Not Back to School

Homeschoolers often celebrate “back to school” with fun and different traditions than other families whose children attend school.

Homeschoolers also do many of the same things as school families. We buy new supplies and clothes with all the sales, tax-free days, and coupons. We like the first day photos.

Homeschoolers look forward to the day when school kids go back to classrooms and all the fun places we love to frequent aren’t busy with summer crowds anymore. But even homeschoolers aren’t gathering or doing co-ops or meeting up this fall.

My kids used to wave goodbye to their neighborhood friends who rode the bus to school while we began our homeschool day. They often waited for their bus at the end of the day to greet their friends again.

This school year looks very different for many families. Some school districts are offering options for in person full or part time attendance, or online classes.

No matter what kind of school year our kids are beginning, making the first day of the new school year a special day may help ease jitters or disappointments. We need to make great memories with our kids.

Celebrating Not Back to School

• Night before school party
• Special breakfast
• Pictures to commemorate the new year
• Memory board or interview page
• Gifts or treats
• Look through new school materials and books together to get familiar.
• Set up a work area for each child to complete assignments.
• Special back to school books. It’s hard to find books celebrating homeschool.
• New clothes fashion show. It could be new loungewear or pajamas!
• Schultüte – traditional school cones for 1st graders in Germany. Another Schulüte DIY idea here. DIY auf Deutsch hier.
• Ice cream!
• Chalk drawings in the driveway or sidewalk
• Fresh flowers, especially roses for new schoolers! I love the Waldorf rose ceremony.
• Discuss plans, desires, and dreams for the year
• Make calm jars with glitter, oil, food coloring, and water.
• Make tie-dye shirts or bags.
• Go hiking or do a nature scavenger hunt.
• Picnic lunch
• Bowling
• Parties with a fun theme, even if it’s just immediate family
• Movie night

How do you make the first day of school special?

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