PeachyDoodle Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 ...make me a little sad. I was always SO EXCITED on the first day of school! Those are special memories for me, and I feel like I'm depriving my kids of that experience. They aren't resistant to starting back up, but they aren't exactly excited either. I know how quickly the "new" wears off, but still... (Plus, I admit to being a teeny tiny bit jealous of those public school SAHMs who are rejoicing in their freedom. :leaving: ) Ah, the joys of the constantly conflicting emotions that are this thing called homeschooling. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I used to feel that way too. We always did a Not Back To School pic on the first day of public school, doing something super fun. That helped. :) Now I have 2 in ps and I will be the PS mom next week. I am actually really sad that summer is over and my house will be pretty empty. I have one homeschooler left. She and I will probably do a NBTS mall trip or something - a fun time for a teen. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 We always went out for breakfast on the first day of our school. Then over to the supply store for some school supplies. Once we were home we had an overview day--kind of a teaser of what fun and challenges were ahead. We got all our supplies situated and took the rest of the day off. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 One of my daughters' friends posted a first day of homeschool pic - it was very cute! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Agreed. I'm totally feeling a bit jealous, but I am also cognizant of all the good sides of homeschooling for our family and that sending them to school wouldn't actually be better for us when you add up the pros and cons. But I am jealous of the extra child-free time. I can count on one hand the number of hours I haven't been with my kids in the last month. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I was just thinking this morning of our district's first day of school, which isn't until next week. I started to feel the same panicky anxiety I felt when I was in the schools. So no, I am not jealous of them. They should all be jealous of us! ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I'm a bit jealous as well. I'm beginning my 16th year of homeschooling. I have no regrets but still wonder if I am depriving them of some of the fun of school. But then in a few weeks there will be lots of FB posts about the difficulties of school life and I'll again appreciate that we homeschool. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I saw the first back to school pics today on Facebook, although most schools around here don't start until next week or the week after. Every year I think that I will take a picture to post of our first day of school at home, but I never seem to get around to it. Last year I actually took a picture of the boys, but never posted it. First day of school was never something I enjoyed as a kid, so it isn't something that makes me nostalgic for my kids to have the same experience. I do have other times I think about something I really liked in school, like class parties at holidays and thought how it was sad my kids didn't have that experience. But I have since discovered that we all have our own unique upbringing and things that we get nostalgic for, just with my kids it will be something different. Having watched my MIL over the years try so hard to recreate her childhood for her children and it fail on most counts, I am at the point that I want my children to have their own things that they look back on enjoy and not project my fun childhood memories onto them. I do get a slight twinge of jealousy thinking of the time I could have to have a moments peace during the day if the kids were gone at school, but I know I would miss them halfway through the first day. However, I am excited that today my MIL is taking the boys to a movie and DD is out of town, so I get a couple hours all to myself this afternoon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I dropped my DD off for her first day of public school and took the little ones to the park. There I met a big group of homeschoolers with kids the same age as my older two. The sadness can go both ways. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Why not take and post your own photos? I always enjoy seeing those kinds of posts and don't see any reason homeschoolers shouldn't celebrate the beginning of a new year too (or the continuation of one if you school year round). On a related note, I accidentally photobombed a neighbor's first-day-of-school photo of her son. Oops! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 We have a long standing practice of celebrating the "first day of school." For the past several years, it's meant heading to Dairy Queen just after lunch and noticing all of the cars parked at the nearby school. Last week, my 17 and 20 yo kids and I went to DQ, passing by the high school, and they fondly remembered the days we used to do this, lol. I thought it was so sweet that they had liked this so much! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 We always celebrate the first day of school for the local kids by NOT having school. We're getting ready to go to a trampoline park and then to Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch. We'll start school tomorrow, complete with first day of school pictures that I will post on Facebook just like I do every year. My kids are excited not to be heading off to the big brick and mortar time waster. They did it for 1/2-1 year (depending on the kid) and don't want to ever do that again. Their friends are jealous of them ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 ...make me a little sad. I was always SO EXCITED on the first day of school! Those are special memories for me, and I feel like I'm depriving my kids of that experience. They aren't resistant to starting back up, but they aren't exactly excited either. I know how quickly the "new" wears off, but still... (Plus, I admit to being a teeny tiny bit jealous of those public school SAHMs who are rejoicing in their freedom. :leaving: ) Ah, the joys of the constantly conflicting emotions that are this thing called homeschooling. This is me exactly! I know some people think it's so sad that SAHM's are rejoicing, but I get it. It's not that they don't want to spend time with their children. They just want to use the bathroom without any interruptions for a few hours a day. I get it. My sister just posted pics this morning of her three going off (youngest in K). She cried a bit, but then went out to coffee with some friends. As I was dealing with bad attitudes towards school today, I was more than a little jealous. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I don't mind the FB pics--I don't like my kids pics up on FB--but when a ps mom texted that "it's amazing what you can get done in a short amount of time (as in house projects, errands) without kids!!" Yeah, I know, which is why you're house is all organized and cute and mine is only half organized and cute. She's a dear friend, so it didn't bother me much, but just reminded me that it's okay to send the kids off or to the basement for electronic babysitting once in a while so I can get some things done. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 The pictures that get me are the ones where Mom is talking about how sad she is to be sending her baby off to kindergarten and how hard it is. I always want to comment and say, "Then don't!". But I don't. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Sometimes I've posted "first day" pictures and I've seen some of my homeschool friends post them too. If you didn't know we homeschooled, they might just look like other "First Day of School" pictures. Even though we homeschool, my children typically wear new clothes for the first day of school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 When they were little, and both homeschooled, we did not-back-to-school camping with our HS group. Now that they're older, and DS has no desire to camp, we take photos of the first field trip. Autumn field trips are the best! The schools aren't field tripping yet, the tourists have gone home, and the museums belong to US! