We aren’t starting homeschool until after Labor Day because my girls are doing a type of hybrid and taking electives at the public school to be able to play sports. The public school starts August 24 so I’m letting them get acclimated to their classes before we start our curriculum at home💙☕️
Hey Megan, Thankyou for leaving comments on my videos for the last week! You are our giveaway winner! Please email me at awilliams@mail.org to claim your prize! ❤️
We started last week, and I did an “orientation” day our first day this year. We did our morning basket, then like you said flipped though all our new books and talked about and prayed over our new year. It was such a nice way to ease into it! ☕️
We always have an orientation day...It really helps to have talked out expectations and have looked over all materials. We also get a treat after lunch. This year we had a back to school family night leading up to new bedtimes 😊☕
Reading Mother Culture over the summer was awesome for me bc we must go back to habits, obedience and attentiveness. Plus it just helped me overall. Im going to use a bunch of her ideas.
☕ We start in 3 weeks, thanks for the reminders! Last year on the first day we did an "all about me" page and set individual goals for the school year with it. It was fun to look back and see if goals were met and spelling progress. I am planning to do the same this year Also, I keep peeking at those subscriptions. Maybe I will treat myself for once!
I allow a "soft launch" week where we do some review or just a subject or 2 so we aren't just diving straight in with all the things. Slowly ease into school while also practicing our routines for the year. Definitely helps us all be less overwhelmed. Thanks for your tips!! ☕
I was thinking about doing this this year! Our 'soft start' would include English, math, reading time & devotions. We will add the group stuff *logic, music, science & history* about a week later. Maybe it will be less overwhelming this way!
My back to school tip is: if any of you are full time working mommas who do school in the evenings, let your child choose which “electives” to do on which days within your week. If you are in our same boat AND they have activities after normal school hours, it can really help them to look forward to what’s happening on that day. I also use Saturday as our “catch up” day, so if we need to revisit any topics or finish any assignments, we complete them, then. Lots of grace and teamwork within our school! ☕️
Love these tips, Ashlee, especially the orientation idea! We do a slow lead in to full school. We do 4-5 weeks of 3 subjects or so (mostly reading, math and spelling) to help remember things we haven’t studied in about 6-7 weeks. We have done that the last few years and it works well for us so it doesn’t feel as jarring to jump right back into everything at once for them and for me. Also, I always set everything out the night before for every school day as it helps me be prepared. I will have a 4th and 6th grader this year and I am excited for all we are doing. Praying blessings over your new school year! Thank you for all you do for this community! ☕️💜☕️
You are my favorite homeschooling channel! You're channel has helped me soooo much. Thank you for all that you do. Blessings to you and your family 🙏❤️
We started today with our traditional first day of school breakfast out, and we added a new one with some gifts (new notebooks - 2 of which I ordered from Erin Condren thanks to one of your previous videos. They had exactly what I was looking for!) and a field trip to a local museum. We had lots of fun today, and it was so refreshing to start the new school year without stress. ☕️
Thanks, Ashlee! I'm down to one kid this year...14 years in and 10 more to go ;) And I still love ideas and reminders that encourage and help me to be more gentle, nurturing, and practical. I really enjoy having coffee "with" you. Praying over all our starts to the new school year!
We have a tradition where our first day of school is our orientation/fun kick off to the new year. I wrap up the kid's new school supplies with a fun treat into boxes for each kid. They love opening their first day of school gifts. We have drumstick ice cream cones for breakfast, take first day of school photos and go over what we're going to be learning. They definitely look forward to this day! 😄
Such great tips! I love that you pray over the videos you make and are always thinking about being an instrument for God! You've been such a help and light to me and our homeschool! 😘☕
Thumbnail for this video is just stunning! Great tips. I'm not a homeschool mum but am a teacher of a couple of decades and every September feels as fresh as January 1st for me! It never gets old and my kids love school and going into September too. 🍁
We start lesson 1 on day 1, for us it is all about getting in that routine bc my kids thrive off it. I would say, our number 1 goal is to be flexible, things happen and you have kids with a life.. and you are home. Know things will disrupt and that is okay! ☕️
I always sit my girls down and discuss things that are important to them to experience for the school year. Usually holiday parties, certain subjects for morning basket (animals, weather, cultures), certain field trips, more art, tea times, etc. Then I do my best to incorporate those things in our school year. That way they have something to look forward to & they feel like their suggestions are heard.
