First Day of Homeschool 2026
We’re just wrapping up our first week back into a homeschool rhythm and it’s been busy and a little chaotic, but so good! Our first day went awesome! As promised, here are all the details!
Breakfast Details
Apple & Pencil Banner & Stand: This banner comes in a 2 pack so I had one at breakfast and one in our school room we’ll keep up through the month of August. I love love love using little cute things like this to decorate our school spaces and the kids do too!
Notebook Paper Plates & Apple Paper Plates: I’ve been using our pack of apple plates for years and I’m finally starting to run low.
Name Tags: I made these back in 2022 so I just re-used them again!
Ruler Napkin Rings: Another item I just re-used from year’s past.
Mason Jar Mugs & Child-Size Silverware: We’ve had both of these forever and love them all!
Red & Blue Crayola Gift Boxes: I think these are just the cutest and my kids loved them! I filled them with a few basic supplies the kids would either like or need this school year.
Eighth Grade: Binder Pencil Pouches, Dual Brush Markers, Sharpies, Fine Tip Markers, Post It’s & a Kneaded Eraser.
Fourth Grade: Weird but True Sports, Quiddler, Lego Pens & a Kneaded Eraser.
Second Grade: Little Bear, Snap It, Lego Pens & a Kneaded Eraser.
First Day Flags: These are from an old file that is no longer available, but I linked some other cute ones by the same digital creator.
Scavenger Hunt: As I was prepping for this school year, the scripture “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” just kept coming back to me. (Here is the scripture printable.) Plus, I thought it tied in really well with our first study on survival…both physically and spiritually. So along these lines we kicked off the morning with a scavenger hunt and talked about our new theme. At the end of the hunt it led to a few things the kids needed for this school year. My girls got new floral backpacks & water bottles with this super cute floral notebook. And boys got a new army backpack as well with some legos.
School Room Details
It’s a fun tradition of ours to have all our new curriculum laid out. If you’re interested in seeing what we’re using you can check out our curriculum picks here: 8th Grade, 4th Grade, and 2nd Grade.
We’re kicking off our school year with a Wilderness Survival study and our first family read aloud of the year is My Side of the Mountain. Here are a few things I set out to get the kids excited for it:
First Day of Homeschool Sign: I made this on ChatGPT at literally 1 AM the night before and can we talk about how nice it is that it was free and done in about 30 seconds? I also made the one that says Homeschool Mom Year 7 on it on ChatGPT as well.
Survival Printouts: All the other printouts are from our unit study from The Waldock Way.
Nature Tray & Compass: Our nature tray is a family heirloom that’s filled with lots of random treasures from over the years. And isn’t this compass absolutely perfect?
Old Fashioned Tackle Box: This is my dad’s tackle box from when he was a boy! He gifted it to us to use for this study and it is really special. This week the boys went through which items of his they want to keep and then we cleaned it out and added a few of their own “essential items” that they want to keep in it. This is all in conjunction with our study out of the Dangerous Book for Boys.
Survive the Island: We broke into this game weeks before school even started and the kids love it!
Bear Grylls Books: We’ll read these as part of our unit study! I don’t know if we’ll get through all of them as a family, but I am hoping what we don’t get to my 9 year old son will read over the school year.
Paracord Bracelet Kit: Isn’t this the cutest? I’m linking a similar caddy and the paracord bracelet instruction sheet with a HUGE disclaimer. I made the instruction sheet on ChatGPT and haven’t tried it yet. The instructions look great, but, ya know, one never knows for sure with ChatGPT so take it with a grain of salt until I can report back, ha!
Books/Game Pieces: The woven basket just holds some prepped game materials from our unit study.
What’s Next?
This school year I have worked hard to protect our mornings and I think it’s going to really pay off. Next, we’re going to be settling into our rhythm and getting back into the habit of prioritizing our studies. Two big goals of mine this year is to have some variety in what we’re doing and also be as efficient as I can with our time. I’ll keep you guys posted as we get settled into our school year.
Happy homeschooling! I hope you all have a fantastic year!