Homeschool moms are the unsung heroes of education. Unlike classroom teachers, we don't get a salary for our efforts. We get no holiday pay, sick days, or a fat 401K at the journey's end. But what we do get is each other. We're a tight-knit group--a sisterhood of moms who understand the many wins and losses of this unconventional schooling choice and have both the victory laps and the battle scars to prove it.
Like other unique tribes, there's a kind of solidarity among homeschool moms that only comes through shared experiences, deep understanding, and mutual support of one another.
That's why every fall, sometime in late September, after the dust has begun to settle on the new school year, I throw a back-to-homeschool party just for my homeschool mom friends. We gather to celebrate our homeschool mission, to build community, and to encourage and equip one another to keep on keeping on.
This year's party theme was "Brown Paper Package." Here's a peek at how we honored one another through food and fun. (This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)
Food
I provided coffee, tea, punch, and an appetizer. Additionally, based on the first letter of their last name, guests were asked to bring the following:
- A-H: dip and a dippable snack
- I-P: a non-dip appetizer
- Q-Z: an easy-to-serve dessert
Before the moms arrived, I placed a small sticker under one of the party plates to be used for the Brown Paper Package Exchange later in the evening.*
Mixer Game
To get the conversation flowing, we played a round of "Never Have I Ever." I gave everyone five Skittles candies and asked them each to take turns naming one activity that they had never done but that they thought many others may have participated in, like "Never have I ever dyed my hair" or "Never have I ever mowed a lawn."
A mom who had dyed her hair, mowed the lawn, or fill-in-the-blank at least once in her life had to eat one of her Skittles. The game continued around the circle until only one mom had at least one Skittle left and was announced the winner.
Brown Paper Package Exchange
Every guest was asked to bring a mom-retreat item they purchased for under $10 and wrapped in brown paper or placed in a brown lunch sack. These could include a chocolate treat, a gift card to someplace fun, comfy socks, a new book, etc. On the outside of the package, they were to write three words to describe the gift, being vague enough not to unintentionally reveal the contents. When they arrived, they placed their packages near their chair until further instructions.
At the start of the game, I asked the women to take turns showing their packages to the group and reading the three descriptive words out loud. *With these clues in mind, the woman who found the sticker hidden underneath her plate began the exchange. She walked over to the package that sounded the most intriguing to her and took it from its owner. She re-read the clues aloud to remind everyone else of its potential contents and opened the package to reveal her new gift.
Next, the woman whose gift was taken by Player 1 got to take someone else's gift. The game continued this way until the last woman to play took the wrapped gift that Player 1 brought to the party.
Everyone came with one mom-retreat item and left with a different one. I wrapped a 5-year One Line a Day Journal and unwrapped a gift card for a new ice cream shop near me.
Joshua 4 Stones
To end the night, I pointed my guests to God's charge in Joshua chapter 4—the passage that tells of how the people of Israel were to stack 12 stones as a monument of remembrance "so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty" (Josh 4:24a).
I passed prayer and verse cards to six volunteers who read them aloud to the group. Each card focused on one particular struggle that seems universal among homeschool moms. The cards included the following topics:
- Creativity (Eph. 2:10)
- Gratitude (1 Thess. 5:18)
- Patience (2 Tim. 4:2)
- Vision (Prov. 29:18)
- Strength (Phil. 4:13)
- Grace (Rom. 5:20)
Then, setting a bucket of river rocks and a basket of paint pens in the center of the group, I invited each woman to take a stone. They were to use the pens to write one word or phrase on the side of the rock to describe their current homeschooling struggle. I encouraged them to commit to praying that word throughout the year, calling upon the hand of the Lord to be mighty in that area of their life. I suggested they put the stone in a high-traffic area outside their home in order to see it with every entry and exit, remembering to consistently ask God for help.
By the end of the year, I'm hoping that each mom will be able to look back at the previous nine to twelve months and see how God answered her specific prayer. In that way, those stones will be monuments of remembrance, just like the ones found in Joshua 4.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the party was a great way to celebrate the important role each one of these women has played and continues to play in my life and in the lives of their kids. It was a chance to value them and the tireless work that they do. It was an opportunity to remind them of the significance of their sacrifices and to encourage them to keep pressing into the calling God has given them!
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