First Day of School Traditions (Easy and Fun)

Do your children look forward to the first day of school or do they see it as an end to their summer freedom? Make the start of school a memorable one by learning how to celebrate the first day of homeschool and creating some fun first day of school traditions.

First Day of School Traditions

We have a lot of fun during the summer months. When school starts again, it sure can be difficult to get back into the routine of a school day.

A great way to help your children and even you look forward to starting school again is by establishing some special traditions for first day of school. When summer comes to a close they won’t dread it, but they will look forward to the start of a new school year.

The first day of school can be a special time spent with family as you ease into the first week with new routines. You can use some first day of homeschool printables to create a great keepsake binder. 

You and your kids are going to love these fun first day of school tradition ideas. We hope they inspire you to come up with your own first day of school traditions that will establish great memories with your family of your homeschool years together.

How to Celebrate the First Day of Homeschool

Since you aren’t having to get up super early to get your kids ready and off to school, there are many fun ideas you can do to celebrate together. These ideas are pretty special because you are spending quality time together and easing into your school routine.

There will be less stress and anxiety and it will be a smoother transition for all.

First Day of School Traditions

Below we share a list of possible ideas that many families enjoy choosing to celebrate a new beginning to their school year. But of course, you can come up with your own homeschool first day of school ideas to make your first day of school a special memory for your family.

Night Before School Traditions

Plan a special family night on school year’s eve. Wait, what? Yes, School Year’s Eve is a new phrase coined by moms who rally up the family for a special dinner and family movie night to wrap up the summer. Hopefully you’ve been easing the kids into a bedtime routine!

Have a Special Back to School Breakfast

Some families make the same special breakfast each year for their tradition such as: a pancake breakfast, French toast bake, biscuits and gravy or a trip to a donut store. The sky is the limit. Have your kids choose what they want for their school breakfast. 

There are have been times where we made a huge breakfast with all their favorites. Other times we would keep our pajamas on, hop in the car and go get donuts at a local donut shop before we start school as a special treat. This is a nice tradition to start your school day off in a special way.

Back to School Shopping

Let’s face it, homeschooling mamas are a frugal bunch, but our kids still need new clothes from time-to-time. Back-to-school clothes shopping was always something I looked forward to and my kids do as well. Maybe just a new outfit will do the trick!

First Day of Homeschool Pictures

A favorite tradition we have is taking first day of school pictures every year. Your kids might not look forward to them, but you’ll want to be able to look back on them. You can use printable first day of school signs to frame a picture of your child.

If you went school shopping, they’ll loving wearing their new outfits and first day of school photos might not be so hard to get them to agree to. 

These are great to share with family members as they can see the growth and change in your children each year. They also get to see the fun things that you do on your first day of homeschool.

Check out these ways to make back to school pictures more fun:

• • Let your kids pick out a new outfit for the first day of school to wear in their photos.
  • Go somewhere like a park or a trail to take pictures.
  • Let your kids be goofy and creative with the pictures.
  • Recreate one of the pictures each year and compare it to past years.
  • Use some back to school signs to pose with.

First Day of Homeschool Questionnaire and Interviews

First day of school interviews are a fun tradition we have in our homeschool. Give your children a first day of school interview sheet to fill out and add it to your homeschool portfolio.

Ask your kids things like:

• What’s your favorite movie?
• Favorite book?
• What are you most looking forward to this year?
• Favorite subject?

It’s fun to see how they change from year to year or even from the beginning to the end of the school year. These make a great keepsake for an end of year homeschool portfolio as well. 

My little ones have always enjoyed having some special “school worksheets” just for them when their older siblings are getting shiny new books and supplies.

They are going to love working on these All About Me Templates. There are 18 pages to choose from and it will keep them busy for hours on the first day.

Back to School Gifts

A favorite tradition for our family is to give out back to school gifts. We don’t have a local school supply list that we have to shop for. I like to go and purchase special school supplies customized to each child.

My youngest may get special colored pencils or twistable crayons, while the older children may get a nice notebook, erasable pens or a book that has been on their wish list.

I like to lay these out on our kitchen table with a little name tag sign for each child so they know what stack of supplies belong to them. When they wake up they run to the table like presents on Christmas morning!

More back to school gift ideas:

• A new water bottle or tumbler for drinking throughout the day
• homeschool t-shirts
• monogrammed book bag
• buy a new book for each child
• supply caddy for homework stations

Here are some more Back to School Gifts for Homeschool Moms and Students with a free printable.

New School Supplies

Thankfully we can buy whichever new school supplies we might need for the school year. Last year we did a school scavenger hunt for supplies that was wildly successful.

Watching the kids run around the house searching for colored pencils and notebooks was quite hilarious and a great idea to get them excited about a fresh start.

Our must-have school supplies:

• Pre-sharpened pencils
• Spiral Notebooks (a lot of them!)
• Scotch tape (my kids always steal mine!)
• 3-Ringed binders
• Colored pencils
• Crayons
• Glue sticks
• Scissors (where do the go every year?)
• Drawing pads
• Manilla file folders (for lapbooks)

Print out this handy homeschool supply list for the basics.

Customized Lunchboxes

Most homeschooling families go on at least one homeschool field trip during the year in which kids need to bring their lunch. Having a special lunchbox is an affordable way to make your kid’s day.

Use 1st Day of School Printables

You may also be interested in these free first day of homeschool printables for printable interview questions, and first day of school signs to hold for your photos.

No matter the first day of school tradition you choose for your family, you can make it a great celebration. Remember to take pictures and have fun making memories with your children. These times at home go by so fast, and you will cherish the special moments homeschooling your children.

Ideas for the End of the First Day

Whether your student is in high school or you have younger children, a fun way to start the school season is celebrating with a school party after the first day has ended.

You could make a giant cookie and decorate it or even go out for ice cream! You could celebrate the new school year with a movie night too. The bottom line is having great first day of school traditions
can make the transition from summer to back to school much less painful for everyone. 

Last Day of School Traditions

At the end of the year, you can print free last day of school signs to add to your portfolio. You could even re-do a homeschool interview and compare how much your kids have changed. 

Lastly, be sure to print our school time capsule set for a great way to capture memories and create keepsakes.