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Welcome

2018 & 2019 Free Calendars (Add to your Printable Homeschool Planner)

July 12, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Like me, some years you want the option to plan by the physical year. For many years, I followed the physical year as the start to my school year. Also, some of you live in a country where the school year is by the physical year. I want options for all of you. Print one or more of these FREE calendars to begin building your 7 Step Homeschool Planner. Click here to grab your copy!

When I first started sharing my free 7 Step Homeschool Planner, I had two goals. One was creating a homeschool planner where each page was unique and the second one was where a mom could build her own planner to suit her family’s needs for that year. Free calendars have always been part of my unique planner.

Free 2018 and 2019 Calendars

Like me, some years you want the option to plan by the physical year. For many years, I followed the physical year as the start to my school year.

Also, some of you live in a country where the school year is by the physical year. I want options for all of you.

Just to remind you, these pages I am sharing today are JUST calendars. This means you can print off plenty of them and place them throughout your planner for reference.

I’ll tell you what I mean by just calendars. These calendars are NOT for noting your appointments on or even for tracking your school year. I have created separate documents for those processes.

Look here at my 2 page at a glance appointment keepers which are created bigger for you to note appointments.

And then look here at Step 5a for choosing year round schedules that help you to plan your school year.

These free calendars which you can download before are for a quick reference to use throughout all the year. So place many in your planner.

Download here the 2018 Physical Year Calendar (Orchid Blossom Color) @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Download here the 2019 Physical Year Calendar (Raining Color) @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

I hope you like the two calendars I am sharing today.

Also, if you need the beautiful 2 step Appointment Keeper which follows the 2018 physical year, you can grab it below.

The 2019 will be coming out soon. If you don’t see it, be sure to check my blog category for curriculum planners. Everything goes there first before I give it a home on one of my STEPS or pages.

Also, begin building your free 7 Step Homeschool Planner below. You’ll never go back to downloading one planner that may fit your needs this year, but not the next.

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” Begin building your planner.

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

1 CommentFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, Curriculum Planner, Home Management Binder, Homeschool Planner Tagged With: curriculum pages, curriculum planner, freecalendars, freeprintables, homeschool, homeschool curriculum planner, homeschoolplanner, homeschoolplanning

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

July 11, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

It’s a scary feeling choosing a writing curriculum when you don’t have a professional background in education. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Knowing that thousands of parents embark on teaching their children each year, I too made the leap to choosing the perfect writing curriculum.

But you and I both know that perfect writing curriculum doesn’t exist, or does it?

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

Looking back now that two of my sons are graduated, there were some things I did right although I didn’t feel that way at the time.

WRITING CURRICULUM

Hoping to spare you the same agony I went through because of my aversion to teaching writing, I learned 3 ways to choose the best writing curriculum for a growing homeschool family.

1. There is a right way to teach writing. No smoke and mirrors are involved.

A writing program needs to give you and your children structure and sentence variety.

Short and compound sentences are only two sentence types, but a beginner writer needs plenty of practice developing them.

Moving from basic sentence writing to a paragraph is foundational to strong writing skills.

As your child matures, he widens out in his ability to write creatively, but the foundation is first.

Does your writing curriculum give numerous subject topics, practice with sentence variety and instructions to the non-professional educator?

2. As the moods of your children change, your writing environment can’t.

When it comes to scheduling, I could easily be known as a Nazi mama.

I’ve been hard on myself through the years so that I don’t push too hard.

But years later, I’ve learned my structured environment was key to my boys learning how to write well.

I fully appreciate now that relaxed homeschooling is not lazy homeschooling. Finding balance is key to being a good writing teacher.

A well-rounded writing curriculum should give you guidance through each step of the writing process and tips to accommodate your kids changing needs and moods.

For several years, my sons needed to write about boy topics.

Easy Writing Curriculum Tips

Getting them in touch with their warm and fuzzy feelings didn’t work for them. An excellent writing curriculum really needs to serve the needs of both girls and boys.