Great video and great advice! I have 3 kids - each gets their own first day. I love that 1:1 time in the beginning to show them all their new stuff and talk about goals and fun activities we want to do. Good Luck for the fall. It’s my favorite time of year..especially here in New England with tons of beautiful foliage. 🍁🍂
This was a wonderful video that had perfect timing for us! (God is so cool in that way 😉) We're first time homeschoolers and will be starting in a few weeks. I'm really excited for my kiddos and also kinda nervous, too! Thank you for the words of wisdom and for everyone here commenting so much encouragement! 🥰🥰
Loved seeing what you got in your fall Fab Fit Fun box! I also love fall and can’t wait for all the cozy scents and clothes! I loved your idea on “Orientation week” even with homeschooling! Some of the fun things I do for the beginning of the new school year is a special first day breakfast including some new school supplies, a new outfit, we take pictures and usually have a picnic lunch and fill in the beginning of the year questionnaires that we do! I also make sure to have plenary of coffee ready for me! ☕️
I always love your tips and tricks. As a newer homeschool mama you have really helped me survive and shown me some things that helped immensely. Thank you for all you do ☕️
We started back early last week because I am planning for spinal surgery later this month. Love your tips! Getting the kids excited about their new school books a couple weeks early really helped kick off our new year well! ☕️
Thank you for the great ideas! We still have one more month of summer break here but I am already trying to mentally prepare for the new school year. This year I will be adding a kindergartener and an active toddler to my 2nd and 3rd graders' school day. I'm trying to brainstorm ideas to keep the younger two engaged and enjoying their day while still working through lessons for the older two. I really like the idea of preparing for the week ahead and also preparing the night before/setting out materials. ☕️
I loved your tips! This will be our second year homeschooling, so I still feel a bit "green." Because we've done a few lessons here and there during the summer, I wanted to make our first day a little extra special, so I'm putting together a first day of school basket that will have a new book at their reading level, a chalkboard with their name, a notebook for some of their copy work that we'll be doing. Thanks for mentioning the first day of school pictures, I had totally forgotten that we do that! ☕️
Our first day of school is always on a Friday. We dress nice get our pictures, flip through our books, discuss expectations, and then go on a field trip.
Thanks for all the great tips! We started back today and I wish I had some of your tips before hand. Praying for grace tomorrow as I go back to my 7-4 job after only going over our new materials today. ☕️
All fantastic tips!! I second the tip of going to bed back at their bedtimes before school starts. Getting back in the routine helps so much. My own tip kind of how’s with that: practice getting up and getting ready on time too. We have had a lot of sleeping late and lazy mornings. We practiced getting up, getting our chores done and being ready by 9. 😊☕️
We were going to start this month but we still have so many summer activities more than we thought we would so we are starting in September but I have started the sleep adjustment routine and getting back on schedule. Lots of prayers have been happening for this new year since we have made so many new changes for this new school year. Love the tip about not scheduling anything for the first week back. That’s such a great tip on doing an “orientation “ for the kids. Thanks for sharing your tips. ✏️✂️📚☕️
I love that thought, stick to the bare bones in the very beginning ❤️ We all need time to adjust back into the schedule of our schools. I’m excited for another year ❤️☕️
Thank you for the tips! We started back today and had an orientation day. We moved into our new house a couple of months ago, so my kids don't really know where everything is. It was nice to take the time to walk around the house and teach them where things are. ☕
We’re starting school next Friday. It’s going to be an orientation day. My kids love looking through all their new school books and new supplies. During “orientation” we look through all the books in the same order that we will do our work each day. We begin with morning basket and look through those items and then move to our independent subjects. My kids also get donuts for breakfast! They only get donuts on the first day of school, the last day of school and birthdays. My children are 10 and 14.
Excellent tips Ashley! I’d recommend getting the first week of breakfasts, lunches and dinners really well planned out - ones that are easy, popular and really nutritious to keep everyone’s body and mind going. We always start the first day of each new term with homemade Norwegian waffles and a ceilidh dance in the kitchen 😅 🇳🇴 🏴 I also stock up on teas and coffee and try to do a massive clean during the holidays. On our first day, we love doing the interviews, comparing the responses to previous years and setting goals together. I put nice stationary and notebooks in tissue for the kids so they have a new year ‘gift’, even though it’s something that they would need anyway. The celebratory traditions for us really help with the transition between holiday and term time and season to season. So, so excited for you that you are almost at 40k subscribers. You really deserve it Ashley will all the work you put in. So exciting to see your channel grow (and your kids!) along with the homeschool community ❤️📚🦋
Thanks for the tips. I’m starting my 2st year homeschooling this year. I’m super nervous as my kids are 6th, 4th, 1st, preschool (4) and 2. I’ve been watching your channel for a few years. Thanks fo all the encouragement and great perspective ☕️
This is such great advice! I like to also make sure that I plan easy meals and snacks, so that food is one less thing we have to worry about as we are getting used to the start of a new school year. ☕️
We will be starting our 7th year of homeschooling & I love the idea of the 1st day orientation. I think as a homeschool momma, I always tend to overlook that. Thanks for these 5 great tips!!🤎☕️
Great idea to do an orientation the first day! This will be our first full year of homeschooling (we pulled my daughter out this past February) and we're so excited. Your channel has been so helpful to me!
