I was one of ‘those homeschoolers’. One of those who thought that when I approached the high school years my sons would miss out on all the ‘opportunities’ public school offered to teens.
Inexperience makes you feel like that in the beginning of homeschooling. However, through the years you become a homeschool expert and opportunities created at home for high school not only rivals the public school, but can outdo it.
Homeschool Celebrations – From Mundane to Monumental
Reflecting on your teen’s unique journey, homeschool graduation becomes celebration-worthy.
Whether you have a homeschool graduate that wants to plan every detail of a homeschool graduation like the ‘party of the year event’ or you have a teen that doesn’t want to be the center of attention, look at 3 reasons to celebrate homeschool graduation.
ONE | Success is worth acknowledging.
It’s not just about celebrating your teen’s accomplishment, but it is about making time to acknowledge his dedication and hard work. Living in a fast-paced and sometimes thankless society, hard work and reaching goals are not always acknowledged.
Don’t get caught up in trying to reach your teen’s next goal and not stop to acknowledge the first huge accomplishment of graduating high school.
Hard work and dedication are the foundation for the rest of your teen’s goals regardless of whether he goes to college or decides to start a family.
Take time to acknowledge his dedication with the ones you love.
TWO | One celebrated goal inspires another.
After high school, the next goal your teen sets will no doubt be heavier or weightier. So when your teen meets one giant goal, it empowers him to meet another goal.
Confidence is bolstered because a homeschool graduate has a true sense of what is needed to reach the next goal in his life. Meeting another challenge head-on and without wavering, his resolve is strengthened.
Homeschool Goals Are Not Dreams.
Then, goals become real and not just something to dream about. It sets not only a pattern for success in life, but for the skillset needed to meet each upcoming challenge effectively.
Again, that is something worthy of celebration.THREE | It strengthens family ties.
Thinking back to when I graduated high school, I was unsure of how I felt about having a huge family celebration in honor of me. Although I have a large family and we got together regularly, I was never the center of attention.
I remember my mom telling me that my celebration wasn’t just for me, but for my family. That reminder impacted the way I not only homeschooled, but how we celebrated achievements together as a family.
Being together as a family to recognize success is at the very heart of one of the reasons why I chose to homeschool.
Learning to Let Go
Homeschool graduations are an opportunity for your family to reflect on family goals, but it also makes for strong family ties. Family ties gives your teen a strong sense of identity and of where he belongs.
There is no better way to send off your now adult child than with a strong sense of independence and identity. Also, it reminds your younger children that they can successfully reach their goals.
Reflecting too on how your relationship with your adult child will change is significant.
Switching roles from caregiver to advisor is not easy, but celebrating how family ties change and hold families together but are never dissolved will help you to accept the next phase in your child’s life.
Just as you guided your teen to this point in his life, don’t let him be the only one making a decision as to whether or not his homeschool graduation should be celebrated.
Whether it’s a small intimate gathering of only family and friends or you decide to host more of a Texas hoedown like I did with my teens, celebrate and recognize hard work, dedication and success. Party on!