In my inexperience, I learned a valuable nugget which is that a structured writing environment nurtures creativity. It worked opposite of how I thought it would be in the beginning.

Instead of focusing on the grade level, a writing curriculum needs to give you a clear picture of the process.

For example, does it move from planning, prewriting, drafting, revising to editing/publish? Does it help you to teach each step clearly?

If the writing curriculum is written for multiple ages, then you can teach to the writing ability for each child.

It’s a costly mistake to buy a writing curriculum that does not give you abundant teaching tips at each stage of the writing process.

For example, just because a child is in middle school doesn’t mean he is ready to write high school essays. After all essays are just a lot of practice in paragraph writing combined to make a lengthy paper.

Practice in paragraph writing can span many grades and it’s more about maturity than age.

When you’re given clear short-term goals and long-term goals of the writing process, your child can advance based on his maturity or simmer at one level for a while.

Again, teaching writing from the novice to the accomplished is about giving kids a structured environment which should be one of the important details in your program.

Writing, like math, is a skill that needs to be practiced each day. Skipping writing for numerous days and then asking your kids to write 5 paragraphs in one setting is pure torture.

Like other skill subjects, writing quickly becomes boring if a child is not writing about what interests him.

Does your writing curriculum give you writing prompts or ideas, encourages your child to write about topics that interest him and remind you to give praise for your child’s good communication skills? It should.

3. Lessons must be geared toward ensuring writing success.

Writing programs aim for writing success, but many miss the mark.

Not having a teaching background makes me require more of a writing program than just telling me about the writing process.

CLICK HERE TO LOOK AT SOME OF MY FAVORITE WRITING CURRICULUM ON AMAZON.
{Click on the grade level board you need.}

Look at these key bullet points to help you gauge a top-notch writing program.

Writing Structure Gives Kids a Strong Edge

  • Equipping teachers with scripted lessons is the start to creative writing. Like cooking, not everybody needs a recipe but sometimes you need exact measurements. However, in the beginning an inexperienced cook starts with a pattern or recipe and adjusts a recipe as she hones her skill. She adjusts a recipes to fit her family’s needs. Teaching writing is similar. Learn from seasoned writers by carefully following a script and then adjust it to meet your family’s needs.
  • Providing detailed instructions for budding writers is an essential component. New writers seem to have no fear when it comes to ideas. They need structure and guidance daily. The challenges are quite different for a more mature writer.
  • A program should ensure writing success for older writers who have more experience in life but may have experienced many writing failures. They may lack confidence. If a writing program fails to ensure that each writing adventure is a success, why would you choose it?
  • Ample ideas for editing, revising and giving feedback are necessary. My boys never responded to the red pen marks on their paper. It didn’t take many times for me to do that until I realized that writing is very personal. Tips in my curriculum like discussing topics beforehand, having my child explain his thoughts to me prior to writing and having my child listen and watch me as I thought outloud while writing were key teaching points I learned.

Teaching Kids to Write Clearly and Creatively Without Crushing Them

One year when one of my sons was in middle school, I thought he was a very creative writer. At least more so than I was at his age. What I was helped to appreciate from teaching writing was that my son needed to make a point with his writing while entertaining readers.

Having eight pages of words which sparked his imagination was beautiful and creative, but honing it for meaning is equally important.

As a mom of bright boys, I refused to believe that just because boys came later to the writing table that it meant they were delayed.

They were not, they just needed more entertaining than girls. A boy’s need to wiggle, move, and use up their energy had to be incorporated into the lesson plan.

I’m not telling you that teaching writing is easy, but it can be less intimidating when you choose the best writing curriculum. Take your time choosing one and ask a lot of questions.

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

What is working and not working for you right now?

More Writing Curriculum Tips

Also, look at how to teach writing with these other tips.

