First Day of Homeschool Celebration! {Student Interview Free Printable}
As a kid, I LOVED the first day of school! I loved all the new supplies and fresh clothes, the excitement of a new batch of classes and all that went with it. Now that we’re homeschooling I don’t want my kids to miss out on that excitement!
I have a scavenger hunt planned using the early reading game Ukloo (If I didn’t already have the basic version, I would buy the riddle version!). The clues will lead the kids to an overview of our subjects… so, they’ll go to a “treasure” that relates to math, reading, science, art, etc. Each will have a small “gift” (read: school supply!). See below if you’re curious about what I’m hiding.
At the end of the hunt, we will have a special once-a-year breakfast of Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.
Then, they’ll complete our All About Me interviews and take first day photos. You can download a PDF of the interview here.
I’m hoping this will garner lots of enthusiasm for what we’ll be studying this year. I’m planning a “soft start” this school year… we’ll ease our way back in for 3 weeks with math, reading/language, handwriting, and memory work before adding science, history, art/music, and geography when our (outdoor, socially distanced) co-op begins in mid-September.
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If you’re curious what each “treasure” will be:
Literacy: Word on the Street Jr game. I’ll modify this so that my early reader and my confident reader/struggling speller can play during our Gameschool Day. I’ll write their answers on a white board and practice encoding skills as we go. (You can read about our weekly Schedule & Rhythm here)
Writing: Mazes for my kindergartener and a Q&A journal for my 2nd grader– I’m planning to modify this from a 3 year journal to a 3 person journal because I think he will love if he answers along with Mom AND Dad.
Math: Election Night game. Am I even a homeschooler if I don’t take advantage of election season to teach math?! Hehe.
History: Ranger in Time (Rescue on the Oregon Trail) book (from the library!) My oldest loves this series (Magic Tree House read-alike with a time traveling dog!), and I think my younger will be pumped to listen in for a read aloud. The topic of this installment will kick off our “modern” history cycle for the year.
Art: watercolor paper pads. I’m really impressed with the quality of this paper after buying the bargain pads the last few years! I stocked up with two pads since the price was great ($6, which is about 50% off as of my posting this.)
Geography: Stack the States app and Kathy Troxel CD
Nature study: new rain gear (found at Costco)
Science: cell phone clip-on microscope. I haven’t tried this yet, but for $10 the reviews seemed promising!
UPDATE: it was terrible. I returned it!
We’ve tried a variety of “First Day” celebrations over the years. In the preschool years and start of elementary, we used A Year of Playing Skillfully (you can read my post about it at that link) and always enjoyed their suggestion to start the year with a hot air balloon ride! A few balloons tied onto a wagon or on a laundry basket make for a fun way to get some perspective on our year. Here’s hoping my treasure hunt is a hit this year!
Blessings to you as you begin your homeschool year! You certainly do NOT need any of these goodies to have a wonderful school year! Nevertheless, I hope I’ve encouraged you to celebrate kicking off your school year!
