being able to homeschool is surely a cause to celebrate every year. Take lots of pictures to add to their first-day-of-homeschool sign pictures.

Bake something yummy with your students.

Bake some cupcakes on the first day back to homeschool, but make sure there is enough so your kids can think of people in the neighborhood or family to give a cupcake to.

Wrap your kids’ school supplies so that they can unwrap them the first day of homeschool.

Who doesn’t like unwrapping gifts?!

Make a treasure hunt for their homeschool supplies.

Hide them in fun places and number them, so you know your kids have snagged them all. 

Surprise your students with fun things planned on their schedule for the homeschool year.

The first day back to homeschool is the day you can share the map of how the year will go for them.  Hopefully, you have gotten an idea of what your kids are interested in. 

Are they interested in the Japanese language? Then plan a Japanese Unit Study a few months down the road to keep them motivated. Do they love music? Plan a day trip to a musical, and let them know on the first day of school.

Reveal the field trips you have planned throughout the year (i.e., Zoo, Aquarium, Nature walks, “serving others” days). There has to be at least one or two things you have planned to get them excited.

Get your kids a cool looking journal and have them write/or draw their hopes for the next school year.

Make t-shirts with their name and grade on it.

The photo opportunities with these shirts are priceless. Make these t-shirts for designated days of the week or days when kids don’t feel like looking for clothes.

Surprise your kids with a mystery class they can take.

This can be any random class they would like. Let your students search through Luma Learn’s courses to see which course can fill up that slot. Having your kids be able to select a course on their own encourages independent learning — and they will love it.

You truly can set the tone for back to school time by making the first-day fun for your loved ones. What do you do to make your back to homeschool first-day fun for your students?