6 Ways to Personalize Your Homeschool

Looking for a homeschool mascot? If you have a beloved pet who loves to curl up with the kids as they work, look no further. (Sharomka/Shutterstock)

There are countless ways in which every homeschool is unique, but with a little creativity, you can transform your everyday homeschool into an extraordinary learning experience. Add a dash of personality and a splash of color to energize your kids with homeschool spirit.

Try these six fun ways to add a spark of personality to your homeschool.

Name Your Homeschool

Naming your homeschool can be as simple as your last name plus homeschool or academy. This sounds so simple, and yet it effectively identifies your family school.

For example, we live way out in the countryside of eastern Pennsylvania, so we named our homeschool Countryside Academy. The Charron kids in Halifax, Nova Scotia, attended Hidden Hill Homeschool because, you guessed it, they live up on a hill out of sight from the main road.

The Gray and Behe families’ faith inspired the naming of their homeschools, Grace Academy and Holy Family Academy, respectively.

Engage the entire family and brainstorm ideas. Need a little inspiration? The trio of Silver kids in Georgia attends The Silver Academy of Science and Sarcasm: Pushing Buttons and Testing Limits All Day, Every Day. Miss Magee in Kansas attends Pinky Pie Academy, named for the beloved pink pony of “My Little Pony” fame.

Choose Homeschool Colors

Ignite your kids’ school spirit with a splash of color—homeschool colors. These can be favorite colors, the color of your house plus white, black, gold, or any other combination of colors that go well together. How about the colors of mom’s and dad’s birthstones?

Or maybe you’ve narrowed it down to three distinct colors and just can’t decide. But don’t fret. Go ahead, choose a trio of homeschool colors. Add some patriotic pride to your homeschool by choosing red, white, and blue.

Design a Homeschool Logo

You don’t have to be artistic to design your homeschool logo. In fact, invite your kids to give it a go. Something as simple as stick figures can make a fun logo. Take inspiration from those cute stick figure family stickers you see on the back windows of cars. I always notice those and love how unique each set is.

Or enlist the help of Canva, a free, easy-to-use design program with clip art, stock photos, symbols, a draw-your-own option, and tons of fonts from which to choose.

Remember the Silver family’s Silver Academy of Science and Sarcasm? Well, their homeschool logo is a wild-haired, cartoon scientist. If your homeschool is based on your faith, a simple cross along with your homeschool name could work well. Or if you were to name your homeschool Shining Stars Academy, for example, there are all sorts of star clip art available.

The thing to remember is to just have fun with it. Your homeschool logo doesn’t need to be fancy or detailed. It can be anything you want it to be.

Adopt or Create a Homeschool Motto

You may be wondering: Why do we need a homeschool motto? Well, a motto represents the core—the heart and soul of your homeschooling philosophy expressed in a few simple words or a catchy phrase.

We adopted our homeschool motto from Charlotte Mason, a distinguished British educator, whose motto, “I am, I can, I ought, I will,” is well-known in homeschooling communities around the world. We chose this particular motto because the words are powerful, self-affirming, and easy to remember.

Many private schools and colleges adopt a motto based on faith, tradition, or the school’s founding principles, and many are composed in Latin. It was the common language back when many schools were founded, but more importantly, it connects us with our heritage and the foundation of education. For example, the Admiral Farragut Academy in Florida chose the motto “Scientia Omnia Vincit,” which means “Knowledge Conquers All” and the motto for Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts is “Discere et Vivere,” meaning “To Learn and to Live.”

A well-chosen motto can add meaning and depth to your homeschool. The words or phrase you choose can center your children around the purpose of home education—their homeschool. And, if you do choose a Latin motto, the words just sound so much more important, don’t they? Think about how important your kids will feel reciting it.

Appoint a Mascot

If you have a beloved cat or dog who loves nothing more than curling up and snuggling with your kids while they work on schoolwork, then look no further. You could even dress up your furry mascot in your new homeschool colors with a new collar.

Don’t forget about those beloved outside animals. A horse, a ram, or a favorite chicken (maybe use the breed name) can fill the role of mascot rather well. Or perhaps your son has a pet iguana. You can’t discount his terrarium-dwelling sidekick, right? One thing is for sure, your homeschool will most likely be the only school with an iguana for a mascot.

Another great option is to choose your state animal or bird.

Add Color-Coordinated Apparel and a Banner

OK, so once you’ve chosen your homeschool colors and have designed your logo, why not take it a step further and add some cool DIY branded apparel. This is a great hands-on project for your kids.

I suggest using plain color T-shirts in one of your school colors because they are inexpensive and make the perfect canvas. Add your logo by printing it out onto iron-on transfer paper and ironing the logo onto the T-shirts, then outline it with fabric markers. Or you and your kids can hand draw the logo outline onto the T-shirts with the same fabric markers. Then color in any larger areas with fabric paint.

Now encourage your kids to make a DIY banner with your homeschool motto printed in big bold letters in your school colors. Hang it up over your main workstation or in a central location in the family room where everyone can see it every day.

So gather your kids together, share these ideas, and brainstorm fun ways to personalize your homeschool.