Easy Last Day of Homeschool Traditions

The last day of homeschool for the year is such an exciting day.  Kids and homeschool moms (and dads) alike have made it through a year of homeschooling.  It deserves celebrating! 

Every family has its own last day of homeschool traditions, but sometimes it is helpful to see what other families do to honor the end of another school year.

My family is entering the final few weeks of our school year.  I don’t have an exact date in mind just yet.  That probably seems odd for a planner like me, but it works for my family.  We keep going until one of three things happens:

• We finish all of our core curricula
• We hit a wall and just need a break
• We reach my daughter’s birthday (early June)

We tend to drop subjects as we get closer to the final day.  I like to think of it as easing into summer break, but really we just finish up our various curricula at different times. 

Our marine biology curriculum is at the final unit and we only have one more book left to read as part of our video game history course.  We only have one more Survivor-themed geography club left until we stop geography too. 

Math, reading, and writing continue until the day of our end-of-year testing.

Once tests have been submitted we will be officially on summer break!

We are wrapping up our 8th year of homeschool this spring.  At some point, we have done every single one of these last day of homeschool traditions. 

Now I choose a few for the first day, but we don’t feel the need to do everything right away.  It is just the beginning of summer vacation – no need to rush!  We celebrate our newfound freedom for at least a week.

Movie Day

Watching a movie can be a great way to celebrate the last day of homeschool.  This is particularly good if mom is burnt out and needs to rest. 

Close the curtains, dim the lights, pop some popcorn, and doze on the couch while the kids enjoy the movie.  It is a relaxing way to start summer break.

Go out for a treat

There is always some sort of sweet treat involved in our last day of homeschool traditions. 

Sometimes that means going to the bakery for a fancy cupcake.  We have gotten celebratory doughnuts a few times.  Last year we swung by the snow-cone truck after dinner.  This year we are going to walk downtown and try out a new ice cream shop.

Summer-themed poetry tea time

A themed poetry tea time is one of my favorite ways to celebrate just about anything.  To make a summer-themed poetry tea time serve summer treats and read silly poems. 

Homemade ice cream and strawberry brownie kabobs would be perfect! 

I bought The Night Before Summer Vacation when I was a classroom teacher and we still read it every year.  My kids are older, but they are happy to listen to me read silly poems as long as there is a delicious snack involved.

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Picnic and park party

A picnic and park party is a fantastic last day of homeschool tradition for a homeschool group.  There is minimal planning involved, which I always appreciate at the end of the year. 

Choose a park, all of the homeschool families pack a picnic, someone brings a few balls and other outdoor toys, and someone brings popsicles.  Easy and kids love it. Fun activities to celebrate the end of a school year do not need to be complicated.

Order pizza

Ordering pizza is something we usually do on the first day of school and again on the last day of homeschool.  It is super easy – especially for a tired mom. 

We do not order pizza very often in my house, so it feels special.

Take a photo

Every year I have to get a picture of the first day of school and a picture of the last day of homeschool.  It is always amazing to see how much the kids have changed!  I usually just write quick last day of school signs with the date and the grade level they completed, but a letter board would be a great way to kick it up a notch.  It could also be reused year after year. Last day of school chalkboard signs are also popular.

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These photos can be a great display at a homeschool graduation ceremony.

End of the school year interview

A quick interview is a great way to wrap up the last day of homeschool.  It ends up being a walk down memory lane for the school year. These interviews can be a wonderful keepsake once the homeschooling journey has come to an end.

Create a summer bucket list

We try to create a summer bucket list every year. 

We write down all the places we want to go and everything we want to do over the next 6-8 weeks.  My kids always have lots of ideas, but I stress that this is a bit of a wish list.  We rarely get to do everything on our list.

Give a summer gift

Even though we are on summer break, I don’t want my kids to sit around like bumps on a log.  Giving an educational summer gift is a fun way to keep the learning going all summer long.  Some of the last day of school gifts have included:

• journal
• sparkly pens
• books
• outdoor toys
• pool gear
• monthly subscription
• kid-friendly magazine
• educational games

Go on a field trip

Are there any field trip spots you hoped to visit this year, but couldn’t work into your schedule? Now is the time to go! Going on a field trip on the last day of your homeschool year is a fun way to celebrate all of the hard work over the past year. Many traditional field trip locations get busy in the summer once everyone is out of school, so it can be beneficial to go early in the summer.