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Public School rituals in the Home School?


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What, if any, traditional public school experiences do you incorporate into your homeschool?

 

We already do back to school supply shopping. Mainly that's for my convenience since supplies are on sale. However I do let them pick out new pencil cases,colorful pencils etc that catches their eye.

 

I've been thinking about some other experiences that are familiar to the public school kids that are kind of fun and make for a memorable year that I could apply to homeschool.

 

One thing that has caught my eye recently is the adorable lunch boxes and cases available and the many many school lunch box recipes I've found online. 

 

I'm thinking of letting them pick out one and making their lunch each day, complete with fun notes or drawings to surprise them, and injecting a little bit of that fun  lunch room vibe to our days. I could include a read aloud while they have their fun lunch in their very own box.

 

Just a little thing that I've thought of that seems fun, but not necessary since we' re home. But then again...why not?

 

Yep I'm feeling envious of the lunch boxes!!! 

 

So is there any other common and fun tradition or routine that happens regularly in a B&M school setting that you include in your home routine?

 

 

 

 

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Pledge of Allegiance?

Morning Announcements?

Show-and-Tell?

 

I do occasionally make sure my kids know the Pledge by heart and understand the polite manners involved whenever it is said or when the anthem is being sung. And they understand the polite rules involved with caring for a flag and such. But I'm not really interested in making it a daily thing. I can see my kiddos having fun with that for about a week and then wondering "why?"

 

Show and tell however---that's an interesting idea. Hmmm.

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Theme days-DD loves planning activities around a special theme and then inviting HSed friends over to have Pi Day, World Turtle Day, Dr. Seuss Day, 100th day of school day, May the 4th be with you, etc.  Her PS friends have a lot of special days for various reasons that their moms post about on FB, so DD enjoys doing so as well.

 

 

 

 

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For K-8 the schools have walkathon, skip-a-thon, ride your bike to school day, Halloween parade, end of year concert. Not sure you want to replicate that.

 

My boys pack their school bags and lunch bags and we walk 10mins ( < 500 feet) to the local library to do work there.

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Theme days-DD loves planning activities around a special theme and then inviting HSed friends over to have Pi Day, World Turtle Day, Dr. Seuss Day, 100th day of school day, May the 4th be with you, etc.  Her PS friends have a lot of special days for various reasons that their moms post about on FB, so DD enjoys doing so as well.

 

Fun idea!!! And now I will need a calendar list of days. I'm one of those people who will forget a "day" unless it's a major holiday or birthday, or unless I mark it in big letters on a wall calendar. 

 

 

For K-8 the schools have walkathon, skip-a-thon, ride your bike to school day, Halloween parade, end of year concert. Not sure you want to replicate that.

 

My boys pack their school bags and lunch bags and we walk 10mins ( < 500 feet) to the local library to do work there.

 

 

This is similar to dmmetler's post. I do remember having fun while in school on Nerd Day, Backwards Clothes,Day,  PJ Day, Hat Day, and so on.

 

Now I want to start a list of ideas for that!!! I can see that really injecting some fun into those long, boring dark winter days!

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This is a little off-topic, but one of our traditions is "Not-Going-Back-To-School-Day."  On the day that the local ps starts (tomorrow, in fact!) we take the day off and go on some kind of outing.  Tomorrow we're planning on going out to breakfast and spending the afternoon at the local pool, which we should have almost completely to ourselves!!  It's just a little special something that prevents them from feeling left out of any excitement that their friends have about going back to school . . . although with the younger we have been careful to say it's not something you brag about!  It's just something special that Chrysalis Academy does on the 2nd or 3rd Thursday of August!

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I send my kids one of those "hello from the teacher" letters that ps kids get over the summer from their new classroom teacher. I enclose the subjects they will be studying with a short description and best wishes for a new year.

We have a lunch menu that I plan for the week and post like a school cafeteria. I let each of us (including dh) plan lunch for one day each week. I found this cute little printable on PInterest where they can choose the protein, sides, dessert, etc. so they circle their choices and I put the menu together.

