First Day! Low-Prep Ways to Kick Off Your Homeschool Year

The back-to-homeschool season is coming fast.  When my kiddos were young, these days were full of squeezing in last-minute summer fun during the day and drowning in school supplies & curriculum each evening.

If you’re looking for a few fun first day of homeschool ideas for the upcoming school year or maybe the start of a new tradition, keep reading.

But first…

A beauty of homeschooling is that your first day(s) of a new year get to look however you want. And last year doesn’t have to dictate how this year begins.

The first day doesn’t have to be a special day at all. Plan a fun field trip on the first Friday or the third week of school. Skip the fun activities & jump straight into school work.

What your school year will look like isn’t determined by your first day.

Maybe you don’t need this reminder, but it’s one I need most years. Social media doesn’t help my mindset.

Our First Days

Our first days of school often looked pretty underwhelming.

Big celebrations aren’t my thing, mostly because I’m not good at executing them. We’ve also had many years where we sorta’ stumble onto our first day (squeezing it in between military moves) or we have a staggered start with one kid starting one day for one online class, another starting later, etc.

Organizing some celebration or tradition around all of that was more than my ADHD-brain could handle.

The one thing I do every year, though, is leave a little ‘package’ on their desk that includes:

1. A note from me. In addition to encouragement & my hopes for their year, I include a bit about specific books & topics they’ll learn in the upcoming year.
2. A few new school supplies
3. A new puzzle book or logic book; some years, it was a jigsaw puzzle or a logic game.
4. A fidget toy (Play-Doh, etc.)
5. A new picture book or chapter book.
6. A schedule of any firm commitments — online class times, extracurricular activities, vacation dates, etc.

During that first week(ish) of a new homeschool year, we also eat ice cream for lunch, take a trip or two to the neighborhood pool (after the public school kids started back), and watch a classic movie.

Around the Table

What better way to kick off a new homeschool year than together around the table? The first half of our homeschooling journey was spent around the table. We didn’t have space for separate desks, so our dining room table served that role. And I loved it. Whether we were eating, working individually, or all working on the same activity, I have such sweet memories of those days.

A few fun ideas to do around the table:

• Enjoy a special breakfast together, whether it’s homemade or out of the freezer.
• Make ice cream in a bag for an after-school treat or even for a fun lunch (Here’s the science, if you want to add that in.)
• Choose or browse your reading lists for the year, especially any books you plan to read as a family.
• Create a homeschool bucket list.

• Chalk pastels are a favorite activity, in part because they require little setup or clean up.
• We’ve used these simple drawing tutorials many times. They’re basic enough for all skill levels, but loose enough that you can make them your own, too. (I found this landscape activity that looks fun & adaptable, too.)
• Pull out art supplies & let them go at it while listening to an audiobook or watching an educational show.

• Create colorful pencil holders for your desks.
• Paint a tote bag for trips to the library, homeschooling on the go, etc.

Kick Off the Year with a Field Trip

Field trips can be a great way to kick it all off. If your homeschool calendar lines up with the local public schools, even better — smaller crowds Besides the obvious fun of taking a field trip, field trips remind everyone that learning isn’t confined to your homeschool space.

Are a few of these ideas a little too lacking in educational content for you? I get it! Right or wrong, I feel like every field trip should somehow feel “equivalent” to the amount of learning they’d do at home. Maybe those places become a bonus stop—or an after-school activity.

• Spend the day at the zoo.
• Visit a local museum.
• Explore a nature center.
• Tour a historical site.
• Take a hike at a nearby state park
• Stop by the library for a stack of new books

• Play putt-putt
• Go roller or ice skating
• Head to the bowling alley
• Squeeze in a late summer trip to the water park
• Pack a picnic lunch and spend the day at a favorite park (while reveling in NOT having to pack lunches all year!)

Capture the Memories

First day of school pictures aren’t just for kids heading out to public school. One of my friends takes a picture of her kids & their new curriculum. Besides capturing her kiddo, it’s a great way to look back on what they studied each year.

The internet is now littered with printable first day of school signs and chalkboard signs you can purchase that include spots for them to list their favorite things. But even a simple photo of them working, eating lunch, etc., still captures the moment.

And here’s your reminder: If you skip a year, forget until the third week, or change the photo spot… it all still counts. Sometimes I get so caught up in the details being just right that I skip things when they aren’t just so. I captured too few photos from our homeschool journey & is one of my biggest homeschool regrets.

Don’t Forget Your Older Kids

A trip to the zoo probably won’t hit a 16-year-old quite like it did when they were 6. I love the traditions we had when I had younger kids, and I resisted letting them go. While the kids went along with me for a while, there came a point where I realized that some traditions were ones that only the homeschool teacher was still enjoying!

Ideas for middle school & high school kids:

• Grab coffee from a local shop on the first day. Or take your schoolwork with you and have coffee over assignments.
• What about a college campus visit? You may not be able to make it an official visit, but it can be a great time to see the buzz of a new year.
• Ice cream for lunch? This is one tradition that my teen boys haven’t outgrown!
• Game days can be a great year-long activity for older kids. Planning a day full of them, or even an after-school or evening activity with other homeschool teens, is a low-pressure way to meet others.
• ONE MORE IDEA!!!DS#()(

Ideas for Mom

The start of a new school year is a milestone for you, too, mama. Celebrate that!

• Jot a note to your next-August-self about what your homeschool did today. A real-time schedule, something that made your homeschool laugh, etc. Store it away.
• Plan carry-out for dinner SOON. We almost always have it on the first Friday of the school year.
• Set a 15-minute timer and do a digital clean-up. Move some desktop files to the trash, close some tabs, delete some photos. Start the year with a bit less digital clutter.
• Text a friend. Set a coffee or dinner date for a month or two from now. If it’s on the schedule, you won’t schedule over it. And it’ll be a fun find when you see it on the calendar a few months from now.

Your Turn

Do you have a first day tradition? Do you change it up every year? Are you planning something new this year?