Even in the homeschool world things can play out crazily for the first day of school. The weeks leading up to it.. Homeschool moms are typically looking for the best deals on school supplies. Wardrobes aren’t the same priority when you can do school in your jammies but my kids still get some new threads and the back to coop outfit.

But on the first day of school at home things really kick into high gear. The first day of school can be overwhelming for me who will be teaching 12th, 9th, 7th, 3rd, K5 and a K4 and adding a very active and cute 3 year old thru adoption hopefully by the end of the year or other moms teaching many ages or just one age.

So, for all of those homeschool moms who will have a very busy first day of school this year, I want to give you some ideas to have a successful first day of homeschool!

1. Make a Schedule….just do it. This is the part i struggle with the most but my most favorite part. A schedule is nothing more than a written plan for your day. There are many different types of schedules with different levels of detailing. When the going gets tough, you can always leave the schedule but if there is no written plan things are likely to be left undone. So, have a written plan! Any schedule is better than no schedule.

2. Start before the first day or take it one step at a time. Aside from a written plan, Get a plan for the ‘littles’, if I can keep the littles occupied and quiet… My older kids do fabulous.

3. The first day of school, my kids are always curious about new books, notebooks, computer programs, note cards, supplies, and on and on. So, we do little “school” on the first day of school…although they do learn a great deal. Since we have the entire school
Year, I let them have a chance to thumb through things and become familiar with each book or program during the time when they will be doing that subject. They can also ask all of those hundreds of questions, i know they will have. I look for an extra special project, art, experiment, or kitchen fun in the first few days of school.

4. Start your school day with a high protein breakfast. And plan out your meals. I can not stress this enough. In fact I will have another blog post on just that.. Menu planning. But put supper in your crock pot.. So your day can be carefree!!

5. Best for Last! Remember to stop and laugh.. Smile. Don’t be stressed. Look for opportunities throughout your day with your kids to just stop and enjoy the moment. Sometimes I get so focused on completing a project or schedule.. I miss the fun loving parts of my day. Learning is fun!!

Enjoy your back to ‘homeschool day!