I have been homeschooling for 10 years and never thought of doing a back to school orientation. I like that idea and may do that with my kids when we go back to school in a few weeks.☕
Thanks for the great tips!! 3&4 are SO good! I can’t wait to take our new school year photos at the front door of our new house!! We start school a week after we move in! ☕️
We ease back into it. We started today with just Math and LA. We will start adding more subjects in next week and then the following week. This year was different because everyone has been sick but my kids needed to get their brains moving again but their bodies still need rest. They actually really enjoyed getting started again in a relaxing slow start. ☕️
Our new school year always starts with the change in the calendar. The first Sunday of August means school time bedtime. We love doing the fun new few items this year they are getting new no sweat water bottles to keep at the school table (spills ruin curriculum). Plus new slippers as we moved the school area to the basement and painted the cement floor so come fall it will be ice cold floors. I love the tips thanks for all your help
Love all of your tips! I'm hoping to be able to start homeschooling in the next couple years (my oldest is only 3 and I'm still working full-time) but I just love watching all of your videos! I soak up all of your wisdom!! Also, I had gotten a Fab Fit Fun box in the past and had contemplated getting a subscription again, you may have just convinced me! I love that it's just seasonal and not monthly!!☕
Oh I so wish we had fab fit fun boxes in Australia they look great! I loved your advice on having the kids wake up at school time instead of letting them sleep in the week before school starts, that will hopefully help us not have a slow start. ☕️
Yes, to all of these - especially the “orientation.” I used this past weekend to spend 1-on-1 time with each of my kiddos walking through their daily routines, new books, how their binders were set up, etc. It saved us SO much time this morning when we started our new year!! Huge win! One way I get my kiddos excited is that I buy all of their new supplies in secret. I know their favorite colors and preferences, so I shop for them with each of them in mind. Then, I have their surprises waiting on them on our first morning. They know it’s coming, but they don’t know what to expect. It’s super fun!! I hope y’all have a fantastic start to your new school year!!😄
Love this! Thank you! Am going to try an orientation day to help get the kids excited. Hope you had a great summer and wishing you and your family so much joy in the new school year! ☕️
We don't homeschool but these tips are definitely helpful! Orientation for us would be reminding them of the rhythm to get us out the door and coming home ☺️ love this!
We started today! We do a slow start. Do 1 or 2 things and slowly add up while still enjoying summer. By September we are doing it all and my boys like easing into things. ☕
Wishing everyone a happy back to school season! We started back in July (very hot and humid here so we start early and break more in better weather☺️). ☕️
An orientation day is a great idea! This is the second year homeschooling my younger two but the first year for my incoming 9th and 7th graders so going through the routine with them would be helpful. One tradition we have done since my oldest was in kindergarten is taking a picture of each kid in front of their school holding a picture frame with a picture of the previous years 1 st day of school. I love looking through all of their previous pictures to see how they have changed over the years.
Orientation Day is the answer I have been waiting on. I have been having a hard time nailing down an official start date. I am a day 1, lesson 1 kind of person. But, my kids are 5 and 3, so yeah, we need a day or two of basic rhythm before we add the formal lessons. Thank you! Great tip!
We are starting school August 16th (last real week of summer before we start with transitioning) and I am just not ready for summer to end! Thank you for the reminder that the first day we don’t have to dive right in! I am definitely going to try to make our first week geared more towards a fun introduction.☕️
Loved this video and all of the advice and examples from other homeschool moms in the comments! They all blessed me and I know it will bless our homeschool 💗💗☕
Started back today. Added a seventh grader this year (last year was just my 7 year old). Gonna take a second to find our new flow! But overall great day. ☕️
This is one of my favorite videos from you to date! Thanks for sharing your tips! We do most of those and they are great ways to help with the back to school rush. I personally am going to incorporate the "back to school orientation" 😁. I will probably do a fun evening before the first day walk through with my kiddos.
Wow! Tip #5! I honestly never realized how important, or even put thought to, that first "orientation". I'm definitely going to try to implement that with my girls this year.☕
We are starting our 10th year on August 23. We celebrate the night before the first day with some kind of treat, and we always have a special breakfast on the first day.
Love your tips. We plan to jump right in around the end of august because I already feel like we’ve taken too much time off so I’m ready. But such a good idea to take time before school to go over passwords and where everything is etc. Thanks for sharing Ashlee 🤗☕️
We start with what we call "soft schedule" to get back in gently. Soft start is morning basket and family subjects, but no math or language arts or other individual subjects except for my highschool students. We have been homecoming for 13 years now and we have always started with numerous field trips, so opposite of your tip#one. We go do fun things while the public schools are in session. A beach day is a must, and rocket launching. We go to several museums and even camping once or twice that first month back all with educational goals. Then after labor day we dig into full schedule with all the individual subjects and studies. We have a blast while the weather is nice.
