Homeschool has been so much fun for my family, and we have enjoyed meeting so many new families. But something I didn’t expect when I started homeschooling my kids, was how many rich traditions there were in the homeschool world! One of my favorite is on the very first day of school! Several people in my homeschool sphere celebrate the first day of NOT school! How that works is they plan a cheeky adventure on the day their school district heads back to class. Its a fun way to celebrate the return of empty parks, short lines, and fewer crowds. Here is how we spent our First Day of Not School this year.
First Day of Not School Ideas
There are so many ways you could celebrate Not School Day. We decided to head to the zoo and spend a day with all of the fun animals and activities. We had so much fun. Dad even played hooky from work and came along with us. The girls love when he gets to be a part of our homeschool day, so this was an easy use of PTO for him to join us. But your adventure could be so many different things! Here are some good ones:
- Head to your favorite park, that is super busy all the other days of the year
- Trampoline Park
- Head to the public pool or splash pad
- Go tour a museum
- Visit the aquarium
- Visit an art class
- Go hiking
All of these are great options for you to do on your first day of not school. You can make it whatever you want. It can be super elaborate or super simple. The main goal is to go do something fun and enjoy the day instead of doing work.
Why do we celebrate First Day of Not School?
Honestly, the first day of school is kind of hard for us. All of our friends who attend public school head back to the classroom, and we have fewer options for playdates. School creates a busier schedule for everyone and its harder to see friends and just have a carefree day. Also, we school year round so it’s a nice break during the month where we start to ramp back up into our proper course load.
Also, the first day of school is a very big event. Everyone gets dressed up, lots of pictures, and just a big production over all. I want my kids to have a day that feels really special too. It’s important to mark those milestones so they don’t get glazed over. Just because you aren’t participating in traditional school doesn’t mean moving up to a new grade isn’t worth celebrating. Nothing about this tradition is meant to be mean or insulting to those who go to a traditional school, it is simply a way for us to have some fun and also celebrate a new school year.
Go enjoy a new tradition
I love traditions, and I love making memories around them. This is an easy way to bring about big memories for your kids and their schooling. I highly recommend doing something similar with your family. Make that day special! Find ways to incorporate more traditions into your homeschool year. It is a really special time for you kids and it should be celebrated the same way everyone else’s schooling it. Don’t think you can’t have fun and celebrate because you do something different.
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