 

My girls "walk" to school each morning. They leave via the back door walk around the block to the front door. I answer the doorbell and say, "Welcome to school today!" When they first wanted to do it, I thought it was silly, but their five minute walk around the block gives me time to center myself and quickly finish any last minute preparations.

 

As for the lunch box thing, we found some cute ones and I let the kids each buy one for their school supplies. They have crayons, markers, pencils, glue, tape, mini stapler, colored pencils all inside. They look really cute stacked on our shelf and they hold a lot more than other things I've tried.

 

I love the theme day and show and tell ideas!

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This is a little off-topic, but one of our traditions is "Not-Going-Back-To-School-Day."  On the day that the local ps starts (tomorrow, in fact!) we take the day off and go on some kind of outing.  Tomorrow we're planning on going out to breakfast and spending the afternoon at the local pool, which we should have almost completely to ourselves!!  It's just a little special something that prevents them from feeling left out of any excitement that their friends have about going back to school . . . although with the younger we have been careful to say it's not something you brag about!  It's just something special that Chrysalis Academy does on the 2nd or 3rd Thursday of August!

 

We do too. We're going to hit up a local museum this year. I can't wait to see those Not-Back-to-School pictures in front of a Dalek!

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We do First Day of School photos and Pledge of Allegiance and patriotic song each morning, and we call playing outside recess and outings "field trips."  DS really wants to do all the theme days like 100th Day of school, which he lived for in school, but I don't really do them.  We do our own fun days that are different from PS.  Like when we had a "Day of Rest" on our 7th day of school and made crafts all day or apple baking day or pajama day, etc.  

 

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Ask me a few months ago and I would probably have said heck no, why stay clear of school only to replicate it at home?

 

Then my schooled kids got School Reports, and lo and behold, my home schooled boy begged for a Report! I explained that reports exist to keep parents up to date with how children are progressing, and I already knew how he was going, so what was the point. But he insisted that this was monumentally unfair. So I typed up his Report and gave it to him to discuss with his father.

 

The one other thing we're planning to bring home is canteen day. My girls take lunchboxes, but as a treat they are allowed to buy lunch at school once per month. When they stop school, we are going to try and have lunch out once a month.

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This is a little off-topic, but one of our traditions is "Not-Going-Back-To-School-Day."  On the day that the local ps starts (tomorrow, in fact!) we take the day off and go on some kind of outing.  

I think we'll have to have a Not-Back-To-School-Day, too!

 

Thanks for the idea, CA!

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OP, you're a nice mom. My kids all have bento style lunch boxes from public school days but after the second year of HSing I stopped making their lunches altogether (except for toddler's)! They have toale it themselves :-P

 

We do clothes shopping because they all seem to need clothes by then. We do first day of school pictures. New K'ers get a schĂƒÂ¼ltute. We keep track of books we read on by adding leaves to our reading tree. We did 100 day of school. Once. We have some school-ish traditions with co-op, like back to school event, field day, holiday choir concert. Mostly I'm over school stuff. Tradition IS important, but it doesn't have to be a certain (school) tradition. Just a tradition.

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I really like the walk to school idea. I think we will adopt that one.

 

I take first day of school photos. I also make a "get to know you" sheet for the kids to fill out like they do at school (favorite color, sport, food, hobbies, etc.). I attach the photo to it and file it in their end of school binder where I keep samples of their work. It is a nice keepsake to look back on.

 

We say the Pledge and sing a patriotic song before we start, though not every day. The kids would prefer to do it everyday, though. I printed song sheets so the kids can learn various different songs and not the Star Spangled Banner every day. We learn that we should put our right hand over our heart for the national anthem. I count this as part of our civics training.

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We do too. We're going to hit up a local museum this year. I can't wait to see those Not-Back-to-School pictures in front of a Dalek!

 

Squeal!! Where would this museum be? My 7 year old would be in heaven.

