School Name, Colors, and Mascot for Your Homeschool

I toyed around with the idea of naming our homeschool, but then since our state does not require that home schools be named, I really just left it at that. (As a matter-of-fact, I don’t even think that our state requires us to register with them, much less name ourselves.)

Then, one day last week, our oldest son (just newly turned nine years old) was wearing a t-shirt from their old elementary school. The boys (our other son is seven) had a discussion about their old school. Primarily this discussion, brought on by that t-shirt, centered around three areas: their school’s name, its colors, and its mascot.

As the discussion grew more involved, I was not surprised when it took the turn that I thought it might. The boys wanted to know some very pressing questions. What was our school named? What was our school’s mascot? What were our school’s colors?

I assured them that a school didn’t HAVE to have these things to be a school, and that we actually didn’t have any of them. I did not say this to discourage where I thought this might be going, but I wanted them to know that we didn’t really have to have those things to be a real school.

“But, CAN we have them? Can we name our homeschool?” One of the boys asked.

It was then that the whole thing really clicked with me. Granted, I had realized before that moment that our school day was about to be interrupted by deciding on these important issues. But, I hadn’t really thought about WHY we were going to have to do that.

I realized then that school names and colors and mascots aren’t just things that a school has. They are symbols of the unity of the people who go to that school. They are the very things that make an elderly man in Wisconsin always buy red cars and smile when anyone says something about the University of Wisconsin. He might tell the young adults he sees on campus, with pride in his voice, “I am a Badger too – Class of 1945.” These things give us a sense of belonging. They are a reminder that we are part of something bigger.

These things are the reason that we stopped what we were doing for at least an hour to discuss possible names for our homeschool, mull over the merits of different color combinations, and then painstakingly search the internet for mascot ideas.

The whole time, I could see how much it meant to the kids. They were excited to be the ones who were deciding on these things, although they did get some gentle swaying from time to time from Mom.

You know, like when Jack (age seven) suggested we name our school “Homeschool Fun.” While I appreciated that he is enjoying it, I instead said, “I’d like for us to pick the name of a saint for the school.” (I must add at this point that I was really surprised that out of all of the names that I suggested to them, they actually went with exactly what I had put on a form a few months ago when I wasn’t able to order something unless I filled in the “school name” field. Weird, huh?)

After a decision was made for both a saint and how to finish off the name (we discussed “School,” “Homeschool,” and “Academy” – Noah began to literally hoot in excitement at the sound of Academy), we went into the task of colors.

This went on for a while, and I vetoed pink and purple, which was suggested by our rather flamboyant Jack. We ended up choosing colors (purple and gold, changing to blue and gold, changing back to purple and gold), only to later change our choice based on what we finally settled on for a mascot.

So, learn from our mistake and go with the steps in this order: (1) Name, (2) Mascot, (3) Colors.

This can even all translate into a great homeschool project! Students could make formal proposals for their preferences. Or, at the very least, after the decisions are made, students could research for more information on whatever you based your school name on, if possible (particularly if you picked a name about a person or a place). Your students can also learn more about the particular animal or object that you pick as a mascot.

Do you have a school name, mascot, colors, or anything else of that nature? I hope we’re not the only ones! But, if we are, then I challenge you to work on it with your kids!

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Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings when she’s not making a list of everything she needs to get to tie dye blue and white t-shirts for all of her little St. Joseph Academy Blue Jays.

Photo by tabrandt

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