  • Homeschool Writing Program For Middle and High School Students
  • Cursive Matters; Handwriting Style Doesn’t + Free Resources,
  • Homeschool Tips for Teaching a Young Writer to Take his Ideas from a Trickle to a Waterfall,
  • 3 Things to Avoid When Teaching Homeschooled Kids Beginning Composition
  • and Teaching Handwriting When Homeschooling the Early Years Part 1, 2, 3.

It’s a scary feeling to choose a writing curriculum when you don’t have a professional background in education. Knowing that thousands of parents embark on teaching their children each year, I too made the leap to choosing the perfect writing curriculum. But you and I both know that perfect writing curriculum doesn’t exist, or does it? Looking back now that two of my sons are graduated, there were some things I did right although I didn’t feel that way at the time. Click here to grab the 3 tips on how to choose the BEST writing curriculum.

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

2 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Choose Curriculum, Homeschool Boys, Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Homeschool Simply, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To, Homeschooling, Teach Homeschool Language Arts Tagged With: composition, handwriting, high school, homeschool highschool, middleschool, teachingwriting, writing prompts

Day 4. Ancient Greece (Hands-on Science) 3 EASY Activities

July 8, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

These activities are geared for middle school, but a high school student that has a science aversion would be engaged too. While studying the ancient civilizations, grab these ideas for an Ancient Greece hands-on science unit study. Click here to add these ideas to your unit study!I have a secret I’ve been keeping. You already know my love for living books, unit studies, history, and hands-on activities. But you may not know that we’ve been using Beautiful Feet’s History of Science this year. Besides the excellent literature they cull through so that I don’t have to, we love the easy hands-on science activities.

These activities are geared for middle school, but a high school student that has a science aversion would be engaged too. While studying the ancient civilizations, grab these ideas for an Ancient Greece hands-on science unit study.

We have been learning how far ahead of their time the Greeks really were when it came to science. We loved reading about Archimedes. I had already studied about Archimedes with my first two sons before I had discovered Beautiful Feet literature. So I was really tickled that I have it for Tiny.

Even though it is written for a middle school level, a living book is written like a story and draws in a reader of any age.

To engage your kids, look at these questions to ask and have your kids write in their notebooks.

►Who was Archimedes?
►What elements did the Ancient Greeks believed that made up the universe?
►What do we know today about the elements that make up our universe?
►What is surface tension?

Ancient Greeks and their Perception of Matter

Next, grab these simple things that you probably have lying around your house because these activities are so quick and easy that you want to include all of your kids.

  • tall glass bottle
  • gauze pad
  • rubber band
  • bowl or glass with water
  • steel paper clip
  • dishwashing liquid
  • food dye
  • a couple of droppers
  • milk at room temperature
  • shallow pan

Then move on to each activity.

ONE/ Understand what is surface tension. Then do this simple activity.

Place a steel paper clip in a glass or bowl. (Yes, I can do that.)

Why does it float? Which is more dense, the water or paper clip?

How to Teach Hands-on  Science Through Living Books

TWO/ Why is the gauze leakproof?

Fill a glass bottle with water. We added food coloring so it could be easier to be seen if it spilled.

Add the gauze over the top and secure with a rubber band. Turn it upside and see what happens.

Why won’t water pour out through a gauze enclosed top? It is held inside by the surface tension of the water.

THREE/ How to break surface tension? Understand that certain substances can break down surface tension.

This next one is a great activity to include the little ones because it has an instant ewwww and awwww moment. Grab a shallow glass pan.

Add room temperature milk.

Choose two food color dyes, get two eye droppers and some dishwashing liquid in a small container.

Then use one dropper to add two food coloring choices. You notice it stays in a circle or really doesn’t break the surface.

Then use the second dropper to add dishwashing liquid and you get immediate action. The colors start to swirl and move.

The colors spread around because the stronger surface tension around the edge of the dish pulls the milk and food coloring outward.

Try a few different colors. It really is an engaging activity. You’ll want to try it again and again.

