4 Ways to Help End Your Homeschool Year Positively
You are almost at the end of your homeschool year! Are you ready to be done?!
Don’t make the same mistake I have made in the past of slowly fizzling out and crawling to the finish line. When we end our school year this way, it leaves a sour memory of our year and sets the tone for the next year.
It is worth your time and effort to finish your school year well. Here are some tips to help you end your school year positively.
Video: How To End the School Year Positively
#1 Pick a Last Day and Stick to It!
All the kids want to know…WHEN IS OUR LAST DAY OF SCHOOL?!
It can be tempting as homeschool moms at the end of the homeschool year to get lazy in counting the number of days. Maybe you are doing a half day here and a half day there, putting them together and not really sure when you will be finished. It’s ok to be flexible in counting the weeks of school, but kids (and adults) are motivated by an end date!
In the past I have made the mistake of not having a definite end date. I did this for several years in a row until I realized that it caused my kids to lose their drive to work and learn. When I set an end date, they are more enthusiastic. They work harder because they know the end is in sight!
#2 Review and Remember Your Year
Another great way to end the homeschooling year well is to take time to review and remember the past year.
Review
Review what your kids have learned. Look back at the new skills they have learned this year. Have they mastered their multiplication facts? Started reading chapter books? Learned to type? Studied the Middle Ages and Renaissance? Help them see how far they have come. Let them take pride in their accomplishments.
Remember
Remember your experiences together. This can be as simple as a conversation around the dinner table. What field trips did you take? Did you try any interesting science experiments? What classes did you take with your homeschool co-op? What day stands out in your mind as unique or fun?
Portfolio
One of the best ways to review and remember is to MAKE A HOMESCHOOL PORTFOLIO. In our homeschool portfolios, we have a cover page that summarizes our progress in each subject. We include samples from each subject covered, one from the beginning of the school year and one from the end.
In the notebook sleeves, we insert pamphlets and programs from performances and field trips we have attended. Our kids love looking through their portfolios at the end of the year.
I usually pick a day near the end of the school year to sit down with each child individually. During this time we work together to assemble their portfolio. Sometimes when we start I worry thinking, “Did we really do all that much school work this year?!”
But then as we talk about…
- new books they have read
- new skill they mastered in math
- favorite things studied in science
- projects they made for co-op
- field trips we took
- hobbies they learned
- performances we saw
….it all comes back to us and we both realize that we really did cover a lot! When we write it all down and compile it in a notebook to show others, my children’s faces light up with pride in their accomplishments!
#3 Celebrate Your Accomplishments!
Important accomplishments deserve special celebrations. Do you want your kids to start the coming school year with a positive attitude? Then end the school year on a positive note!
Celebrating the end of our homeschool year doesn’t have to be costly or take a ton of planning. It can be very simple. It just needs to be something different from the ordinary, something that says, “We have made it to the end together!” Here are some fun ideas.
- Go out for breakfast your last morning or for ice cream in the afternoon.
- Camp out overnight in the backyard with a campfire and smores.
- Take a day trip somewhere special.
- Take a picture of your last day.
Whatever fun activities you do, plan to do something that closes the chapter on that season of the year so you can decisively move on to summer.
#4 Take a Complete Break
This step is very important. At the end of your year take a complete break. Step away and do not think about homeschooling at all! Do other things.
Enjoy family vacations and overnight camps, work on your summer bucket list. What are some of the different ways your family spends the summer? I like to take advantage of some of my extra time to catch up on house projects, organize closets, and update family pictures. I also like summers for spending time individually with my kids working on projects that we don’t always have time for during the school year.
Taking a break will help you avoid burnout and be rested for the next coming year. (Especially if you do year-round homeschooling, breaks are so important!) For that reason alone, you should make it a priority.
Summer Break
Now of course, just because we close the books doesn’t mean that all learning stops. The learning continues; it just pivots. Our kids are always learning. As homeschoolers, it is sometimes difficult to determine where school and life begin and end. They kind of mesh together.
Summer is a time to let their minds have enough rest and free time to be curious and wonder. Often after our break has begun I hear questions like these.
“Will you help me with this sewing project I found on Pinterest?”
“Can we build a fort in the back yard?”
“How can I make money selling firewood/lemonade/baked goods this summer?”
“Can you take us fishing?”
Whether the kids realize it or not, some of their best learning starts when summer break begins! (Shh, don’t tell them!) Let them learn new things that interest them without much pressure.
Finish well!
If you are the end of your school year, it is worth the time and effort to finish well. I hope these suggestions can help you close out your year and jump-start you into summer!
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I loved this post and your personalized calendar is so neat! Very inspired by your advice and encouragement! Thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you found it helpful! I made a personalized calendar one year for Christmas. We loved it so much, I make a new one every year. It’s a great way to keep track of what happened each year and to see how much the kids are growing.
This such a great post. So many good tip to keep in mind
Thank you!
Love all of your ideas including the portfolio review and doing something special to celebrate even if it going out to breakfast together.
Thank you! Yes! The end of year celebration doesn’t have to be something expensive or require a lot of planning. It can just be something small that everyone enjoys. Glad you enjoyed the post!
It’s so easy to feel burn out so close to the finish line! I admit this year I burned out hard haha. I was so thankful that we had done summer school, though, because the last books left were ones I wasn’t really needed for and we finished early. And previous years I always felt like we were “behind”. Such great tips though! Thanks!
Agreed! The burn out is REAL at the end! Good for you in finishing early! What a nice end to your year. Thank you!