Back to School…or Not?

When it’s time for homeschoolers to start back to school, we occasionally miss all the fanfare of the back to school shopping and festivities. Over the years, I’ve seen more and more homeschooling NOT back to school celebrations! These can be fun, and it can be a good way to help get your homeschooled wee one excited about their new school year. Here are a few tips for making your back to school, or not back to school, fun:
~ If your kids want to get caught up in the back to school sales, let them! Even if you don’t need to buy a lot of stuff, they will most likely enjoy picking out the few supplies they do need like pencils, markers, notebooks, etc.
~ Are you a part of a homeschool group? If they don’t already have a not back to school party/luncheon, why not start one? Our local group has each family bring their favorite summer snack, and every family brings enough of one school supply for each child in the group.
For example, one family brings 15 pencils; one family brings 15 glue sticks, etc. Just whatever each family wants to bring. Then, every child brings in their own “goody bag” and it gets filled with all of the supplies. It’s a nice way to kick off the year.
~ Try not to jump into school all at once. Take a week to slowly introduce a subject a day. On Monday, start with language arts. On Tuesday, add math. And so on.
~ Do something a little different with your kiddos’ lessons. Let each of your children pick a subject matter. Whether it’s their favorite summer movie, a book they want to read, a person in history they want to learn about, etc. Then, within that subject matter, take some words of importance and make printable flashcards with them. It’s a different way to kick off spelling and vocabulary, and most kids love being able to be a part of their own lesson planning!
~  On your first day of official school work, have a “favorite pair of pajamas” day, or wear party hats all day. Take photos, just like everyone else does, of that first day with the child holding a piece of paper with their names on it, first day of ______ grade and the date.
Most importantly, just make a big deal out of the new school year. If you’re excited about it, chances are the kids will be too!