First Day of School Traditions 2020 – 2021

We love traditions, and the first day of school is a great one to make special with a few fun ones. We’ve added to these over the years, as we’ve thought of new things we’d love to do, but for the most part we’ve been doing these same things on the first day of school for nine years now – and we love it! The kids look forward to these things, and it makes for a special way to kick off the new school year.

We always start with ice cream for breakfast! The kids get super excited about this. The way that we do it changes a bit, but I always buy a carton of ice cream for each kid in his/her own favorite flavor. Since we usually share and compromise, that makes it extra special.

Then we add toppings. We always have sprinkles because the kids both love them. Some years we add fresh fruit, like bananas or strawberries and make parfaits. Some years we eat the ice cream on waffles and make a breakfast sundae.

This year, My Big Helper asked to make caramel sauce, so she did that, and then she prepped our sundae glasses. Each person created their own treat, and we topped it with graham crackers. Since our breakfasts usually involve eggs, baked oatmeal, or bagels and lots of fruit, this once-a-year decadence really starts the school day off with a special vibe.

When we started homeschooling, the kids were in kindergarten and second grade, and neither really knew how to make words. I decided that Scrabble would be excellent practice at that, so while we had lessons dedicated to this skill, we also played a lot of Scrabble to help them figure it out.

Ever since then we’ve played on the first day of school. We tend to play a lot of games but rarely play this anymore, so it’s fun to pull this off the shelf. My Big Helper really gave me a run for my money this year – her wordsmithing has definitely come in handy.

We also spend some time hanging out and recognizing who they are. Kids really grow and change a lot over the course of a year, and I love marking the first day with projects that focus on that.

This year we took our first read-aloud out on the deck because the weather was beautiful. The kids brought out art supplies and paper and drew their traditional first-day-of-school signs. I ask them to put their names, grade, and the date on them, as well as things they like. They personalized them while I read Shakespeare’s Secret. We were having so much fun that we read a full quarter of the story!

Then we go take pictures. What’s the first day without those? The kids pose with their signs and I get as many as they’ll allow. I love looking back at them as time passes.

Finally, I always ask for one more project. It’s another get-to-know-you kind of thing, something teachers might ask for in the first week of school so that they can learn about their students. I like for these to include both a written and an artistic element and to be somewhat open-ended so that they can personalize them.

This year, I asked for them to write, stream of consciousness style, about their likes and dislikes. About anything that makes them unique, really. Then they studied their fingerprint and sketched a large one on a sheet of printer paper. Finally, they added their writing in between the whorls and swirls of their sketch. They both got really creative with these, and I’ll put them in their scrapbooks to save.

That’s how we mark our first day of school. How do you make the day special?

Time really flies! Here’s a look at how we celebrated our first day five years ago.