 

OP, you're a nice mom. My kids all have bento style lunch boxes from public school days but after the second year of HSing I stopped making their lunches altogether (except for toddler's)! They have toale it themselves :-P

 

We do clothes shopping because they all seem to need clothes by then. We do first day of school pictures. New K'ers get a schĂƒÂ¼ltute. We keep track of books we read on by adding leaves to our reading tree. We did 100 day of school. Once. We have some school-ish traditions with co-op, like back to school event, field day, holiday choir concert. Mostly I'm over school stuff. Tradition IS important, but it doesn't have to be a certain (school) tradition. Just a tradition.

 

I understand what you're saying. This is where I have to admit that after a stressed out, less than ideal year and summer...I'm really wanting to make a big effort to have a joyful year with my family. So I'm looking for game changers. The lunch box idea? I have to feed these little people in the afternoon, and half the time I'm staring into the abyss of the fridge and cabinets feeling less than motivated. I'm thinking the lunch idea will motivate me and bring some joy into our day. It's a simple thing, having a pj and movie with popcorn special day. And if it's on a calendar,my kids will be even more excited.

 

We go to a "professional photographer" (the place where you have pictures printed and that takes passport photos) and have "school pictures" taken. DD thought it was cool her PS friends had their pictures done, so we do it too.

 

I'm terrible at getting photos done. I'm terrible at just taking pictures with the phone or camera. And I even love photography,have a nice analog,and if I had access to a dark room, I know how to develop. 

 

But I just don't have the taking pictures and organizing or scrapbooking them gene. But this is a great idea. I have heard from various family members some grumbles about getting school pictures from the cousins but none from my kids. I need to work on that.

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We don't do much now that they're older (:cries:), but we did a good bit when they were younger, including the lunch bags, walking to school, themed welcome letters, etc. 

 

My favorite 'school' thing we did was to have a hall pass. We were in the teacher supply store, and my kids saw one and asked what it was. When I explained, they couldn't stop laughing at the idea that you had to ask to go the bathroom and carry a piece of plastic as proof. So we bought one, and they spent a couple of weeks asking to use the hall pass every day. Yes, we are very easily amused  :laugh:

 

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We do first day of school photos, so that I have a nice portrait style shot of each child each year to send to grandparents and friends.

 

Each child receives a note from the teacher (aka me!) on the first day too. This year I also did a "get to know you" survey.

 

And we have "clean out your desk" every day; we use tables pushed into one big table, and each child has to tidy up his/her area each day.

 

I love the progress report to discuss with Daddy! I just might have to do that periodically this year. We don't need grades, but I always liked hearing what my teachers had to say about me, so I bet my children would enjoy that too. It'll be a way to focus in their positives and new things they've learned.

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We do first day of school pics in front of the front door. My oldest went to traditional public K-1 so I kept that routine for her. My girls love shopping for their first day of school outfits. Then we go on a field trip. This year our field trip will be 1 day after though. We are planning to go to Not Back to School Day at Disneyland. We also do school portraits each year. We homeschool through a charter and they offer the lifetouch photos. If we ever break off on our own I plan to continue with portraits at a studio. My girls get new backpacks and lunchboxes each year. We do a lot of homeschool groups during the week, ballet, GS, etc so we are always bringing school with us so the backpacks come in handy. We go to picnics after ballet class and my girls pack their lunches themselves in their lunchboxes. We have supplies coming out of our ears so the only thing I let the girls buy that was new was they each picked out a journal, spiral notebook, and folder because they had characters from Frozen on them.

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We did haircuts, new tennis shoes, and backpacks. We do school all over the house so the backpacks actually come in handy to keep things together but easily moved. Dh laughed at the backpacks, but my girls loved it. We, also, took first day of school pics in their Jammie's. We do field trips as well.

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My girls "walk" to school each morning. They leave via the back door walk around the block to the front door. I answer the doorbell and say, "Welcome to school today!" When they first wanted to do it, I thought it was silly, but their five minute walk around the block gives me time to center myself and quickly finish any last minute preparations.