We are finishing our first year homeschooling- I decided to do year round which makes it kind of weird as far as transitioning into a “new” school year .. appreciate the tips ❤️ Fall is my favorite too - that fabfitfun box looks fun!!
We started our second year today!! Orientation day sounds fun! But we just jumped right in already. 😅 Focused on our routine. Our goals this year: attitudes, independence, and communication (instead of instant meltdown!) 🤣👏🏻 day one was a success and I feel so thankful! ☕️☕️☕️
Love the tips. Mine would be to read the introduction and any teaching notes in the beginning of each new book you will using for the year. So, for instance, read the introduction pages in your child’s language arts book, etc.
We are starting our new school year on August 9th. This week I am getting everything ready. I did tell them back in July that we were stating school in 2 weeks. It's good to prepare their mindset ahead like that. Some of my kids are excited some just said okay. The first day I definitely ease into things. We sit and talk at first, then do some lessons. It a shorten school day.
Thank you SO much for this advice. I was stressing so much because I had planned to start our school year this Monday August 9th, get a few weeks under our belt, then leave for a week-long camping trip August 30th. I have been wrestling with that decision and thinking it might be better to wait until we return from our trip and your advice just helped me make that decision and be at peace with it. Thank you!
we don't always have a solid start date, since we school all year round. But in the fall, I do take time to get back to the basics and then slowly add in the more extra stuff. ☕
We do the bedtimes and wake ups 2 weeks before because my boys are not morning people AT ALL. Great idea for the orientation! I’ll have to try that. ☕️
I love these! Getting excited with your kids is the best part of starting a new year. We always do a short orientation on the first day, pictures, and start with lesson 1 in everything (the best feeling). I let mine go through their new books and log into everything a few days before we start. It fills them with anticipation and by the time we have our first day they're so ready 😀☕
I love your videos! These are great tips…we always ease quite gently into our new school year, and you’ve reminded me to pray over our school year as we start! Thank you! ☕️
I love all of these, great reminders, but I am really loving that last one! I don’t know why I never thought of that! It would make the first day so much easier not having to explain everything and try to teach. Love it. Thank you!! ☕️
I saw a tip recently, primarily for younger children like mine, about first just establishing the routines. For example, if you're going to do morning time at the table... first just practice all sitting at the table and doing a project like playdoh, or coloring. I think I'm going to work on that as we will be moving riiiight before the start of school (through our charter) so we'll be acclimating to an entire new environment as well as schedule. Love your videos as always! ☕️
your tip #1 resonates with me a lot this year - I've always enjoyed doing all the playdates and things thanks to the flexibility of homeschooling (with younger children) -- but we're moving to almost an hour away from our family, friends, and church. So I'm committing to staying home 5 days a week (nature group and church being the outings)
Love the back to school tips ! It’s so important to keep things simple and cleared sch ! Bed times are something we are really working on this year and alarms ! ☕️
Thank you so much for these amazing videos! This year we are starting homeschool off with a fun little project about our summer adventures and travels and then the kids will present their project to extended family!
We aren’t starting homeschool until after Labor Day because my girls are doing a type of hybrid and taking electives at the public school to be able to play sports. The public school starts August 24 so I’m letting them get acclimated to their classes before we start our curriculum at home💙☕️
Hey Megan,
Thankyou for leaving comments on my videos for the last week! You are our giveaway winner! Please email me at awilliams@mail.org to claim your prize! ❤️
We started last week, and I did an “orientation” day our first day this year. We did our morning basket, then like you said flipped though all our new books and talked about and prayed over our new year. It was such a nice way to ease into it! ☕️
We always have an orientation day...It really helps to have talked out expectations and have looked over all materials. We also get a treat after lunch. This year we had a back to school family night leading up to new bedtimes 😊☕
I recently read a tip somewhere to start the new year on a Thursday and I thought that was a great idea! ☕️
Reading Mother Culture over the summer was awesome for me bc we must go back to habits, obedience and attentiveness. Plus it just helped me overall. Im going to use a bunch of her ideas.
I love that book!!! It was so helpful to me.
☕ We start in 3 weeks, thanks for the reminders! Last year on the first day we did an "all about me" page and set individual goals for the school year with it. It was fun to look back and see if goals were met and spelling progress. I am planning to do the same this year
Also, I keep peeking at those subscriptions. Maybe I will treat myself for once!
