No matter one’s age, the start of school triggers powerful memories: pristine notebooks and lunchboxes, the intoxicating aroma of fresh markers, a first-day outfit, planned with the precision of a NASA launch.

But what does back-to-school mean for the approximately 2 million American kids educated at home?

Even nailing down an exact start date can be a challenge. After all, these are people who chafe at convention, so anything that carries a whiff of regimentation is hard to come by.

"We don’t really do back-to-school because we never stopped learning," said 16-year-old Katrina Atkin of Evanston, who has followed an alternative path since kindergarten.

Still, there are some unique rituals — some just for fun, some quasi-educational — that mark the transition, especially now that home schooling is a larger and more diverse endeavor than when it was synonymous with white Christian conservatives.

Ann Wasserman (shown with Keegan, left, and Katrina Atkin) says a field trip “helps us ease into an academic mind-set.” (Tribune photo by Heather Stone / August 29, 2007)

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