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last day / first post: differentiating school years?


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First, I must confess that I have lurked on these boards for . . . quite some time. I apologize for my creepiness, it’s just that I can’t help it, you guys are really cool :)

 

For my actual post, I wanted to ask what, if anything, differentiates your school years?

 

This is our charter’s official last day, so next week my kids will get to say that they’re second and fourth graders, which they enjoy, but not much else will change. I have distinct memories of every year in public K-2, with a different room and teacher for each grade, and then what feels like a big blur for all my subsequent years of homeschooling. I wish there was something we could do that would allow us to look back and remember, oh, yes, that was the year we . . . X. Maybe we should just move every twelve months, lol.

 

Does anyone else have an actually brilliant solution?

 
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No brilliant solutions, but we do separate the school years (even though we school year-round).

 

- Promotion to next grade (which I do on Labor Day) = raise in allowance.

- First day activities: photo on the porch with a sign, preview of new materials, new schedule, new school supplies as needed.

- Consider a theme, slogan or focus word for each year/grade. A bulletin board or top of a low bookcase is a great place to put some new things to look at. You can even rearrange furniture.

- For older students especially, start the year with setting written goals and end it with reflecting on them. You could even make a yearbook.

Edited by whitehawk
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One of the first assignments dd had, when she came from school was to weigh herself and to measure her self, her foot and her hand. During the elementary years we did that assignment again on the first schoolday after summer.

 

Now we re arrange the bookshelves in the last schoolweek, and cover our new textbooks for the next schoolyear.

During the summer we collect the required art supplies for her art classes.

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First, I must confess that I have lurked on these boards for . . . quite some time. I apologize for my creepiness, it’s just that I can’t help it, you guys are really cool :)

 

For my actual post, I wanted to ask what, if anything, differentiates your school years?

 

This is our charter’s official last day, so next week my kids will get to say that they’re second and fourth graders, which they enjoy, but not much else will change. I have distinct memories of every year in public K-2, with a different room and teacher for each grade, and then what feels like a big blur for all my subsequent years of homeschooling. I wish there was something we could do that would allow us to look back and remember, oh, yes, that was the year we . . . X. Maybe we should just move every twelve months, lol.

 

Does anyone else have an actually brilliant solution?

 

My word does this.

 

I say, "Behold, you have finished X Grade," and thus, they are done.*

 

A short while later, I say, "Alas, you are now beginning Y Grade," and thus, they have started.**

 

 

 

*END = When they are "done," we have a Last Day celebration. We have a banner that they made when they were (I think) 5, 5, and 7. It says L-A-S-T--D-A-Y. ;) It is so "little kid" that they all laugh at it now (9, 9, and 11), but they love it and we put it up. We make something special to eat for lunch (cake? egg salad sandwiches?). We all say nice things to each other about the school year. I print out lovely Certificates of Achievement with each student's name and grade completed. My husband and I present these with the appropriate solemnity and ceremony, and the girls tape them up on the walls in their bedrooms. The girls love this, LOL. We print out a second set of the certificates and put those in cheap frames in the homeschool room (those stay there all year). We make lovely speeches about the value of education, the effort we have all put into the school year, how far we have come, how much they have learned, how much they have matured and grown. We talk about our favorite memories and the things we did that year. We choose a "mascot" to represent that year (a small trinket), and we label it with the school's year(s) and place it on a shelf. And then, we sort of grieve the passing of another year. Seriously. I do grieve a bit, when I put away their work in a box and store it on the shelf in the basement. Sigh.

 

**BEGINNING = When we start a new school year, we have Orientation for the mornings of the first three days. I introduce the new plan, the new materials, the new ways of doing things. We go over where everything is and needs to stay. We talk about increasing our independence and having a good work ethic. We talk about our goals for the upcoming school year. We discuss what our outside commitments will be and how those impact our weekly routine. We say nice things to each other about homeschooling, LOL. We make speeches about the value of education, etc., etc., etc. Can you tell, it's a theme? ;) We take photos of each other and as a group, and those become a sort of "marker" for the start of the year. We also all go to Walmart and get shiny new pencils. By October 1st, these are all mysteriously gone.  :leaving:   The standard answer to "Who took my black Sharpie?" = "It certainly wasn't me."

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No brilliant solutions, but we do separate the school years (even though we school year-round).

 

- Promotion to next grade (which I do on Labor Day) = raise in allowance.

- First day activities: photo on the porch with a sign, preview of new materials, new schedule, new school supplies as needed.

- Consider a theme, slogan or focus word for each year/grade. A bulletin board or top of a low bookcase is a great place to put some new things to look at. You can even rearrange furniture.

- For older students especially, start the year with setting written goals and end it with reflecting on them. You could even make a yearbook.

 

I want to come to your house. I am in Grade 45. How much do I get each week?

 

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We don't school year round so that might make a difference. We do some school over the summer but it's definitely different than the regular year. For the last day we usually go out to lunch to celebrate. We typically go to the beach the week after with my parents so that marks the beginning of summer for us. For the first day of school, we have a few regular traditions. They get to choose breakfast and usually we do some kind of fun activity/field trip. I used to do a scavenger hunt with school supplies as the treasure at the end on the first day but then I thought they were getting too old. Not too old, they were all disappointed that we didn't do it this year, even the 7th grader. 

 

On a more academic level, this year I had them all write down three goals for the year on the first day and then I wrote down three goals for each of them. We discussed the goals one-on-one and then at the end of the year we talked about how they did. My 6 year olds goal was more glitter and she absolutely achieved it. 

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We make a "yearbook" every year using a coupon for a free photo book from Shutterfly. I put pictures in it that I take throughout the year. The kids help me come up with captions for each photo. It's lots of fun and at least once a week someone gets one down to look through.

 

We also make a big deal of the day all the public schools in area go back by having a NOT Back to School Day. We go out for a big breakfast, I give them some kind of fun present (I did a scavenger hunt one year that led them to new school supplies placed around the house and last year I gave them homeschool coupons to use during the school year), and then we spend the rest of the day at the zoo, the beach, the museum, etc. since all the kids are back in school.

 

We school year round though so actually beginning and ending is very fluid, but I do make it a point to let them know what grade they are now in each year so that when they're asked they know.  

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While my kids are/were in public school we've always marked the last day with ice cream, and the first day with slushies from Sonic. We'll be doing it tomorrow :)

 

It is an occasion where ice cream is required, I think. We eat ice-cream for our Not Back To School event on the first day of a new school year. 

 

And definitely make sure there is a day off between the last day of one year and the first of the next. It seems only fair. :p

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When the children were smaller, we had a kick-off of the new year. It morphed from a fun ride on the stagecoach in town and a picnic, to three day backpack trips! We've climbed 14ers, ridden the Narrow Gauge and spent the night at the cabin. We declare the new year when we start a new plan book, but we never really quit. This is an odd year--we actually finished last week, which was a miracle, considering we started last fall almost 2 months behind. Dd has worked hard! This is her senior year, so we HAVE to finish on time, though I remember Mary Pride's son, Joseph, mentioning that he finished Latin (or something) 12 hours before he left for the Coast Guard Academy! Dd is doing most of her work at the uni this year, so we'll be on a "normal" schedule. Looks like finals will go through May 6th next spring, so we'll aim to be done by then. We actually started the new plan book (my last, sniff, sniff) last Monday.

 

Are you really starting your final year, Margaret? What does that feel like? :grouphug:

 

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