Okay, your reaction to the earring falling out was so perfect. Made me laugh. Thanks for that! And thanks for the tips! Love your content! ☕️
I love reading "Teaching from Rest" before the start of every school year. It puts my mind and heart in the right place ❤️
I allow a "soft launch" week where we do some review or just a subject or 2 so we aren't just diving straight in with all the things. Slowly ease into school while also practicing our routines for the year. Definitely helps us all be less overwhelmed. Thanks for your tips!! ☕
I was thinking about doing this this year! Our 'soft start' would include English, math, reading time & devotions. We will add the group stuff *logic, music, science & history* about a week later. Maybe it will be less overwhelming this way!
Thats a really great idea
Thank you for the gentle reminders. Here’s to everyone having a smooth start to this school year! 😊📚☕️
My back to school tip is: if any of you are full time working mommas who do school in the evenings, let your child choose which “electives” to do on which days within your week. If you are in our same boat AND they have activities after normal school hours, it can really help them to look forward to what’s happening on that day. I also use Saturday as our “catch up” day, so if we need to revisit any topics or finish any assignments, we complete them, then. Lots of grace and teamwork within our school! ☕️
Love these tips, Ashlee, especially the orientation idea! We do a slow lead in to full school. We do 4-5 weeks of 3 subjects or so (mostly reading, math and spelling) to help remember things we haven’t studied in about 6-7 weeks. We have done that the last few years and it works well for us so it doesn’t feel as jarring to jump right back into everything at once for them and for me. Also, I always set everything out the night before for every school day as it helps me be prepared. I will have a 4th and 6th grader this year and I am excited for all we are doing. Praying blessings over your new school year! Thank you for all you do for this community! ☕️💜☕️
I am leaving another comment to say...thank you, Ashlee, for everything you do! I am always excited to delve into your videos!
You are my favorite homeschooling channel! You're channel has helped me soooo much. Thank you for all that you do. Blessings to you and your family 🙏❤️
Loved this!! This is going to be our first year I am just soaking up your whole channel keep being your awesome self! ☕️
We started today with our traditional first day of school breakfast out, and we added a new one with some gifts (new notebooks - 2 of which I ordered from Erin Condren thanks to one of your previous videos. They had exactly what I was looking for!) and a field trip to a local museum. We had lots of fun today, and it was so refreshing to start the new school year without stress. ☕️
I love these ideas for a first day of school!
Thanks, Ashlee! I'm down to one kid this year...14 years in and 10 more to go ;) And I still love ideas and reminders that encourage and help me to be more gentle, nurturing, and practical. I really enjoy having coffee "with" you. Praying over all our starts to the new school year!
We have a tradition where our first day of school is our orientation/fun kick off to the new year. I wrap up the kid's new school supplies with a fun treat into boxes for each kid. They love opening their first day of school gifts. We have drumstick ice cream cones for breakfast, take first day of school photos and go over what we're going to be learning. They definitely look forward to this day! 😄
Such great tips! I love that you pray over the videos you make and are always thinking about being an instrument for God! You've been such a help and light to me and our homeschool! 😘☕
Thumbnail for this video is just stunning! Great tips.
I'm not a homeschool mum but am a teacher of a couple of decades and every September feels as fresh as January 1st for me! It never gets old and my kids love school and going into September too. 🍁
I’m guilty of starting to burn fall candles as of two days ago… I just can’t help myself 😝☕️
Ok, this comment made me really want to pull out my fall scents lol I’m glad I’m not allow in loving fall 😊
We start lesson 1 on day 1, for us it is all about getting in that routine bc my kids thrive off it. I would say, our number 1 goal is to be flexible, things happen and you have kids with a life.. and you are home. Know things will disrupt and that is okay! ☕️
I always sit my girls down and discuss things that are important to them to experience for the school year. Usually holiday parties, certain subjects for morning basket (animals, weather, cultures), certain field trips, more art, tea times, etc. Then I do my best to incorporate those things in our school year. That way they have something to look forward to & they feel like their suggestions are heard.
Love the tip of clearing schedule for awhile when starting the new school year.☕
Great video and great advice!
I have 3 kids - each gets their own first day. I love that 1:1 time in the beginning to show them all their new stuff and talk about goals and fun activities we want to do.
