Back to School Unit Study
Take a group photo – consider starting a homeschool year book. We make ours scrapbook style, but you could have yours printed and bound if you desire.
Back to School Survival Kit – Surprise your students with these fun back to school survival kits.
Establishing a School Identity
Annie’s Back to School Symbols Page – This page is useful for expanding the back to school theme – it covers briefly various topics including the pencil, glue, and 3R’s.
Summer Vacation Writing Project (also here)
Pass Out your Homeschool Rules. Make a list of rules that will guide your homeschool. There can be as many or as few as you like, but it will be easier for the children to remember if you keep them simple and limited. Here are some examples to help you forumulate your own Homeschool Rules
- Classroom Rules (near the bottom of the page)
- Rules (scroll to find)
- TRAIN (A few short rules under the title TRAIN)
- Classroom Rules (for public schools)
- Making Classroom Rules (lesson plan for older students)
Books:
- Summer Mystery by Meg Roop – This was a very cute story about a girl whose parents want to begin home schooling her. She spends the summer getting used to the idea, while solving a mystery with her friend.
- What Would Joey Do? by Jack Gantos
- Kandoo Kangaroo Hops Into Homeschool by Susan Ratner – When a young kangaroo asks a lot of questions, her parents know it’s time to homeschool. The little ‘roo thinks there’s too much to learn, but her doubt turns into delight when she uses her driveway for a blackboard and learns she “Kandoo” all things throught Christ who gives her strength.
- Ready, Set, Cooperate by Marlene Barron- This book includes activities that are great to help children learn to cooperate. Often times we preach to children to do this or that but this book offers practical things to do that are fun and non-academic. The activities cover social studies, art, music, and drama. The limitation of the book is that activities are for children up to age 7. Oh, be sure to check out the other title “Ready, Set, Count” which includes great activities to help your child learn math. Up to age 7 also although the activities in both books can be modified for older children.
- I Am a Home Schooler by Julie Voetberg – What’s it like to be a home schooler? Is it sometimes lonely to be the only child in your “classroom”? Do home schoolers learn as much as kids in regular school? This book answers those questions and others, as it follows nine-year-old Teigen on her home-schooling activities.
- Allison’s Story: A Book About Homeschooling (Meeting the Challenge) by Jon Lurie - “I learn from everything I do,” says eight-year-old Allison, who narrates this appealing photo-essay about her homeschool experiences.
Make a School ID Badge for your child. A suggested format is below. (No – this is not my child – it’s a purchased photo. 
) – Related: Personal ID Badge
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Julie SmithBible
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: (Proverbs 1:8)
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; (Deuteronomy 4:9)
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3:24,25)
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Back to School List: Essentials for This School Year
Supply List for Back to School
Why Do You Homeschool?
Have each child make a book titled Why I Don’t Go To School and/or you make a book titled Mommy, Why Don’t We Go To School? to read to your children when they ask that all important question. Make sure you add lots of artwork to your book, or if you are “artistic” add clipart to your books from the internet. Writing these books will give your family an opportunity to discuss your philosophy on education, homeschooling, and refresh why you chose to homeschool in the first place. This book will be very useful in times to come when burn-out rears it’s ugly head or frustration starts to set in. See below for bookmaking links:
- My Special Cloth Book
- Easy Bookmaking in the Classroom
- Clickbook (commercial software)
- Bookmaking Lesson Plans
- Hand Bookbinding: A Manual of Instruction by Aldren A. Watson
- Basic Bookbinding by Arthur William Lewis
- Cover To Cover: Creative Techniques For Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums by Shereen LaPlantz
These links will help you and your family develop a philosophy of education if you have not already.
Research links
- AtHomeSchool’s Philosophy of Education
- Why Homeschool? Why Not?
- Home2Teach (a short list is on the right side of the page)
- Ten Good Reasons To Homeschool
Back to School Graphics
- School Related Graphics
- Educational Clipart
- School Clipart
- Clipart & Pictures of School, College and University
- School Clipart
- Back To School Icons
- School Icons Club
- Pics4Learning
- Discovery School Clipart
- Original Clipart
- BryBack Manor’s Back To School Clipart
- Kids Domain School Clipart
Supplies
Divide a sheet of paper into 4 columns. Label the columns: Item – Estimated Cost – Actual Cost – Difference. Make a shopping list of the items needed for a fresh school year. (books, pencils, notebooks, papers, journals, bookbags, etc.) Have the children estimate (guess) the cost of each item on the sheet. When you have finished shopping, the child should write the actual cost of each item on the sheet and subtract it from the estimated cost – this total should go in the Difference column. Total up the columns, and you will see how close your estimate came to the actual cost. An example sheet is below.
|
Item
|
Estimated Cost
|
Actual Cost
|
Difference
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| pencils |
$3.00
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$.98
|
$2.02
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| paper notebooks |
$1.00
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$.12
|
$.88
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| ruler |
$.25
|
$1.20
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-$.95
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| Total |
$4.25
|
$2.30
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$1.95
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Make a decorated notebook.
Crafts:
- Felt Bookmarks
- Homemade Stickers
- Make a personalized magnet (from felt or card stock) to hang special papers on the fridge.
- Parent’s Back to School Kit (printables)
- Printable Bookmarks (print on card stock and let the children color!)
Some of you may want to consider sending the children to a Not Back to School Camp
Back to School Shopping Math Problem
Organizing
Organizing the Home (for School)
Home’s Cool! Get Organized for Homeschool
Get Organized for Back to School – written for schooled families, there is still a lot of useful information for the homeschool family here.
Starting the Year off Right – Setting Up a School Area
Schedules and Planners
Teaching Kids the Planner Habit – OrganizedHome.com
Back to School with Billy Bear – This page has to do lists, planners, and more for the child to print out and use.
Homeschool Study Plan – Homework is an important part of your learning. Planning ahead can make homework easier. Fill out the form below to help you plan your homework study time and space.
Portfolios & Record Keeping
Books:
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