 

This may very well be the best idea I've heard all year.

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We do first day of school photos, and I take advantage of the back-to-school sales to stock up on pencils, notebooks, markers, etc. Besides, doesn't every kid like starting off the school year with a fresh, new notebooks and folders? 

I make sure each kid has a backpack, lunch bag and containers at the start of a year too. Backpacks are handy for hauling books home from the library, for days when we need to school on the go, sleepovers with friends, nature hikes, all sorts of things. We also pack lunches a couple days each week: they need a lunch (and backpack!) for their nature class, we take lunch to park day, occasionally a daytime playdate with another homeschool friend or field trip necessitates a lunch... 

 

Some of our books are a bit on the textbook-y side. 

Otherwise that's about it. I can't think of any other ways in which what we do resembles a typical public school day at all. Like others, we also celebrate "Not Back to School!" on the first day our district starts back up. This year we went kayaking for the day. Last year it was raining on the first day of school, so we caught  a matinee at the movie theater. 

 

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Not sure it's a ritual, but we decorate our school room with bulletin board sets and educational posters. Most support whatever we're studying, but one set is just for fun. This year it says, "Look whooo's in second grade!" There are owls (and her name) underneath it that DD gets to change with the seasons. We did something similar last year and she loved it.

 

I also try to celebrate major holidays during school time.

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My girls "walk" to school each morning. They leave via the back door walk around the block to the front door. I answer the doorbell and say, "Welcome to school today!" When they first wanted to do it, I thought it was silly, but their five minute walk around the block gives me time to center myself and quickly finish any last minute preparations.

 

 

You must not live where it rains 10 months a year. One of the huge selling points for homeschooling here is that you do NOT have to go outside. :) In fact, a mom just this week considering homeschooling listed it as a huge pro that her kids would not have to walk out in the weather everyday to school!

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We do a full Hogwarts feast the first day of school, and usually a field trip to the woods to hike.  Does that count?  Otherwise pretty much nothing.

 

I'm going to crash it!!! ;) Add a setting! 

 

I had a parent-teacher conference with myself last year. My 7 year old thought it was hilarious. My 5th grader, not so much. :)

 

I can see this being very useful when Mom needs a break! "I'm having a teacher  in service day." :)

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These are so fun!  :)  I wish I would have though of "First Day Not Back to School" for Buck.  

 

Instead, I do a first-day-of-school pic--Bean looks all polished and shiny new for the first day at school, and Buck is in ratty shorts, flip-flops and hasn't combed his hair.  lol

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You must not live where it rains 10 months a year. One of the huge selling points for homeschooling here is that you do NOT have to go outside. :) In fact, a mom just this week considering homeschooling listed it as a huge pro that her kids would not have to walk out in the weather everyday to school!

 

Walking in the rain is their favorite!

 

But you're right, we live in Houston so it doesn't get cold and the rainfall isn't excessive either.

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I always have great plans, and then just get bogged down. Last year I went to the Oriental trading site in the winter and got a bunch of silly decorations for upcoming holidays, so that when the Christmas decorations came down, there were more things. We did chinese new year, Valentines, Mardi Gras, St. Patricks, and earth day. DH and I did the decorating the night before, so when they woke up it was all decorated. I had a big box in the garage full of the decorations, and it took about 20 minutes. 

 

I got a book from amazon about some of the holidays, and other little things. hand fans, little angels etc... and put those on the breakfast table. I am planning on adding to that this year. It was easy and not to much work, but a big success.

 

 

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Our first day of school is often the same as public school, so we call it Not Back To School Day and celebrate with a late breakfast or brunch at IHOP. 

 

We get our school supplies in one big shopping trip when everything is on sale.  For 11th grade we stocked up on 0.5mm black gel pens, a comp book for assignments, and lots of 70-page spirals for school work.  I spent less than half what my friend spent for her PS freshman. :)

 

Outings are field trips but rarely done during the school day.  We don't do theme days since DS never cared about them.

