Summer is halfway over and that means the first day of homeschool is coming up! My kids used to dread getting back into the school routine until I threw a "First Day of Homeschool Celebration!" Now, the celebration is something my kids look forward to and a great way to kick off the homeschool year! I go all out with decorations, a photo booth, crafts, activities and a back-to-school gift bag! Check out my fruity-themed First Day of Homeschool Celebration for some fun ideas to get your kids excited about the new homeschool year!
This year I went with a fruity theme celebration because my kids are one in a melon! I also love a good food pun! I started decorating by choosing Green and Hot Pink plastic tablecloths to match the theme. I think this adorable Black and White Triangle Plastic Tablecloth is the perfect accent to my fruity-themed celebration. For the background, I hung some lime green streamers and Watermelon Cutouts with a bouquet of colorful balloons on each side. Once the basics were finished, I added the photo props, treats and gift bags to complete the fantastic fruity display.
Next, I created a bright fruity-themed photo booth using Green, Yellow, Bright Colors, and Tutti Frutti Hanging Fans with the Triangle White Tablecloth for a background. My kids took turns using different Tutti Frutti Photo Stick Props for their silly back-to-school pictures. The large fruit hat was a favorite photo prop for each of my kids. This photo booth was a highlight of our celebration!
After the photo booth, my kids could not wait to dig into the treats! A Large Storage Jar full of delicious Tootsie Roll® Pops® Mini Candy, cups of yummy Watermelon Mini Tootsie Roll® Frooties® Chewy Fruit Candy and scrumptious homemade watermelon rice crispy treats adorned the table waiting to be devoured. I barely grabbed a picture of the last, partially eaten, watermelon rice crispy treat before it was gone! I'm glad they enjoyed every fruity bite.
Then it was time to open their back-to-school gift bags. I personalized each Black Kraft Paper Bag with their name on Astrobright paper and added a decorative Watermelon Cutout. My kids were so excited to peek inside and see what fun back-to-school goodies they got this year. I surprised them with Pixy Stix® Giant Candy, Fun Fruit Note Pads, Paint Chip Spiral Notebook Journals, Eureka® Watermelon Scented Stickers, Watermelon Scented Bookmarks and adorable Plush Reversible Fruit reading pals. You can see from the look on my little guy's face, that these gifts were a success!
When my kids were finished going through their back-to-school goodies, we played a fun game of back-to-school charades! I wrote school-themed characters, professions, events and places on one side of the Watermelon Flip Name Sticks. My children took turns picking a melon stick and acting it out. This was hilarious and so much fun! It was also a great way for me to get in a little academic review!
Since it was such a beautiful day, we took the festivities outside and played some games! What a great way to celebrate the first day of homeschool and burn off some of those treats! My kids played Teacher Says (like Simon Says), Fun Fruit Canvas Bean Bag Toss, and Follow The Teacher (like Follow The Leader). The giggles and laughter were a wonderful reward for our first day of homeschool celebration!
We ended the celebration with some fun and creative art! I set out DIY canvases, Tropical Assorted Colors Acrylic Paint, Chubby Paintbrushes, sponge brushes and painter tape on a Black and White Triangle Plastic Table Cloth. My children used the tape to mark off areas of their DIY Canvas. They each chose their paint colors and went to work on their masterpieces. Once the paint dried, they removed the tape to reveal amazing works of art!
My children enjoyed this year's first day of homeschool celebration and all the activities that made it memorable. I hope this has given you some ideas to make your first day of homeschool memorable, too!
