Being homeschooled has many benefits for families and students, such as flexibility, independence, college readiness, and academic performance. However, some homeschooled students can struggle with feeling like they’re missing out on regular celebrations, such as high school graduation.
While it’s true that graduating from high school when you’re homeschooled is a different experience than traditional schooling, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate a graduation in style. You might make it a special occasion for your family’s graduating teen in some of the following ways:
Purchase a Real Cap and Gown
Just as many high school students would dress up in stylish high school grad gowns and caps to celebrate the end of their secondary education, your homeschooled graduate can do the same. You can purchase high school grad caps and gowns online and hold a party at home or in a booked venue with all your friends and family. Your teen will surely appreciate being able to dress up like their peers and celebrate in style.
Order a High School Diploma
There’s a common misconception that being homeschooled means you don’t get your GED or a high school diploma. However, homeschooling is just like public schooling in that you accumulate high school credits and have the chance to graduate.
Since homeschools don’t have school secretaries to organize high school diplomas, it’s up to the families to take care of that. If you order a personalized homeschool diploma online, your graduating teen can enjoy having a tangible item to mark the end of their secondary schooling years.
Organize a Graduation Ceremony
Many public schools mark the end of secondary schooling for their graduating students with a graduation ceremony. You might assume that homeschooled students have to miss out on celebrations, but there’s no reason you can’t organize one yourself.
You can organize a party for your family and other homeschooling families you’ve grown close to over the years. It doesn’t have to take on the formal structure of a traditional ceremony, but it can be a fun party with snacks and entertainment that your teen remembers for years to come.
Create a Photo Display
Time flies when you’re having fun. For many parents, it can seem like their children were starting school for the first time only yesterday, and now they’re off to their first job or tertiary education. Mark the occasion by creating a photo display for a special family and friends ceremony. Collect pictures from throughout your teen’s life and display them on a photo board for everyone to reminisce.
Make a Homeschool Yearbook
Public schooling teens typically get to take home a yearbook as a souvenir to mark the end of the year. Yearbooks are essentially memory books with photos, lists of special awards, and written statements from students and teachers.
While homeschooling means your teen won’t receive a yearbook from their school, that doesn’t mean you can’t make one. You can create your own version with collages of photos, lists of your teen’s achievements, and photos of projects and remarkable moments.
Homeschooled students deserve to be celebrated as much as those in the public schooling system. If your teen is getting ready to graduate, explore some of the ideas above. You can mark the end of their secondary schooling in the most memorable way possible.