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Hey everyone,
I'm a homeschooled junior, and I was wondering what other "Homeschool High" students did to make their senior year feel like a senior year. I know there are some statewide support group graduations (at least, I know there's one in my state,) but I wasn't too sure I wanted to do that. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

By Nathan (Homeschool) on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 10:52 am: Edit

My local support group holds a graduation ceremony every year and there is a city wide thing as well. Frankly, it isn't that important to me as I find it to be very tedious and unnecessary. I've heard of people being invited by friends to public school proms and doing Spring Break trips to Florida. Whatever rocks your boat.

By Carol on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 04:46 pm: Edit

The main thing my dd is doing for her junior/senior years is planning college campus visits. She will also be spending a good deal of time prepping for & taking CLEP tests to establish some credits before she goes off to college. Other than the test prep, she expects to spend less time on academics & more time learning basic life skills such as basic income tax preparation, basic carpentry & other household maintenance, & some cooking (her brother has tended to hog the stove.) She doesn't care about a graduation ceremony, but we do plan to take a special trip to celebrate.

By Eri (Eri) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 01:47 am: Edit

Hey this is cool, other families homeschooling seniors...I will be a senior this fall...it's just cool to know there areothers out there my age homeschooling and getting ready for college...which colleges are you applying to? So far my list includes (but is very much subject to change):

Brown
Harvard
Sarah Lawrence
Dartmouth
Columbia
Pepperdine U.
and a couple of other safety schools.

By Eri (Eri) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 01:48 am: Edit

Oh, and by the way, I am also really wary of those homeschool group graduations...something about it just seems pointless since it isn't from a formal organization where you actually receive a diploma. But that is just my opinion!

Ciao,
Erika

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 10:12 am: Edit

By the time home schoolers and their parents get to the end of "senior year" they are so aware of the long journey, they hardly feel the need to exchange a formal piece of paper to mark the ocassion.

Few other people (especially Grandparents) seem to understand this.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 12:54 pm: Edit

I attended a homeschool graduation recently and found it very moving. There were 7 "graduates", and about 80 friends & family, so the whole thing was pretty small and intimate. Also informal. It was held outdoors at a local park that has an open pavilion overlooking the lake. Each graduate and their parents got up and said a few words, both about the homeschooling experience for their family and also about being part of the homeschooling community. Some of them were serious, others brief and humorous. They were all short; just a minute or two. Everyone said where they would be going to college. One of the moms cried. Some of the parents presented home-made diplomas, others didn't. The graduates all dressed up. Everyone had a green tassle that they placed somewhere. Only one kid wore a traditional gown, and he had a mortorboard with Mickey Mouse ears on it and hooked his tassel on an ear. The girls put the tassels in their hair or made them part of their dresses. Each kid had chosen a snippet of music to be played as their name was called and they went up. After everyone had gone up, a big vase of carnations was brought out and the graduates presented carnations to everyone they felt had been a big part of their journey. Next year's seniors all got up and went to the front, and the graduates passed them a "torch" (actually a rainstick with a tassel on it). There were posters with photos of each of the grads over the years, and a big sheet cake with everyone's name on it. Afterwards there was pot-luck for food, music, dancing. This was the 6th graduation ceremony for the support group, although it is the first one I have attended. The first year there were only 2 graduates. It varies every year, because the grads and their families get together and decide what they would like to do. Some of the elements of the ceremony have become "traditions". Other parts were totally idiosynchratic.

It was very nice, and I think it was meaningful to everyone involved. But the local homeschooler community is very close. Some of the people there had known some of the kids since they were really small. I don't think a statewide ceremony with strangers would mean as much. But I would encourage any homeschoolers out there to consider a graduation ceremony.

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 01:30 pm: Edit

Potluck??? You mean you couldn't rustle up a steer or two to roast? Sounds like you been lettin' in too many left wing out-of-staters!

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 02:27 pm: Edit

"Sounds like you been lettin' in too many left wing out-of-staters!"

Bush aside, not everyone here is a republican, especially in Austin, which is sort of a liberal enclave in a right wing sea. We have more than a few closet macrame-frisbee parents here who were hippies in the 60's (which, as you know, actually happened in the 70's).

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:36 pm: Edit

Uh... yeah, I vaguely remember.

Well, I just spent the better part of four hours squeezing a home school high school diploma out of MS Word. It's got four colors, the great seal of West Virginia, and even some Latin for good measure. For some strange reason, I now expect the Secret Service is gonna come crashing through my door later tonight.

That'll have to do for graduation ceremony because I don't think I can handle another potluck dinner, no matter what the occassion. They all seem so similar; I know I can get a more varied meal at a hot dog stand. The kids at those things always seem like they just raided the the hidden crannies of their parent's clothes closets: they all look like throwbacks to the 60's (which, as you know, actually happened in the 70's).

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 12:08 am: Edit

The 60s must have happened in the 70s, otherwise none of us youngsters could possibly remember them.

Congratulations on your MS Word homeschooler diploma. Go have some chips and queso dip to celebrate.