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When I say the words “first day of school”, what do you think of?
Sharpened pencils, that first swipe of crayon on a page, cracking open the glue sticks?
As a homeschooling family, we have tried to remember to take advantage of the freedom afforded us. We’ve incorporated travelling into our schooling, for one thing. Another thing that I’ve tried to do is make the first day of school unique.
Since we’re still several weeks out from school starting for most folks, I thought I’d share some of our best first days with you to hopefully get your creative juices flowing!
The boys were in elementary school when we decided to homeschool. The first few years, we made a tradition of going out for lunch the first day of school. We’d make a big deal about how lucky we were to get to eat out at a restaurant while all the other kids were in school. There was usually ice cream involved.
First Day of School Field Trips
One year we decided to take a field trip on the first day.
We drove up to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, in Itasca State Park. The drive was almost 4 hours each way. We brought along an audiobook to listen to on the way and a picnic for lunch.
What kid wouldn’t want to spend his first day of school hiking in the woods?
Surprise Trip
The next year, I spent the day before the first day telling the boys about the exciting work I had planned for them. We’d still go out for ice cream, I told them.
I had a surprise planned, however. I woke them up in the morning and we loaded up in the car for another first day field trip.
This year, instead of heading north, we headed south. We drove down to Walnut Grove to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum and other pioneer sites. Because we were going to be seeing sites related to pioneers and those having to survive in nature, I had tailored our audiobook selection to fit. We listened to Hatchet, the story of a boy stranded in the wilderness; and on the way home we started My Side of the Mountain, also about a boy, but this time one who chooses to live in nature (off-the-grid, as we might call it today).
Our first stop was at an authentic sod house.
We got to wander through and explore at our own pace. We even pretended that we were living in the house, talking through what our day might be like. Since we were the only ones there, we could really spend some time doing this.
Next we stopped at Nellie’s for lunch. Yup! There really is a Nellie’s Café in Walnut Grove.
Then we headed over to the museum. While we enjoyed the historical artifacts, we didn’t find the museum overall to be that great. Part of it might have been that we had just come from the authentically built sod houses. At the museum, they have replicas of various buildings. But compared to the sod houses, where you really felt like this is how people lived, it seemed fake.
We got the feeling that the museum was as much about the TV show as the history. Not that that’s bad, just not what we were hoping for.
Last, we drove to see the Jeffer’s Petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are essentially carvings in rock that have stood the test of time. The Jeffer’s Petroglyphs are on huge quartzite outcroppings called Red Rock Ridge. There are thousands of individual carvings on the rock.
We made some special memories on those trips, for sure.
Now that the boys are in high school, our first day traditions have reverted back to a special breakfast or lunch out.
What special traditions do you have for the first day of school? A family breakfast? Picnic? Treat?
Nita says
We didn’t do anything special for the first day of school since the kids started high school. We did have a conversation about what they wanted to do, and they said ‘nothing’, lol!
Susan says
That sounds like high schoolers! LOL!
Diane Williams says
That’s the best thing about homeschool. I love that you can make great memories, bond as a family and learn something of value all at once. Precious times!
Susan says
Spot on, Diane! I agree completely. Thanks for stopping by!
Renee says
In my opinion, NOTHING could top going to Walnut Grove! That is so awesome!! My kids would love that but for us it would have to be more like a vacation since we are so far away.
I love the idea of doing a field trip on the first day of school. The freedom we have been granted while homeschooling has been a huge blessing. Some years I don’t take advantage of it as much as I should or would like to. I hope to change that this year and get back to being more adventurous.
We also don’t really have a first day of school tradition but if we start one I think this idea would fit us well 🙂
Susan says
Renee, I’m so glad you found some ideas here that would work for your family! I’m with you that we don’t always take full advantage of the freedom of homeschooling. It’s so easy to get into a rhythm and forget, or get so caught up in meeting goals we’ve (I’ve) set…that’s when I try to remind myself of why we decided to homeschool in the first place. One thing we did our first year homeschooling was to try to visit as many local parks as we could. It was an incentive to finish our work early, so we’d have time to set out and explore, and get back before dinner.
Marva | sunSPARKLEshine says
These are some fun ideas, Susan. My children are not home-schooled but I’m already thinking of what fun ways I can mark the first day of school with them. You’ve got my wheels turning!
Thanks for sharing. I love your pictures too!
Susan says
I’m so glad you found something useful, Marva! You know, however families “do” school, it’s always special to create traditions and make memories!
Wanda says
We always go to the beach… Because it’s not crowded anymore! Our homeschool community also has several park meet-ups that we can go to in the mid-morning, so we usually plan for that. And, of course, we head to the Farmer’s Market (which is open on Tuesdays, so it’s perfect for the day after Labour Day) where we greet our favourite vendors and have a chance to chat with them since it’s not so busy anymore. The school books are there waiting for us the next day of course, but since we took our kids out of public school, we’ve tried to make this day especially awesome.
Susan says
Great ideas! And good point about things not being so crowded. It’s the perfect day to hit spots that are crowded in the summer or on weekends..makes it all the more special.