Starting our new school year on Monday!

[Paige P]

For those of you who homeschool year round, I have a question about this! I just started this year, but year round makes so much more sense with my schedule (I teach as well, but can determine my own schedule). Since this is our first year (we started in mid-May), I'm still trying to sort out all this "first day" stuff and if that will even happen for us. It didn't occur to me until the other day, because mama has a "first day" of school, my preschooler has one, but my kindergartener doesn't! (She's seemed a bit dismayed by this fact, but recovered quickly.)

How important is this? I've often wondered why so many homeschoolers follow the public school calendar, and now think perhaps this has something to do with it. Any suggestions for when to do a first day if you hs year round? Or comments about whether we even need to have one? Thank you!

Vicki, you may want to start a specific thread about this. There are many ways people choose to address it, and many of them are FUN It does NOT have to be the same day ps starts, just a day that is fresh and new to you This year is very different because we're building a house, are in a rental, and are getting ready to move again -- semi-chaotic. We just started with the "minimum." USUALLY, though, I made a big deal of laying out all their new school books at their place at the table with new pens, pencils, crayons, markers, pencil holder, notebooks, etc. All new stuff Then (not this year ), we usually go to Waffle House for breakfast -- yep, it starts the day off schedule for the first day of school, but real school does that, too, and we rarely go out for breakfast, so it makes it exciting.

[Christi in VA]

We will start Aug 23...usually take the kids out to breakfast and other fun stuff.
This year, Breakfast, Bowling and Bibles. They all need new ones so we will make a shopping trip to a bookstore. We still get kidsbowlfree.com coupons till october so that will also be on the agenda.

This year:
7th
5th
3rd
K
Looking forward to lots of FIAR memories

[Kelli in TN]

We started last Monday. We made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I used these printable signs (found the link on the homeschool share blog) to take their 1st day pictures:

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/updated...intables-k-12/

They turned out so cute! Then we made All About Me Books. Our first week we did the Lego unit study from Walking By the Way and tomorrow we will start Roxaboxen. We had a great start to this school year!

[MichelleTN]

Where has summer gone? Wow this seemed fast but we did have a longer baseball season since both boys made All Stars

We will be starting Sept 4. That is like 2 weeks away. I need to get it in gear

9th & 6th here :eek1:

We usually take pictures out front that morning, then have a light day of schooling and go out for lunch. I want to do something a little different this year but don't know what yet.

[JoyMarie]

We school year round but always take the first week or two of Sept off. My kids love it that all the schools are in session and we can go have fun. We usually hit the zoo, parks, and the beach, if the weather is nice, without the usual crowds.

When we start back mid Sept. I will have a:
Sophomore in College
12th
8/9th (some LD's)
8th
6th
3rd
2 in 1st
and a K

We don't do anything special for the first day of our school year.

[Heather (WI)]

Oh, and for our first day I took the kids out to breakfast at IHOP. I must not have been much fun recently, as DS11 was convinced I was bribing them for some terrible fate and not that I just wanted to do something fun !

LOL, Cari!

We are planning to have breakfast at iHop tomorrow when we start, too!!

This year I have a 10th grader already! I can hardly believe we only have 3 years of homeschool left. Very bittersweet.

[Jennifer Unsell]

Oh, and for our first day I took the kids out to breakfast at IHOP. I must not have been much fun recently, as DS11 was convinced I was bribing them for some terrible fate and not that I just wanted to do something fun !

My 5th grader is dreading the start of school and told me today that he doesn't really think he needs school at all because he's done "just fine" this summer without it.

This made me smile, Rebe!