Hosting a Homeschool Open House

An open house is a great opportunity for students to show what they've learned. (Martin Novak/Shutterstock)

It’s astonishing just how fast the school year zips along to the end, isn’t it? That’s the beauty of homeschooling. Your kids have immense freedom and all the time in the world to immerse themselves in fascinating topics, to dig deeper and fully explore and make discoveries, so the days fly by quickly for everyone.

Well, you can keep that momentum going by hosting an open house. This is the perfect time to celebrate the end of the school year while also sharing your homeschooling journey with family, friends, and prospective homeschoolers. It’s also a wonderful way to love on your kids and let their accomplishments take center stage while you enjoy watching them bask in the accolades.

Plan Invitations and Refreshments

One of the best perks about homeschooling is that while you’ve been teaching your kids the three Rs, you’ve also been preparing them for real life. So, let’s talk delegation. Delegating some of the more fun and creative tasks to your kids frees up some of your time while making the most of a teachable moment.

DIY invitations are always fun to receive, especially when made by your oh-so-talented kids. If your kids are crafty, all the better, but with the variety of artistic tools available today, such as free clip art, and card-making programs, they can easily create personalized, one-of-a-kind invitations.

Digital invitations via email are also a good way to go because they’re virtually free, and guests receive them instantly. Your tech-savvy kids may want to take the lead here and lessen your burden.

And let your kids put those cooking lessons to work by making some simple refreshments such as lemonade, fruit punch, brownies, cookies, or veggies and dip, along with a refreshing fresh fruit salad.

Set Up Homeschool Displays

A few days prior to your open house, help your kids gather photos, materials, and projects and work with them to set up their homeschooling displays.

One of the best places for setting up your kids’ displays is in their bedrooms, where their unique personalities are already on display, adding a nice touch to the overall atmosphere. I like this because it resembles a museum-like walk-through for your guests. Your kids can act as tour guides, as guests casually stroll from display to display and chat while taking in the whole experience.

There are a variety of ways in which your kids can create displays. You can purchase tri-fold presentation boards for less than $5 at hobby or craft stores for your kids that want one. Or you can put those discarded cardboard boxes to good use and make DIY presentation boards.

You can also hang a clothesline-like cord up across your kids’ bedrooms and they can hang favorite photos, favorite work samples, and so on. If they have a portfolio for the year, they can set that out for guests to look through.

Kids should set up special projects and more fragile display items, such as popsicle stick and Lego bridges and buildings, models, and salt dough maps, on desks and bureaus for a more solid foundation.

And chances are if you’re a homeschooling family, you already have a magnetic whiteboard or two, or three. These multipurpose homeschooling must-haves can provide extra display space for your kids or yourself as well as serve as a welcome sign or announce the times for any presentations and performances.

Kids can brainstorm and play around with their bedroom décor and mix and match these different presentation styles or come up with their own unique styles.

If bedrooms are small, consider a group display—kids can spread out at the kitchen and dining room tables and on card tables. Depending upon the number of kids you have or the sizes of their desired displays, you may need to borrow a table or two.

Prepare a Homeschool Teacher Display

Don’t forget to give your guests a glimpse into the life of a homeschool teacher.

Set out your lesson planner, a copy of your schedule, some of your favorite how-to-homeschool books, and some of your current curriculum and materials as well as some of your kids’ favorite work samples.

If your kids haven’t already claimed the kitchen or dining table, it’s an ideal spot to invite your guests to join you. You can chat and answer any questions or concerns they might have while they browse.

Encourage Performances

This is the perfect stage to showcase your kids’ talents while giving them real-world experience performing for an audience. Perhaps your young musician has just mastered a violin piece he’s been practicing for months, your karate kid has passed her test and advanced to a higher-level belt color and wants to demonstrate her skills, or your high school student wants to earn credit for delivering a speech as part of the graduation requirements under your state’s homeschool law.

It’s wise to take full advantage of this opportunity because it gives your guests the unique chance to see the rewards of your homeschooling journey in action.

Say Thank You With Goody Bags

Sending your guests home with goody bags is certainly optional, but this can be a great way to spread the word about homeschooling.

Fill your bags with brochures and samples of curriculum, online classes and programs, contact information for local and state support groups, a list of places to get freebies, and your own contact information.

And to end the evening on a sweet note, encourage your kids to add in their handwritten thank-you notes.