Creating traditions in your homeschool journey is a fun way to show kids that we value both their education, and the privilege we have of spending these days together as a family.
Back-to-school is an exciting time. There is so much newness, but also accomplishments, achievements, goals, things to look forward to.
As homeschoolers we capture a bit of that back-to-school magic in different ways. We don’t buy a lot of new supplies or clothes, the kids don’t get a new classroom, they don’t need backpacks. Over the last several years we have found other ways to make the first day back memorable. A special breakfast, new pajamas, art supplies, books, board games, and a park meetup with friends are just a few ways we’ve celebrated the first day back.
We’ve also done lunch out with Dad, scavenger hunts, family art projects, and day trips. One of their favorite things was the year I filled a miniature pinata with fun school supplies.
The days leading up to the first day the kids are kept out of the classroom while I clean, reorganize, and make everything look new and fresh. They come into the classroom on the first day with new supplies, pajamas, clothes, curriculum, and equipment piled up on their desks and the main table.
This year they each got a handheld microscope, lots of books, and two new board games. We spent the day going over our plans for the year, coming up with a word of the year to focus on, and setting goals for ourselves.
We started a family painting that we will work on all week. We also played one of our new games and wrote autobiographies.
I make a big deal out of the first day because I want my kids to understand that what we do matters. School is important, and learning can be exciting and fun. They are entering a new grade which is an accomplishment they should feel proud about. When kids see how much we value education it becomes more valuable to them.
Other fun ideas you might consider for the first day of homeschooling:
Make a special breakfast or lunch.
Meet up with friends for a joint activity or playtime.
Have a pajama day.
Explosive science experiments.
Messy Art Projects.
Go to the movies or bowling.
Have a board games and movie day.
Have a tea party.
Take photos.
Have a picnic.
Do schoolwork somewhere different like a local creek or State Park
Make fudge or bake a back-to-school cake. Cinnamon Rolls are the favorite here.
Learn a new craft together: Last year my kids learned to weave on both a regular and circular loom.
Paint rocks with cheerful messages and hide them around your town.
Use up any leftover sparklers.I love seeing the back-to-school traditions families come up with. What does your family do on the first day back to school? Tell us in the comments below.
This is a comprehensive list of children’s fiction books organized alphabetically by theme. This list keeps growing and growing. There is a wide variety of themes, including units like bears and the ocean, academic themes like rhyming, vowels and becoming writers, and character building/behavioral issues such as lying, making friends and wearing glasses.
When possible I’ve linked the book that comes with a CD. If you can get a book with a CD, do it.
CDs are great for teachers when they lose their voice. They’re an awesome way for children to increase their fluency because they’re hearing a variety of voices. They also help children practice word-to-word correspondence.
See my list of books to buy for Early Emergent Readers
–that are similar to the readers they get at school here.
*Scroll to the bottom for a list of fiction books boys love* To see a list of books Dads Love to Read to little ones click here.
Chapter Books To Read Aloud *For classics I try to find abridged or updated versions, the originals can be wordy, have outdated language and are difficult for the little ones to understand.
A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler (I clipped together the KKK pages so the little ones wouldn’t see those illustrations and ask questions they are too young to ask.)
I’m Going to Build a Supermarket One of These Days by Bill Martin (out of print, but if you can find it, it’s such a fun book–great for teaching kids to think outside of the box and awesome for GT lessons)
Did you know that many of your 2nd language think they’re the only ones in the class that don’t understand you? Getting them to realize they’re not the only one, goes a long way in helping them feel comfortable and safe in your classroom.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (A bit hard for K and 1st, but any book boys love, carry around, and obsess over–I’m going to let them have) (a series)
These are great for testing days or sub plans. Start off the year doing them whole group, and by the 2nd semester many of the kids will be able to do them on their own.
Mystery Words I used this at the end of 1st grade when the kids could read the sentences on their own and they had a firm grasp of repeating patterns in words. It was easy for the higher-level kids, but they enjoyed it. I only made one, but I really liked it.
Are your students constantly asking how to spell words? We all know telling them how to spell something doesn’t help them. In 1st grade they shouldn’t be focused on spelling anyway. My solution increased their independence and their sight word vocabulary. I filled the entire wall under my while board with words. The first list is an alphabetical list of words they were constantly asking for–but weren’t at their reading level. If they can figure out the first letter and find the picture, they can find the word. The other posters are done by subject. *You’ll need a good color printer for these, but I printed mine on cardstock, laminated them and they lasted 6 years.
Last year my classes were overcrowded so I decided to try something new for Guided Reading that ended up solving my biggest GR problem–the behavior and management of the other kids while working with one group. And it was so simple! Instead of having them reading quietly at their seats, waiting for their group to be called, I had all of them sit on the carpet in their group and I moved around the room with my box of guided reading supplies (white board, flash cards, whatever I needed). The kids sat back-to-back so they didn’t bother each other, and turned around to form a circle when I came to their group.
This worked great for me because I’ve always liked to do groups on the floor. (I’m too small to use a kidney table–I can’t reach the kids books!) The best part–for some reason it took less time and I was able to meet with every group, every day.
My 2nd favorite tip for Guided Reading: Loud Fridays. One day a week we did Loud Reading instead of Silent Reading. On Fridays they could read with their friends, sing from their song books, and read out loud. This encouraged shared reading, increased fluency because they didn’t have to whisper and they loved it. (This is also a great day for Reading Buddies!)
These are books I created to help my little ones who were struggling with word boundaries, sight words and alphabet skills. They loved having their own books they could color, write on and keep in their book boxes. I laminated a few for the classroom too.
Instructions:Click on the title, not the picture. Print, make copies, cut along the dotted line, stack pages and staple.
Putting these together is very kid friendly, as there are no page numbers. As long as the title page is on top, the page order doesn’t matter. Use the dots under the words to reinforce word boundaries and pointing while reading.
Letter Bb book-harder End of 1st grade, focusing on harder vocabulary and lower case “b.”
(I made this book for 1st graders struggling with “b” and “d” confusion.)
