Having a few back-to-school traditions can make homeschooling feel special. This can help your child overcome the feeling of being left out when they see peers take part in common public school traditions. It also helps build relationships, memories, and excitement throughout the school year.
The following are a few tips from our staff that can be adapted to your homeschool for a unique, memorable, family experience.
Theme:
Select a theme with a focus (or just for fun) for each new school year:
- Team: Decorate the house with your favorite team items such as jerseys, hats, pennants, etc. (Aggies, Astros, and Green Bay Packers are a must in my house).
- Light of the World: Use white Christmas lights and paper stars all over the house.
- Community: Use Christmas lights (I love Christmas lights) and signs printed with people and ministries in your community, etc. to pray for throughout the year.
- Super Heroes: Use super hero party supplies and focus on the unique gifts God has given each person. Everyone in the family can dress up as his/her favorite superhero and have fun taking pictures!
- Charlie Brown and Snoopy: Use this theme to focus on never giving up.
- Service: Each month decide as a family a new way to “serve” your community.
- Adventure/Camping: This is a great theme for talking about the Great Commission, growing, trying new things, not being afraid to make a mistake, and the list goes on. Your family can decorate with “camping” items such as fold out camping chairs, sleeping bags or blankets and pillows, flashlights, and background sounds of the outdoors or a campfire. (This was our theme this past year for 2021-2022)
Our theme for this school year is (drum roll please…) “A Few of Our Favorite Things!” My kiddos devour all things dance and theater. So, I thought, why not incorporate their “favorite things” and learn about how God has made us each unique in our gifts, personality, likes/dislikes, and how to find those same unique gifts in others so that we are building each other up as Ephesians 4:29 encourages us to “let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.” Through themes, we can also focus on relating to others, courage, where we find our worth, and more. The ideas are endless so have fun!
Quick tip on decorations: keep it simple. You don’t need to go buy a ton of new decorations each year to fit a theme. More than likely, you have what you need in your home already. Think outside the box and I am sure you can find what you need!
Heather, Customer Relations Special Needs Specialist
Box Day:
We always celebrated the arrival of our curriculum each year by keeping an ice box pie in the freezer. Our family tradition was to enjoy our icebox pie on “box” day as we enjoyed a sneak peek at all the new books. The kids would enjoy scanning through the beautiful new books; building excitement for the start of a new school year.
Ashley, Customer Relations Manager
“School Supply Presents:”
These “presents” are typically items our kiddos need or can use for school as opposed to a toy. Some examples include Bibles, fruit smelling crayons, backpacks, art supplies for art class, etc. The kids enjoy seeing the boxes (Hello Amazon!) and anticipating what is inside as they wait until we open them on the first day of school. Often, the “school supply presents” are also built into the theme decorations, if possible.
Heather, Customer Relations Special Needs Specialist
Geography Study:
After completing a study of a state, country, or culture, the children would create a display with completed artwork, reports, or even special projects like salt dough maps, dioramas. They would prepare a short synopsis of what they learned, and we would prepare a meal with foods from the area we studied. We would invite a special friend or family member over for dinner and the children would have a chance to showcase what they learned and enjoy a meal together.
Ashley, Customer Relations Manager
Posters and Pictures:
Create first day of school posters for the kids to use during the first day of school pictures. As you collect pictures throughout the week, create a digital PowerPoint, and enjoy a Friday night show.
Heather, Customer Relations Special Needs Specialist
Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner:
Enjoy a favorite breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Make it a full day event or just pick one or two. We usually have a special breakfast and dinner. Breakfast must include a donut from Shipley’s and dinner is usually hamburgers or pizza. Nothing over the top, just our favorite foods and conversation about the first day of school.
Heather, Customer Relations Special Needs Specialist
Field Trip:
Start the year with a field trip to a favorite place your family has been before or visit someplace new. Think about the topics that your family will explore this year and find a field trip to complement the topics; if possible. Museums, a cotton gin, radio stations, and state parks are just a few of the great field trips we have been on. Extend this idea to be a monthly tradition throughout the year. This is a great way to create memories to look back on!
Heather, Customer Relations Special Needs Specialist
Visit the Library:
Take a weekly, biweekly, or monthly trip to the library. Kids who especially enjoy reading, this can be a great way to break up the monotony of a school week. The library holds a wealth of knowledge for kids to dive into when learning about favorite topics or new interests. Many libraries also offer various classes and book clubs throughout the year.
Vicky, Customer Relations, Spanish Support
We hope these ideas will help you develop your own special homeschool traditions. A word of encouragement: you don’t need to be extremely creative or have a large budget to create a few traditions. I have upcycled many times and borrowed from family and friends to help keep costs down. So, I encourage you to not let those two areas be a roadblock to creating traditions.
Also remember, your homeschool traditions don’t have to look like someone else’s. Create your traditions to match your family. And as the kids grow up, it is okay to adjust the traditions (trust me, I am also speaking to myself). All in all, your Customer Relations Team at THSC prays you have a wonderful start to the new year and a blessed year of learning! Happy homeschooling!
Heather Young
Heather Young has been homeschooling since 2013 and joined THSC in 2021 as a Special Needs Specialist for Customer Relations and also a Homeschool Mentor. Her goal is to encourage families through inspirational creativity and a firm foundation in Christ. She enjoys reading, cooking, and exploring history with her two kids and supportive husband of 15 years.
