Back to Homeschool Activities for Tweens

Kick off another school year with these back to homeschool activities.

Are you a homeschooling mom looking for fun and engaging activities to celebrate back to school? Look no further. We’re sharing some of our favorite ideas that will help get your kids excited for the new school year. From yummy food to fun games, there is something here that will help you plan something your tweens will love.

So get ready to have some fun as you head back to home school!

Any links in this post may be affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.

Back to Homeschool

For homeschoolers, the start of a new school year usually means a return to a more structured learning schedule. But instead of jumping right in, ease into your homeschool routine for the first day or so. Homeschooling offers a lot of flexibility, so take the time to make the start of the school year as enjoyable as possible.

Fun Back to School Activities for Middle School

It’s easy to make the back to school season just as festive for homeschoolers as it is for traditional school kids. All it takes is a little bit of planning and creativity. We’ve made it simple for you with this list of awesome ideas for celebrating the first days of school.

There are lots of great things you can do to kick off a new school year, so don’t limit yourself to just one day. Instead of focusing on the first day of school, celebrate back to home school for a week (or more)!

By adding one or two of these ideas to your plans, you’ll make the transition from summer to school season easier on everyone.

These activities will help you and your kids make the first days of school fun and exciting.

Back to School Goals

The start of a new school year is the perfect time to teach tweens about goal setting. It’s a great life skill for them to have, plus it will help them get invested in the upcoming semester. We’ve created this FREE back to school worksheet to make it easy for your kids to think about what they want to do during the school year.

School Supplies for Teens

Take your older kids shopping for some new school supplies. While we don’t have a list a mile long like our traditional school counterparts, homeschoolers still need school supplies and your tweens and teens will enjoy choosing their own.

Fun School Supplies

Remember, that school supplies don’t always have to be practical. Think outside the standard school supply list and buy a few special supplies or fun trinkets for your tweens this year. I always tried to grab a couple of interesting things for my girls each year. I’ve purchased things like ninja pencils, animal paper clips, and cool sticky notes.

Here are some fun school supplies, unique school supplies, and affordable school supplies that are perfect for tweens & teens.

You can surprise your kids with these items on the first day of school or send them on a scavenger hunt to find them.

Decorate School Supplies

Let your kids decorate their binders and notebooks in their own unique style. My kids always loved adding colorful washi tape to their notebooks so they weren’t as boring.

They can also make a cute flower pen out of an inexpensive ball-point pen.

Homeschool Back to School Pictures

Preserve the memory of this new year by taking some fun back to school pictures of your kids. Luckily, as homeschoolers we aren’t stuck with the boring seated backdrop pictures we got when we were in school.

Personally, my kids were in their slippers for most of ours, but you can make yours as funny, formal, or unique as you want.

Fun Breakfast

To kick off your first day of school, make a special breakfast for your tweens. It would be fun to make either their favorite dish or something totally unexpected, like a pancake or waffle bar. Here are 25 breakfast ideas you can use.

If your kids are late risers, consider making an extra-special lunch instead.

Field Trip Fun

When school kids go back, it’s the perfect time for homeschoolers to head out into the world. The beginning of the year is a perfect time to take a field trip with your kids. The locations are less crowded and often cheaper too.

We always spent a lot of time in September visiting local attractions and many of them actually advertised to the homeschooling community.

Field trips can be highly educational, so you don’t have to feel like you’re skipping school. I’m not saying you need to spend every day out and about, but now’s the time to add a field trip or two into your back to school plans.

Spirit Days

Remember how much fun school spirit week was in school? Bring some of that excitement to your home school by planning some themed days for your first week back. Sit down with your kids and ask them for their suggestions and add them to your calendar.

See who has the most school spirit in your house!

Here are some ideas to get your started – pajama day, super hero day, crazy hair day, decade day, and kids in charge day.

Play a Game

Games are not only a lot of fun, but they can be extremely educational as well, so you don’t have to feel guilty adding some into your first days schooling again. In fact, they can be a great way to ease everyone into a schedule.

There are a few ways you can add games into your back to school plan. You can:

• Take a break during the day to play one
• Set aside your formal school work and play games all day
• Play a subject-specific game in place of a lesson for a day, like these word games, math games, and geography games

No matter what you choose, your tweens will love playing a board game during “school time.”

Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Kick off your school year by going on a scavenger hunt. Kids love them and they’re a great way to break up a school day, especially if your tweens are struggling to get back into the swing of things.

Head outside for a nature walk scavenger hunt or make it educational by going on an atlas scavenger hunt. If your tweens attend co-op or classes outside of the home, they can play this backpack scavenger hunt game.

Have a Party

Kick off the school year with a party! You can keep it small with just your family, invite some neighbors, or see if a bunch of your homeschool friends can join you.

If you want to include your traditional school friends, have it in the evening (like a cookout) so everyone can celebrate the new school year together.

Go to the Library

Since the local library is a homeschooler’s best friend, visit yours at the beginning of the new school year. Get to know your librarians. Check out the activities and programs they have coming up. And don’t forget to check out a bunch of awesome books!

Make a Bookmark

After you head to the library, sit down together and make some bookmarks for the new books you have got to read.

Go on a Picnic

To take a break and make lunch extra special, head outside for a picnic. You can go to a local park where the kids can run around or set something up in your backyard. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Kids will love the break in the routine.

Choose a Fun Elective

Once kids hit middle school, it’s important that they have some time to pursue their interests aside from their core coursework. This can be something they’re already involved in, like sports or music, or it can be a totally new interest, like photography or coding.

While you’re still figuring out your homeschool schedule, sit down with your tweens to help them choose a fun elective for this semester.

Plan Out Your Schedule

While this may not sound as exciting as the rest of the list, your tweens will appreciate the chance to give their opinions about their homeschooling schedule and plans. The beginning of the year is a wonderful time to talk to them about what they’d like their days to look like.

Will they get up early and start right away or begin school after lunch? Do they have to do school every day or can you take a day off? How many subjects or lessons will they do each day? What happens when they finish their curriculum for the year?

These are all good questions to talk through. I’m not saying that you need to let your tweens make all the decisions, but it is a good idea to give them the chance to be a partner in the decision making. It’s their education, after all, and the more input they have into it, the more invested they’ll be.

As you can see, it’s easy for homeschoolers to make the back to school season special and something to remember.

Back to School Resources

Make sure your tween is ready to start the school year with these helpful tools.

• Student planner
• Earbuds to help with online classes
• A laptop so she can get her work done

Which back to homeschool activity are you most excited about?