Good Luck for the fall. It’s my favorite time of year..especially here in New England with tons of beautiful foliage. 🍁🍂
This was a wonderful video that had perfect timing for us! (God is so cool in that way 😉) We're first time homeschoolers and will be starting in a few weeks. I'm really excited for my kiddos and also kinda nervous, too! Thank you for the words of wisdom and for everyone here commenting so much encouragement! 🥰🥰
Loved seeing what you got in your fall Fab Fit Fun box! I also love fall and can’t wait for all the cozy scents and clothes! I loved your idea on “Orientation week” even with homeschooling! Some of the fun things I do for the beginning of the new school year is a special first day breakfast including some new school supplies, a new outfit, we take pictures and usually have a picnic lunch and fill in the beginning of the year questionnaires that we do! I also make sure to have plenary of coffee ready for me! ☕️
I always love your tips and tricks. As a newer homeschool mama you have really helped me survive and shown me some things that helped immensely. Thank you for all you do ☕️
We started back early last week because I am planning for spinal surgery later this month. Love your tips! Getting the kids excited about their new school books a couple weeks early really helped kick off our new year well! ☕️
Thank you for the great ideas! We still have one more month of summer break here but I am already trying to mentally prepare for the new school year. This year I will be adding a kindergartener and an active toddler to my 2nd and 3rd graders' school day. I'm trying to brainstorm ideas to keep the younger two engaged and enjoying their day while still working through lessons for the older two. I really like the idea of preparing for the week ahead and also preparing the night before/setting out materials. ☕️
I loved your tips! This will be our second year homeschooling, so I still feel a bit "green." Because we've done a few lessons here and there during the summer, I wanted to make our first day a little extra special, so I'm putting together a first day of school basket that will have a new book at their reading level, a chalkboard with their name, a notebook for some of their copy work that we'll be doing. Thanks for mentioning the first day of school pictures, I had totally forgotten that we do that! ☕️
Our first day of school is always on a Friday. We dress nice get our pictures, flip through our books, discuss expectations, and then go on a field trip.
Thanks for all the great tips! We started back today and I wish I had some of your tips before hand. Praying for grace tomorrow as I go back to my 7-4 job after only going over our new materials today. ☕️
All fantastic tips!! I second the tip of going to bed back at their bedtimes before school starts. Getting back in the routine helps so much. My own tip kind of how’s with that: practice getting up and getting ready on time too. We have had a lot of sleeping late and lazy mornings. We practiced getting up, getting our chores done and being ready by 9. 😊☕️
We were going to start this month but we still have so many summer activities more than we thought we would so we are starting in September but I have started the sleep adjustment routine and getting back on schedule. Lots of prayers have been happening for this new year since we have made so many new changes for this new school year. Love the tip about not scheduling anything for the first week back. That’s such a great tip on doing an “orientation “ for the kids. Thanks for sharing your tips. ✏️✂️📚☕️
I love that thought, stick to the bare bones in the very beginning ❤️ We all need time to adjust back into the schedule of our schools. I’m excited for another year ❤️☕️
Thank you for the tips! We started back today and had an orientation day. We moved into our new house a couple of months ago, so my kids don't really know where everything is. It was nice to take the time to walk around the house and teach them where things are. ☕
Were doing a fun back to school shopping. Fun pens. Art supplies. So well be so excited to use them well end up starting the day after!☕
We’re starting school next Friday. It’s going to be an orientation day. My kids love looking through all their new school books and new supplies. During “orientation” we look through all the books in the same order that we will do our work each day. We begin with morning basket and look through those items and then move to our independent subjects. My kids also get donuts for breakfast! They only get donuts on the first day of school, the last day of school and birthdays. My children are 10 and 14.
Excellent tips Ashley! I’d recommend getting the first week of breakfasts, lunches and dinners really well planned out - ones that are easy, popular and really nutritious to keep everyone’s body and mind going. We always start the first day of each new term with homemade Norwegian waffles and a ceilidh dance in the kitchen 😅 🇳🇴 🏴 I also stock up on teas and coffee and try to do a massive clean during the holidays. On our first day, we love doing the interviews, comparing the responses to previous years and setting goals together. I put nice stationary and notebooks in tissue for the kids so they have a new year ‘gift’, even though it’s something that they would need anyway. The celebratory traditions for us really help with the transition between holiday and term time and season to season. So, so excited for you that you are almost at 40k subscribers. You really deserve it Ashley will all the work you put in. So exciting to see your channel grow (and your kids!) along with the homeschool community ❤️📚🦋
Thanks for the tips. I’m starting my 2st year homeschooling this year. I’m super nervous as my kids are 6th, 4th, 1st, preschool (4) and 2. I’ve been watching your channel for a few years. Thanks fo all the encouragement and great perspective ☕️
This is such great advice! I like to also make sure that I plan easy meals and snacks, so that food is one less thing we have to worry about as we are getting used to the start of a new school year. ☕️
Yes!! That has been so helpful to me as well!
We will be starting our 7th year of homeschooling & I love the idea of the 1st day orientation. I think as a homeschool momma, I always tend to overlook that. Thanks for these 5 great tips!!🤎☕️
Great idea to do an orientation the first day! This will be our first full year of homeschooling (we pulled my daughter out this past February) and we're so excited. Your channel has been so helpful to me!
I have been homeschooling for 10 years and never thought of doing a back to school orientation. I like that idea and may do that with my kids when we go back to school in a few weeks.☕
Thanks for the great tips!! 3&4 are SO good! I can’t wait to take our new school year photos at the front door of our new house!! We start school a week after we move in! ☕️
My kids are younger but this year we did an All About Me page the first day! They loved it :) favorite food, game, etc... fun to see how they change!
