To close out this week’s 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents, I thought I would share with you my Top 5 Tips for Ending the Year on a High Note.
Even though it’s only April, many people are beginning to draw to a close for their homeschool year. Even if you are a year-round homeschooler, your “school” year is bound to come to an end at some point.
Here are 5 Tips for Ending the Year on a High Note
#1 – CELEBRATE
I can’t express enough the excitement the kids feel when the year finally end. Celebrate! Have a last-day-of-school party, go somewhere fun, or just celebrate at home with a fun dinner or even make a cake. Why not, right? Celebrating the end of the year gives you a great way to spend a minute reflecting on the end of the year and closing the school year. Even if you homeschool year-round, you can bring your “school year” to a close with a celebration, take a set break and then get back to work.
#2 – RECAP
One of the fun ways to end your year on a high note is to recap the year. Have each child share their favorite part of the school year. What was a favorite project? What was the best field trip? Maybe you can make a deal to vote on the best field trip and then do that field trip again on the last day of school. Did you take part in anything memorable during the year? Talk about that. And have everyone share their favorite thing they learned this year. Maybe it was a poem or a Bible verse or an interesting tidbit about a famous figure or time in history that you didn’t know. Whatever it is, recap the year and enjoy the memories before moving on.
Have a fun end of the year photo shoot. This would be a great way to have pictures of the kids to keep on file and the kids can have a great time dressing up, making silly pictures and faces, and posing together. Maybe go to a park with a picnic lunch and have fun with it. You can have a great time celebrating the end of the year and documenting the kids in photos at the same time.
#4 – GIVE SOME AWARDS
Have an emergent reader at the beginning of the year who is reading well now? Give him an award. Complete a math course ahead of schedule? Why not a Certificate of Achievement? Have a student that read a large number of books independently this year. Recognize them. Did your preschooler learn to tie his shoes? You can award that too. What better way to end the year than with a fun awards ceremony. Have some fun with it. Have family come over or do it with some other homeschool families. If you don’t have other families and don’t have a large family, get a sound on your phone of a crowd clapping and sound it, you will all laugh but your student will feel more like he’s got a crowd clapping for him. No matter what you do, you can give certificates or gift cards or just have them show off their stuff. Either way, you can have fun closing out your year with some awards to recognize the year’s achievements.
If you don’t want to make a HUGE deal out of the end of the year celebrations, but still want to have a good time together celebrating the end of the school year, why not have a nice family meal together? You could make something that each child enjoys or make the dinner together. Have a nice dinner and discuss the highlights of the year, congratulating each other on accomplishments and meeting goals and what was the most fun and memorable from the year.
Making sure you end your homeschool year on a high note ensures that your students stop and think about all they have done this year in their school. They can see how far they have come and think about all they have learned. They might surprise themselves with what they remember. Since homeschooling doesn’t take us from our homes much, sometimes this is the best way to ensure that each year does not run into the next year without a stopping point, which can lead to a rut. Make a big deal out of the end of the year and end on a high note, that way your kids will know it’s time to move on and you can breathe a sigh of relief with all that has been accomplished over your previous, hectic and fun school year!
How do you end your year to ensure you end it on a high note? I would love to hear your ideas.
Be sure to come back and see what others tips we are sharing this week.
Day #1 – Why You Should Attend a Homeschool Convention
Day #2 – How to Maximize your Library
Day #3- How to Homeschool When You Have a Migraine
Day #4- The Advantages of Homeschooling Around Your Husband’s Schedule
Day #5 – Top 10 Tips for Ending Your Year on a High Note
Check out more Tips for Homeschool Parents from more TOS Review Crew participants by clicking the banner below.
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