These easy hands-on activities are a simple way to look at how scientist of the past looked at ancient discovery. Also, we have done plenty of lapbooks on Greece and we’ve added some too from Home School in the Woods that we love.

We have a few more things we have been doing with our History of Science and I can’t wait to show you more.

I’m doing an Ancient Civilizations hands-on history series and you’ll want to look at these other ideas:

Day 1. Ancient Egypt Civilization (Hands-on History): Narmer Crown.
Day 2. Ancient Mesopotamia (Hands-on History): Cook Sebetu Rolls.
Day 3. Ancient Rome (Hands-on History): Paint a Jester.

And look at these other ways we’ve used Beautiful Feet literature.

When We Used Beautiful Feet Books as our History Spine, Medieval History for Homeschool Middle School, and Medieval Chemistry and Homeschool History – Fun Hands-On Activity.

Hugs and love ya,

 

1 CommentFiled Under: Ancient Civilizations, Geography Based, Hands-On Activities, History Based, History Resources Tagged With: geography, hands on history, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, livingbooks, science, sciencecurriculum, unit studies

35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less

July 5, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 35 hands on geography activities in 15 minutes or less. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

Whether you want to spend minimal time planning geography, you’re preparing for a homeschool co-op or just need some quick hands-on geography activities, you’ll love this round up of 35 hands-on geography activities to do in 15 minutes or less.

35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less

Hands-on Geography

1.  Grab these easy and fun Dover Around the World Coloring books. Some kids really love coloring and this is an easy go to activity.

2. While studying about South America, make these easy paperplate masks.

3. Print these free U.S. state trading cards and have fun.

4. Read a living book like Into the Unknown:Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air. The fold outs make books like this a quick grab for an easy hands-on idea.

35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less

5. While learning about Texas, have your child use his finger to make these adorable bluebonnet crafts. Not a lot of fuss but a lot of fun in this activity.

Easy Hands-on Geography Activities that Spark Learning

6. If you have a child that loves movable figures, then have him put together a beautiful paper figure in full color. Grab this Famous Figures of Ancient Times: Movable Paper Figures to Cut, Color, and Assemble. These are great for learning ancient geography.

7. Do a Geoscavenge Rock and Mineral hunt and grab this free printable.

8. Bake bread while learning about Switzerland. The bread takes a bit longer to bake, but this is a quick put together. An added bonus is that you have fresh bread and hot butter with supper or lunch.

9. Do this fun and simple hands-on activity for learning about sediment on the Mighty Mississippi.

10. Grab the Scavenger Hunt Game for Kids. A fun geography card game.

In addition, you’ll making geography come alive through picture books.

11. View this virtual cave without having to leave your home.

12. Plan a route. Look at this activity Map Skills for Kids: Planning a Route, which won’t take too long.

13. Easy recipes are always a fun and quick way to learn about an area. Look at these recipes we have made:

  • Make pan au chocolat when studying about France.
  • Make celtic cakes when studying ancient civilizations.
  • Make baklava when studying about Ancient Greece.
  • Make victory soup when studying about the countries of World War II.
  • Make Cherokee pan bread when studying the states in the Southeastern United States.
  • Make soups from South America.
  • Make chili when doing a state study on Texas.
  • Make negrinho when doing a study about Brazil.

Also, look at some of my tips I share on my YouTube Channel How to Homeschool EZ by Tina Robertson.

14. Kids love to build and they’ll love Making LEGO Landmarks.

15. While learning about the ocean, make this quick shoebox beach diorama. You’ll love it because all the pieces are in color and ready to be cut out and glued.

15 Minute Geography Activities for Kids

16. Also, make this delicious and edible parfait to show the ocean layers.

17. Then one more activity to do while studying the ocean is to make Make a Wave Bottle for Kids to Explore.

18. When learning about convection currents, my kids loved this easy DIY Lava lamp.

19. While teaching about directions and a compass, this activity which is a Homemade Compass. Simple Geography Projects Equals Huge Wow Factors was so fun and easy.