We ease back into it. We started today with just Math and LA. We will start adding more subjects in next week and then the following week. This year was different because everyone has been sick but my kids needed to get their brains moving again but their bodies still need rest. They actually really enjoyed getting started again in a relaxing slow start. ☕️
Our new school year always starts with the change in the calendar. The first Sunday of August means school time bedtime. We love doing the fun new few items this year they are getting new no sweat water bottles to keep at the school table (spills ruin curriculum). Plus new slippers as we moved the school area to the basement and painted the cement floor so come fall it will be ice cold floors. I love the tips thanks for all your help
Love all of your tips! I'm hoping to be able to start homeschooling in the next couple years (my oldest is only 3 and I'm still working full-time) but I just love watching all of your videos! I soak up all of your wisdom!! Also, I had gotten a Fab Fit Fun box in the past and had contemplated getting a subscription again, you may have just convinced me! I love that it's just seasonal and not monthly!!☕
This was an awesome video!! Lots of people do these ‘tips to start the school year’ but I found yours to be unique and super helpful! Thank you!!!! 😃👍
Oh I so wish we had fab fit fun boxes in Australia they look great! I loved your advice on having the kids wake up at school time instead of letting them sleep in the week before school starts, that will hopefully help us not have a slow start. ☕️
Yes, to all of these - especially the “orientation.” I used this past weekend to spend 1-on-1 time with each of my kiddos walking through their daily routines, new books, how their binders were set up, etc. It saved us SO much time this morning when we started our new year!! Huge win!
One way I get my kiddos excited is that I buy all of their new supplies in secret. I know their favorite colors and preferences, so I shop for them with each of them in mind. Then, I have their surprises waiting on them on our first morning. They know it’s coming, but they don’t know what to expect. It’s super fun!!
I hope y’all have a fantastic start to your new school year!!😄
Love this! Thank you! Am going to try an orientation day to help get the kids excited. Hope you had a great summer and wishing you and your family so much joy in the new school year! ☕️
We don't homeschool but these tips are definitely helpful! Orientation for us would be reminding them of the rhythm to get us out the door and coming home ☺️ love this!
We started today! We do a slow start. Do 1 or 2 things and slowly add up while still enjoying summer. By September we are doing it all and my boys like easing into things. ☕
Wishing everyone a happy back to school season! We started back in July (very hot and humid here so we start early and break more in better weather☺️). ☕️
Great tips! Love the idea of considering/allowing time for orienting to the new year, I'm often guilty of rushing through all that.
An orientation day is a great idea! This is the second year homeschooling my younger two but the first year for my incoming 9th and 7th graders so going through the routine with them would be helpful. One tradition we have done since my oldest was in kindergarten is taking a picture of each kid in front of their school holding a picture frame with a picture of the previous years 1 st day of school. I love looking through all of their previous pictures to see how they have changed over the years.
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Orientation Day is the answer I have been waiting on. I have been having a hard time nailing down an official start date. I am a day 1, lesson 1 kind of person. But, my kids are 5 and 3, so yeah, we need a day or two of basic rhythm before we add the formal lessons. Thank you! Great tip!
We are starting school August 16th (last real week of summer before we start with transitioning) and I am just not ready for summer to end! Thank you for the reminder that the first day we don’t have to dive right in! I am definitely going to try to make our first week geared more towards a fun introduction.☕️
Loved this video and all of the advice and examples from other homeschool moms in the comments! They all blessed me and I know it will bless our homeschool 💗💗☕
Started back today. Added a seventh grader this year (last year was just my 7 year old). Gonna take a second to find our new flow! But overall great day. ☕️
This is one of my favorite videos from you to date! Thanks for sharing your tips! We do most of those and they are great ways to help with the back to school rush. I personally am going to incorporate the "back to school orientation" 😁. I will probably do a fun evening before the first day walk through with my kiddos.
Wow! Tip #5! I honestly never realized how important, or even put thought to, that first "orientation". I'm definitely going to try to implement that with my girls this year.☕
Yes! Bedtime and wake up schedule for sure! We get in the worst habits with this during the summer. ☕️
We are starting our 10th year on August 23. We celebrate the night before the first day with some kind of treat, and we always have a special breakfast on the first day.