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Not sure it's a ritual, but we decorate our school room with bulletin board sets and educational posters. Most support whatever we're studying, but one set is just for fun. This year it says, "Look whooo's in second grade!" There are owls (and her name) underneath it that DD gets to change with the seasons. We did something similar last year and she loved it.

 

I also try to celebrate major holidays during school time.

My DD loves decorating our school room, and always decorates the door with some sort of back to school board. this year, it's multi-colored chameleons :).

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I love the idea of using a lunch box for their pencils and stuff!  We had some http://www.balanceddaylunchkit.com/ from when the kids were in school, I gave them away when we started homeschooling.  Those would be great for when we travel to co-op and they need their school supplies and a snack!  I can't believe I didn't think of this!

 

I just might need to buy another set.

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We  used to take a not back to school camping trip but of course that is not a public school ritual. 

 

I was never really into those rituals even when I went to school, so we haven't done anything like that.  My kids have never asked for anything.  Most of what they hear from their schooled friends about school is negative so they have no desire to replicate it.   

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  • 2 weeks later...

We were not all that schooly when we attended PS through 4th grade, so there was little we cared about bringing home.  Every time I have suggested school type things, my kids all look at me quizzically, wondering why in the world I would think that is important! LOL!

 

We do try to do a Not Back to School day, and when the kids here locally started school last week, we were driving home from a camping trip.  I also have a composition book for each of the kids and we have each journaled in it at the beginning of each semester, writing to our future selves, and then I write something in it for all of them each time.  That is a ritual they seem to enjoy.  We do the big Walmart school supply shop, even though we usually only need a few things.

 

I thought that as we hit high school age, my first son at that stage might want a letterman jacket, a class ring, or something along those lines.  We thoroughly intended to purchase them for him, but he wants nothing to do with it.  Our daughters have said that they might want a class ring or necklace, and my other sons want a ring.  

 

Other than that, we just do our thing with little fanfare, I suppose, having more family rituals than school associated ones.  I think that is probably better anyway. 

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My dc think that it's cool to ride a bus or LRT (sort of like a school bus experience).

 

They LOVE having their own lunch boxes and back packs. They also like the independence of carrying their own swim bags (we used to do a big communal bag).

 

They love getting new school supplies and picking out their own notebooks and binders.

 

We all enjoy field trips, but these are not associated with school, there are just things we do.

 

My ds (12) lobbied to go to school for grade 7. The thing he's most excited about is having his own locker. Maybe if I'd have known this, I could have found some lockerish things from IKEA or somewhere. ;)

 

 

There was a short period of time when my youngest were little that we sang our National Anthem. It was a good experience to make sure that they learned it, but we quickly dropped it as a daily ritual. Somehow the younger two learned it - by osmosis? I don't really know how, as I never formally taught it to them.

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We school year round and don't really have a first day so don't do any first day type rituals. We do, however, have a not back to school day. Usually we are at the beach when the local schools start up. If, for some reason, we don't go to the beach we have a nice breakfast and go for a hike or something. Last year we took a cross country trip to California and Arizona around the time schools started back up.

We do replenish crayons, pencils, notebooks etc during back to school time. My kids love shopping the supplies aisle at the local stores.

We often do special activities on or around holidays. I do like the idea of inviting other HS friends over for special days/activities. That could be pretty fun.

That is really all I can think of.

I've thought about the whole making lunches ahead of time but have never actually done it. My kids would love a lunch box but I've never bought them any. Mostly because I hated lunch boxes growing up. They always smelled weird and I never thought my lunch tasted all that great after sitting in my lunch box for hours. That's just my weird problem...

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Guest ohi4got

Our principal (DH) calls every so often to acknowledge one of the kiddos if they accomplished something that was challenging for them.  We put the phone on speaker and act like it's the PA system.  Kinda silly, but DH feels involved even though he's at work and the kids love getting recognized.

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