Are you getting ready for your first day of home school? Learn how to start crushing home school from day one.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
- Important considerations to keep in mind when preparing for your first day of home school as a parent-educator.
- Five tips for making sure you are prepared and that you feel prepared—both of which are important.
- Answers to frequently asked questions about starting to homeschool your children.
- Key takeaways that you can use to start homeschooling your children with confidence.
- Information about additional resources for homeschooling your children.
It’s Almost Your Children’s First Day of Home School. Are You Ready?
You made the commitment to home school. You went through the process of meeting your state’s registration requirements, you settled on a curriculum, and you put together a plan for the first semester.
So, what now?
For many parent-educators, the first day of home school is filled with a mix of emotions. You feel excited and fulfilled, but you also feel stressed and anxious. How is the first day going to go? What if it doesn’t go well? What if you’re not as prepared as you thought you were? What if you’re not cut out for homeschooling?
While it’s natural to ask these kinds of questions, it’s also important not to stand in the way of your own success. If you’ve planned ahead, you are ready to homeschool. It might take time to settle into your new routine, but you can succeed. The reality is, if you’ve made it this far, you have what it takes to homeschool.
5 Tips for Making Sure You Are Prepared and Feel Prepared
With all of that said, we know you may be feeling anxious, and we know that beginning any new journey on your own can be intimidating. Here are five tips you can follow to help ensure that you are prepared and that you feel prepared on your children’s first day of home school:
1. Review Everything You’ve Done to Prepare
First, give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to review everything you’ve done to prepare. Review the lessons you’ll be sharing with your children on the first day, and think through the steps of any activities you have planned. Not only will this help you feel more prepared, but it will also show you that you have already put in the effort to make your kids’ first day (and your first day) a success.
With that said, if reviewing what you’ve prepared does not put your mind at ease, then you should think about what you still need to do in order to feel like you’re ready. Whether you feel like you need to review a lesson or you need some additional resources to help the day feel full and engaging, you still have time to do what you need to do.
2. Look Over Your Schedule for the School Day
It can also be helpful to look over your schedule for the school day. For most parent-educators, the first day of home school flies by. While many new parent-educators worry about how they are going to fill the day, more often than not, everyone ends up being surprised when it’s already time to start winding up for the day. Even though everyone’s at home, everything still feels new and different, and this makes the day feel much shorter than it is.
Looking over your schedule for the day will help the day feel less overwhelming. Instead of looking at the day as a whole, look at each segment you have planned. It’s much easier to see how you will get through a one-hour lesson followed by thirty minutes of independent reading and a two-hour work cycle than it is to see how you will get through an entire day that is entirely new.
3. Make Sure the Materials Your Children Will Need Are Ready to Go
On the night before your family’s first day of home school, make sure the materials your children will need are ready to go. Set everything out, and set up your designated home school space for the first activity or lesson of the day. This is similar to setting out your clothes the night before a big interview. It might only take a few minutes, but it will help you feel like you are ready to hit the ground running.
4. Do What You Can to Minimize Distractions
Along with setting out the materials your children will need for their first day, you should also do what you can to minimize distractions. Here, we’re primarily talking about distractions for yourself. For example, it can be a good idea to do things like:
- Take out the trash and empty the dishwasher
- Answer any texts or emails that are occupying space in your mind
- Pay any bills that you have to mail on the first day of home school
- Take care of any other lingering chores
- Switch your phone to silent and turn off notifications (or put it out of reach)
If you aren’t distracted or stressed by other things, you can devote 100% of your time and attention to homeschooling your children. This can also be helpful if you are feeling overwhelmed. Most of these things can be done fairly quickly; and, if you can knock a few items off of your to-do list, you’ll be well on your way to managing all aspects of your new role as a parent-educator.
5. Take a Moment to Reflect on How Far You’ve Come
Finally, before your family’s first day of home school starts, take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come. Remember when you didn’t know the first thing about homeschooling? Remember when you were weighing your options? Remember when you were navigating the registration process? Remember when things started coming together once you committed to moving forward?
You have come a long way, and that’s worth keeping in mind. You’ve already shown yourself that you can build and execute a plan, and now it’s finally time to do what you’ve been preparing to do all along.
FAQs: What To Expect Your First Day of Homeschooling Your Children
What Should We Do First on Our First Day of Home School?
This is really up to you. One option is to stick to your planned daily schedule and treat the day like (or almost like) any other day. But, you can acknowledge that you are all starting something new as well—perhaps during your morning ritual—and you can plan special activities if you think this would be helpful to keep everyone engaged and start the school year on a positive note.
How Can I Make Sure We Start the First Day of Home School on Time?
When you are homeschooling, starting your school days on time is important. We recommend working backward from your chosen start time and figuring out how much time everyone will need for the morning’s pre-school activities (i.e., waking up, eating breakfast, and getting ready for the day). If you’d like to know more, you can read our article on how to start home school on time every day.
What if Something Doesn’t Go According to Plan?
If something doesn’t go according to plan on your first day of home school, that’s okay. You’re doing something completely new; and, while you can plan ahead, you can’t predict the future. If something doesn’t go according to plan, adapt as best you can in the moment. Then, in the evening, reflect on what happened, why it happened, and what you might be able to do differently going forward.
Key Takeaways
- Your first day of home school is a big deal. You and your children are starting on a new and exciting journey, and you’ve already done a lot to make sure you’re ready.
- Review your preparations. Review everything you’ve done to get to where you are. Look back at your plan for the semester, and remind yourself of what you have on the schedule for your first day.
- Get ready the night before. Lay out the materials your children will need, and do what you can to minimize the risk of distractions interfering with your lessons and activities.
- It’s okay if something doesn’t go how you planned. As a parent-educator, it is important to plan for success, but it is also important to be prepared for things to not go exactly how you planned. If things don’t go according to plan, use this as a learning opportunity for the future.
Where to Learn More
If you are getting ready to start your homeschooling journey, consider becoming a Crush Home School member. Our members receive a monthly membership package in their inbox that contains tips, insights, suggested schedules and plans, exclusive resources, and much more. Members also receive a 10% discount on all other resources purchased through our website. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.