6 Ideas To Make The 1st Day of Homeschool Fun

The first day of homeschool sets the tone for the rest of the year. Here are 6 ideas to make the 1st day of homeschool fun.

a first day of homeschool photo of a little girl

The last couple posts I talked about how to start homeschooling as well as the second grade curriculum I’m using for this year. Now I’m rounding out the posts and sharing some of the ideas I’m going to be using to make our first day of homeschool fun and run smoothly.

6 Ideas To Make Your 1st Day Of Homeschool Special Video

#1: Make a Favorite Breakfast For Your 1st Day Of Homeschool

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is a warm home-cooked breakfast. I love doing casseroles & baked oatmeals to make a regular homeschool day easier on me, but on the first day I like make a favorite breakfast. I’m sure your family’s likes are different but in our household we love sourdough pancakes and cinnamon rolls. She definitely gets her sweet tooth from me!

#2: 1st Day of School Pictures

This one is more for the moms, but you can’t let a year go by without a first day of school picture. I remember growing up, my mother had a frame with enough spots to put a picture from each grade. It’s funThere are so many free printables for you to choose from if you want them to hold up a sign. I have a letterboard that we’ll use which will be perfect!

The reason I do these pictures is because I like to compare their first day picture to their last day picture. It’s amazing to see how much they grow in such a small amount of time.

#3: Start Slow For Your 1st Day of Homeschool

You’ve just had a couple months or more of time off. Being out of routine can make it especially difficult to get back into one. Instead of a long drawn-out week that feels like it never ends, I like to start in the middle of the week on Wednesday.

Another thing I like to do is ease into all the curriculum. I’ll probably doing a little bit of morning time along with the core curriculums: math and language arts. Other than that, I’ll add more each week to make the transition better.

#4: Homeschool Coupons

I have never done homeschool coupons before and this is the first year trying them. These are great to use not only for the first day of school, but I’d even consider it to me a great stocking stuffer too at no extra cost to you!

This doesn’t have to be fancy by any means, you can cut out small rectangles of paper and write what you want the coupon to represent. In case you are wanting something already done done up, I created a coupon book for you to print out and use for yourself.

Some ideas for coupons are:

a day off from school
watching an educational movie
paint a subject
skip your least favorite subject for the day
your choice of activity
a day at the park
lunch at a favorite restaurant
30-minute break
pajama day

#5: Scavenger Hunt For School Supplies

a basket full of new school supplies for the first day of homeschool

This was by far was the most liked on the first day. We had never done a scavenger hunt before and she had seen one done in a video and claimed she always wanted to do it.

In my childhood, I don’t think I ever experienced a scavenger hunt as a kid, and have to admit I always wanted to. I came up with 6 clues. I gave her the first clue that led her to a hiding spot. That hiding spot had another clue and it kept going until the last clue led her to her school supplies!

I hesitate to tell you what was in my basket because it’s specific to my family’s needs as well as what I thought she’d be interested. The homeschool coupons were presented with it as well!

Some ideas for school supplies

Play dough
New books
Pencils
Painting supplies
Pencil sharpener
Books on tape
Puzzles
Movies that correlate with a topic they’ll be learning
A museum membership
Notebooks
Erasers
Ruler
Glue
Scissors
Dry erase markers
Magnifying glass
Microscope

I’m sure that doesn’t even touch the surface of all the things available. Assess what your financial needs are and you can even be a little selfish and purchase things you’d like to have on hand. The scavenger hunt is enough fun and such a great presentation that your kids will find it to be a treat no matter what!

#6: End the Day With The Park or a Play date For Your 1st Day Of Homeschool

And just like you want to start the day off on the right foot, you’ll want to end it on the same note. Your little ones haven’t been used to sitting down and working, so some good time outside with fresh air and friends is such a treat. Plus, isn’t it easier to put them to sleep when they’ve had some good exercise with friends?

Going outside and socializing with friends is something I try to do each week anyway. We do our best to finish homeschool by lunch time and so the afternoons are made for play dates and outdoor time.

Furthermore, there are so many health benefits to this both physically and mentally and so this is why I added it to the list.