Celebrate Back-to-School for Your Homeschooled Kids

It's almost that time of year again: Back-to-school. The homeschooled student and parent sees this time of year a little differently. Instead of going to school, they will be starting school at home. So how can your homeschooled students celebrate the event?

Set a date and mark your calendar

Choose a date for back-to-school and mark it on your calendar. Put it up on the fridge or your bulletin board so the kids can see it as a visual reminder of what's coming up. Do a countdown and let the kids mark off each day leading up to "The Big Day."

Have a back-to-school party

It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, but throw a back-to-school party for the kids. If they have other friends who are homeschooled, invite them to join in with the fun. Hold the party the weekend before the first day of school - but not the night before. The kiddos need their rest before hitting the books.

The back-to-school party can be elaborate or simply a few games, snacks and treats for the kids. Be sure to include decorations and let the kids put them up.

Celebrate with a back-to-school movie night

This could be an in-home movie night with a choice of DVDs or choose a movie at the theater as a treat for the kids.

Hold a resource day

Pick a day before school is slated to begin and take the kids shopping for back-to-school supplies. Let them pick out their notebooks, pencils, crayons, pencil boxes and whatever other supplies they need. Browse through the book store together to see if there are any interesting books the kids would like to read or learn about.

Make a stop at the craft store to load up on craft and art supplies for the coming year. My own kids love picking out craft kits and supplies and planning crafts they'd like to make during the school year. Allow each child to pick out a certain amount of supplies.

Purge your supplies

While most kids don't like cleaning, they do occasionally enjoy letting go of things they no longer need. Let the kids help you clear out resources and materials they have outgrown. When my youngest no longer needed her alphabet flash cards, she was happy to help me load those up, along with the other things she no longer needed.

Shop for clothing

Okay, when your kids are homeschooled, they don't need the array of brand new clothing that other kids need. They will probably enjoy getting a few new items, though.

Celebrate back-to-school by going shopping! Sure, you don't need to plan the big budget many public school parents need, but the kids will enjoy picking out a new pair of tennis shoes or some new t-shirts of their choice. Even my son will get on board with picking out a new "Star Wars" t-shirt for back-to-school.

Make it fun

No matter what you do to help your homeschooled kids celebrate getting back to the business of learning, make it fun. Enlist the kids to help with all of your planning. Allowing them to take some ownership of their own education is a good thing and you might find that it helps in the long run. Remember, the kids will get on board with things they are interested in and things they have fun doing!