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 We post a first day picture every year and I like being able to look back and see the changes from year to year. I usually take them on our first day of a co op or class for the year so I can stage it in front of the door with her backpack. I like the Dairy Queen for lunch idea. My DD would really go for that! Mine is very excited for school to start because she picked a unit study that she's chomping at the bit to start on, and she is doing second grade math this year which makes her feel special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 The pictures that get me are the ones where Mom is talking about how sad she is to be sending her baby off to kindergarten and how hard it is. I always want to comment and say, "Then don't!". But I don't. I did once. Well, sort of. I replied something like "That's why we homeschool!" I don't remember if it was the mom or the dad or both that liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 ...make me a little sad. I was always SO EXCITED on the first day of school! Those are special memories for me, and I feel like I'm depriving my kids of that experience. They aren't resistant to starting back up, but they aren't exactly excited either. I know how quickly the "new" wears off, but still... (Plus, I admit to being a teeny tiny bit jealous of those public school SAHMs who are rejoicing in their freedom. :leaving: ) Ah, the joys of the constantly conflicting emotions that are this thing called homeschooling. I've always felt this way in the past, too. We're back to homeschooling this year after a year in ps that wasn't a good fit for ds or dd. Not feeling sad or jealous much this year, as I know what we're (not) missing out on (particularly the middle school drama). And, really, I never felt much freedom last year. I was tied to the pick-up/drop-off schedules, running errands, and working part-time. I did get my grocery shopping done during the day. I think I only went out for coffee with a friend twice during the entire school year. Still working part-time this year, but really not going to miss having to spend 20 minutes in the drop-off line at 6:45 am to get ds to middle school, then turn around and spend 20 more minutes in line to get dd to school at 8:00. Repeat the same process six hours later. :crying: Then, there is the homework......... We are going to start our first homeschool day by going out for scones and coffee/hot chocolate at Starbucks. I'll take back-to-school pics on the first day of co-op. This will pass......after the first couple weeks in September, everyone on Facebook will be back to complaining about school. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I made the first day of school special once we started homeschooling. I made them a gift bag of fun stuff, cool pencils, notebooks, bookmarks, erasers, snacks, etc. And we go out to eat at ihop the first day of school. I have one in public school this year and she kinda forgot about the ihop till she found our leftovers in the fridge and was really put out with us. Um, that's a homeschool thing kiddo! :) (We talk a lot about perks to each choice, homeschool vs public school and it is her decision to go to school.) I did skip on the gift bags this year because we're trying hard to reduce clutter, but in the past they were a fun part of the first day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 We always celebrate the first day of school for the local kids by NOT having school. We're getting ready to go to a trampoline park and then to Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch. We'll start school tomorrow, complete with first day of school pictures that I will post on Facebook just like I do every year. My kids are excited not to be heading off to the big brick and mortar time waster. They did it for 1/2-1 year (depending on the kid) and don't want to ever do that again. Their friends are jealous of them ;) Here's what we did this year to celebrate NOT Back to School: https://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/not-back-to-school-5/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Our school district doesn't start for another week but our plan is to go to the water park on not-back-to-school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 We took them anyway. :0) I kind of have the same feeling seeing all the "My kid is going to college; here he is in his dorm room with all his new best friends." :0) It's always going to be odd being out of the mainstream. That's not necessarily bad, but there are some things that sorta get to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I took a picture on his first day of French last year and I'll probably do the same this year. Our district starts back tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on the grade, and I think we'll go swimming and maybe get an ice cream Wednesday afternoon or something to celebrate. I do have some mixed feelings this year - last year, he wasn't ready for school emotionally, in addition to it not being a good fit for us. This year, he'd probably thrive socially, but it's still not a good fit schedule wise or academically. Although, about 15 minutes into school stuff this morning, I was ready to ship him off to boarding school. :lol: Thankfully the morning improved pretty quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 ...make me a little sad. I was always SO EXCITED on the first day of school! Those are special memories for me, and I feel like I'm depriving my kids of that experience. They aren't resistant to starting back up, but they aren't exactly excited either. I know how quickly the "new" wears off, but still... (Plus, I admit to being a teeny tiny bit jealous of those public school SAHMs who are rejoicing in their freedom. :leaving: ) Ah, the joys of the constantly conflicting emotions that are this thing called homeschooling. First day of ps homeschooling kids sleep in or wave at neighborhood kids while they are still in pjs. :D Then get ready for a fun day and even a party with your friends. Take pictures put on Facebook. Ok, we were not Facebook people when my kids were young. But one of my friends had everyone over to her house. We brought packed school lunches or made sandwiches there. A game was had for every subject we could think of. Lots of fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 When my kids went to ps, they were never happy to go back. When we started homeschooling, we always did things to make the first day special and really enjoyed it. If pictures would help make it special, take them. I see lots of homeschooling families posting first day of school pictures. I suggested it to my dd. She threatened my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 You guys have some awesome first days! My kids don't care about the pics, of course. ;) I usually take them, although I didn't today. Probably will do them next week when ds goes back to preschool. We didn't have a *special* first day back, but we did have to run into town after lunch, and we waved at all the kids stuck in the school as we drove by and got a piece of bubblegum from the machine at the car wash. This weekend dd had seemed bummed about getting back to work, but once things were rolling this morning, she seemed to enjoy it. She said today was a good day. This is my laid-back kid who doesn't get worked up about much of anything, good or bad. I promised dd a trip to a nearby old-fashioned candy store once ds was in preschool so maybe we will try to get that in next week. As for my freedom, I'll get over it. I do love the time I get with them, and all the fun we have learning together. But the idea of a whole quiet morning to myself... I'm sure I'd be bored three days in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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