This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for details.

First Day of Homeschool

In our homeschool this week… Today was officially our first day of homeschool here at Guardian Academy, as well as our first little co-op day, when my sister Elizabeth’s family comes over and we do school together. We got a late start but still had a great day. I had everything set out and ready when the students arrived this morning.

First Day of Homeschool
Everything’s ready for first day of homeschool

Our first subject is always Bible. Prayer and scripture is always a great way to prioritize our day. This year we are doing a character trait study every week using Rachael Carman of HisSunflower’s weekly character traits posts. We started with the character trait “Alert” this week, because it really went with what I wanted to talk about. After reading and coloring using her free printables and talking about being alert, we made a commitment to work on being alert this week to see what God can show us.

For scripture memorization this first week, we always start with our school passage: Ephesians 6:11-17, the armor of God. I bought a play set of the armor of God and we discussed each piece: why we need it, how we get it, etc. It was a fun way to learn the passage. The older girls will memorize the whole passage this week, while the younger ones will memorize just verse 11.

First Day of Homeschool
The armor of God

Next up was English: We are using Shurley English 3 and 6. The first lesson is about creating goals — both short term and long term — so we had some fun writing down our goals. I helped write Joel’s goals for him so he could think about them. Writing is a tough one for Joel, and we are hoping to get better at it this year. When we were finished with our goals and writing down our first vocabulary words for the week, we split into independent work.

First Day of Homeschool
Writing down goals

We spent some time doing independent math and reading until lunchtime.

First Day of Homeschool
Joel reading

Lunch was macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, peas, water, and then chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The kids take charge of cooking, baking, and even cleaning up.

First Day of Homeschool
Stormie making lunch

After lunch we spent a brief time talking about what sciences they will each be studying this year. Most of the science study will take place in our homes and not when we are together: Except Joel and Faith, who will both study Apologia’s Land Animals of the Sixth Day. We are also planning zoo trips every other week together.

The last subject of the day, and my favorite, is history. This year we are studying the Middle Ages together. We are using Diana Waring’s “Romans, Revolutionaries, and Reformers” Unit Studies by Answers in Genesis, along with Story of the World. This week the kids will choose their end-of-unit research project for presentation day. They will also spend time listening to the audio for Unit 1 and reading about the unit. Next week we will start on all of the fun activities that go with what they have heard and read. Today I read a short bit from Story of the World while they colored in their “Barbarian” coloring pages.

First Day of Homeschool
Barbarians!

After that, it was clean up, load up and say goodbye time. I was worried about getting everything done by 2:00 p.m., especially since we started late, so I kept the pace moving all day. However we ended up finishing at 1:15 p.m. So I learned that I need to just relax and spend more time enjoying each part of the day. And maybe give them a little longer recess time next time. Overall it was a great day, and we are on our way to having an adventurous year!

Have you started up the new year in your homeschool this year? If so, do you do anything special for your first day of homeschool? Or are you still enjoying summer break? Are you planning to do anything different this year? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

This post is part of the Homeschool Mother’s Journal Link-Up at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler:

Homeschool Mother's Journal

3 Replies to “First Day of Homeschool at Guardian Academy”

  1. Our first day will be Monday and I’m doing A LOT of the same curriculum you are! This will be our first year to do Diana Waring’s history- we’ve done SOTW for 8 years. I’m looking forward to doing history together with my 13, 11, & 8 year old. Thanks for sharing about your first day!

Comments are closed.