Love your tips. We plan to jump right in around the end of august because I already feel like we’ve taken too much time off so I’m ready. But such a good idea to take time before school to go over passwords and where everything is etc. Thanks for sharing Ashlee 🤗☕️
I love your tips about not planning anything for the first 2 weeks-month & to do an orientation! ☕
We love doing those first day of school pictures ☕️
We started our 4th year today! These are all great tips. Thank you for sharing ☕️
We started this week and it seems like the unexpected keeps popping up! Thanks for the encouragement☕
We start with what we call "soft schedule" to get back in gently. Soft start is morning basket and family subjects, but no math or language arts or other individual subjects except for my highschool students. We have been homecoming for 13 years now and we have always started with numerous field trips, so opposite of your tip#one. We go do fun things while the public schools are in session. A beach day is a must, and rocket launching. We go to several museums and even camping once or twice that first month back all with educational goals. Then after labor day we dig into full schedule with all the individual subjects and studies. We have a blast while the weather is nice.
We are finishing our first year homeschooling- I decided to do year round which makes it kind of weird as far as transitioning into a “new” school year .. appreciate the tips ❤️
Fall is my favorite too - that fabfitfun box looks fun!!
We just started today, my littlest one entered kinder and it’s a whole new challenge keeping all three of them in task. 😊
We started our second year today!! Orientation day sounds fun! But we just jumped right in already. 😅 Focused on our routine. Our goals this year: attitudes, independence, and communication (instead of instant meltdown!) 🤣👏🏻 day one was a success and I feel so thankful! ☕️☕️☕️
We took first day school pics and it was fun. The kids were excited ☕️
Yes! I plan on having them get up and start their daily school routine the week before we will start. Get that ☕️ ready!!
☕ Great tips! Our first day back was today! Praying for a joyous year.
Great, great tips! This is only our second year and doing an orientation never even occurred to me!! I’m excited for the new year!
Love the tips. Mine would be to read the introduction and any teaching notes in the beginning of each new book you will using for the year. So, for instance, read the introduction pages in your child’s language arts book, etc.
Love these reminders/tips! Super helpful for a new homeschool mamma! ☕️
We are starting our new school year on August 9th. This week I am getting everything ready. I did tell them back in July that we were stating school in 2 weeks. It's good to prepare their mindset ahead like that. Some of my kids are excited some just said okay. The first day I definitely ease into things. We sit and talk at first, then do some lessons. It a shorten school day.
Thank you SO much for this advice. I was stressing so much because I had planned to start our school year this Monday August 9th, get a few weeks under our belt, then leave for a week-long camping trip August 30th. I have been wrestling with that decision and thinking it might be better to wait until we return from our trip and your advice just helped me make that decision and be at peace with it. Thank you!
Doing the same over here mama! Our latest start yet, but this i why we homeschool! ❤️ sometimes I have to remind myself
Definitely! 😊
Great tips! Never thought about doing an orientation the first day. Will definitely do that next year!
we don't always have a solid start date, since we school all year round. But in the fall, I do take time to get back to the basics and then slowly add in the more extra stuff. ☕
We do the bedtimes and wake ups 2 weeks before because my boys are not morning people AT ALL. Great idea for the orientation! I’ll have to try that. ☕️
Looking forward to trying the Fab Fit Fun box! Thanks for always sharing great tips😊☕️
I loved your tips! Thanks so much. I am definitely going to use these when we start next week.
I love these! Getting excited with your kids is the best part of starting a new year. We always do a short orientation on the first day, pictures, and start with lesson 1 in everything (the best feeling). I let mine go through their new books and log into everything a few days before we start. It fills them with anticipation and by the time we have our first day they're so ready 😀☕
I love your videos! These are great tips…we always ease quite gently into our new school year, and you’ve reminded me to pray over our school year as we start! Thank you! ☕️
I love all of these, great reminders, but I am really loving that last one! I don’t know why I never thought of that! It would make the first day so much easier not having to explain everything and try to teach. Love it. Thank you!! ☕️
Great reminders as we started our first day back today! ☕️
I love it! Sleep schedule and praying that God blesses our year/loving my kids well throughout our days helps a lot. ☕️
I’m always ready to go back before my son is 😂 I loved school as a kid and still do. ☕️
I saw a tip recently, primarily for younger children like mine, about first just establishing the routines. For example, if you're going to do morning time at the table... first just practice all sitting at the table and doing a project like playdoh, or coloring. I think I'm going to work on that as we will be moving riiiight before the start of school (through our charter) so we'll be acclimating to an entire new environment as well as schedule. Love your videos as always! ☕️
your tip #1 resonates with me a lot this year - I've always enjoyed doing all the playdates and things thanks to the flexibility of homeschooling (with younger children) -- but we're moving to almost an hour away from our family, friends, and church. So I'm committing to staying home 5 days a week (nature group and church being the outings)
that earring!!! your reaction was priceless.
Love the back to school tips ! It’s so important to keep things simple and cleared sch ! Bed times are something we are really working on this year and alarms ! ☕️
Thank you for these great tips! 1st day of school was today for us 🎉 ☕️
Thank you so much for these amazing videos! This year we are starting homeschool off with a fun little project about our summer adventures and travels and then the kids will present their project to extended family!