Last/first day of school ideas

I saw something in a magazine a few years ago – they were doing PS, but you could adapt the theme – they had a first day of school dinner the night before and they made a cake with shaped like a bus.  You could have a big first day of school breakfast. 

I love the Happy Homeschooling Day idea!

One homeschool mom told me a couple of years ago, she and her homeschool group had their own “Back to Home School Sale.”  They met at a local park pavilion on the first day the public schools went back to school, and they each brought a few books or other materials/school-related items to swap with or sell to other members.  It was a very informal, picnic atmosphere, and everyone had fun getting together.  We usually have a picnic at a park or a zoo day.  Once, when it was a rainy first day back, we went to a local mall to window-shop, play a few arcade games (I counted skee-ball as phys. ed. for that day, tee-hee), and have lunch.  The mall was pretty empty, and it was humorous how so many shop owners and customers asked the kids, “So, when do you go back to school?”  (Um, always? Every day?)

There is something we do when we finish a literature book or a geography unit, but they could be combined into an end-of-year celebration as well.  We plan and implement a “festival” using the theme of the book or geography unit.  For example, we had a “Rascal Luncheon” when we completed Sterling North’s “Rascal,” where we made placemats out of coloring pictures of the raccoon, Rascal, that we found on the net, and we laughed as we all demonstrated how Rascal “washed” his food before eating it, offered our favorite parts of the book (good informal narration reinforcement), and so on.  For geography, we are having a “South American Festival” with a lunch or dinner of various native foods, collages of people groups, customs, traditions of South American countries, maps prepared as a summary of our map drills, etc.  We plan to let our imagination run wild.

Sue

We are part of a large hs group that puts on a huge Year End party/celebration in May.  It usually has a talent show/dinner/certificate of completion (signed by mom and dad) and dessert.  We display art from children who wish to share in the foyer of the church building we rent.  It is a lot of work to put together, but my kids would be heartbroken if they weren’t able to participate.  And, sometime in May we get together and have a swap at a local gymnastics building….great fun!

Beginning of the year (usually early Aug.) same group holds a Back to School party at a local public pool.  We make sure to take a group picture for the yearbook, visit with each other, and welcome new members. 

At the end of our co-op season we have potluck and just let the kids play and enjoy themselves.