20. Another fun way to learn geography that doesn’t take a long time is to view old photographs and they are free. Check out the pictures on the Library of Congress website.

21. Make a craft from a geographical area. On this post we did paper cutting while learning about Poland and this easy Mosaic while learning about Persia.

22. Make some Earth Day Baking Soda Slime.

23. Learn About the Geography of France by Creating A Solar Oven.

24. Grab one of my free geography country notebook pages.

25. Grab this free and beautiful download USA Map of State Flowers to color while learning geography. So cool!

35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less

Hands-on Geography Ideas for All Ages

26. View a movie on Netflix while learning the geography of Ancient Civilizations.

27. Play Geography Bingo. Grab this free geography bingo download.

28. Another fun idea for younger learners is to blow up a huge balloon. Color and cut out these free printable continents and glue them on the balloon like a puzzle.

29. Do a World Atlas Scavenger Hunt.

30. Have your child learn about the animals that live in a country or region like the Amazon Rain Forest.

Geography Ideas Kids

31. Then what kid won’t like Nerf Gun Geography? Boys would love this, but I know some girls that would too.

32. Google Earth (desktop app) is another one that has been around for a while, but it is a go to. Look at these tips, 15 Amazing Things Your Kid Can Discover with Google Earth.

33. I love this next activity because it can be as short as you want it or hopefully expand it into a longer unit. It’s Where in the World is your Food From? (Food Mapping!).

34. Make a state paper plate or illustrate any area on a paper plate.

35. Look at this fun paper cup geography stacking.

Geography should be fun and it doesn’t always have to be time consuming. I hope one of these ideas will motivate you and your kids to keep geography captivating without a lot of fuss.

More Homeschool Geography Activities

  • Homeschool Geography Go To Resources
  • How to Find A Well Laid Out Homeschool High School Geography Curriculum
  • Simple and Fun Homeschool Geography Ideas for High School
  • First Grade Homeschool Curriculum for History and Geography
  • 35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less
  • 18+ Fun and Interactive Ways to Learn Geography With Kids
  • STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship
  • Hands-on Geography Mesopotamia: Fun Salt Dough Map
  • 100 BEST Books for Kids from all 50 States (Easy Geography)
  • 5 Ways to Raise a Natural Geography-Lover
  • Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle
  • Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art
  • and How to Shake Up STEAM With Geography For Middle School.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Whether you want to spend minimal time planning geography, you're preparing for a homeschool co-op or just need some quick hands-on geography activities, you'll love this round up of 35 hands-on geography activities to do in 15 minutes or less. Click here to get inspired!

1 CommentFiled Under: Geography, Hands-On Activities, Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Middle School Homeschool Tagged With: geography, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling

21 Amazing Homeschool Graduation Ideas (Making Memories)

June 19, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I've gathered 21 amazing homeschool graduation ideas that will help your family to celebrate old traditions and make new memories. Click here to use them!

Planning two homeschool graduation parties has been one of the happiest times in my life and yet overly emotional at the same time. I’ve gathered 21 amazing homeschool graduation ideas that will help your family to celebrate old traditions and make new memories.

Before I share them though, I want to tell you real quick what I’ve learned – so far. Every day life affects how we feel when the time finally arrives to celebrate a special time as homeschoolers.

For example, in my life the Mr. had to recover from a life-threatening heart attack and Mr. Senior 2013’s graduation was a bit postponed. After the Mr. recovered, we celebrated. You can imagine how eternally grateful I was for not just the family gathering, but for life itself.

When Mr. Awesome 2015 graduated, we savored our time living overseas in Ecuador and celebrated that time differently and uniquely. Although we focused on the achievements of Mr. Awesome 2015, it was again a time to cherish our family being together.

Your journey up to this point will also define what this time will be for your family. Don’t try to separate life from one of the happiest times for your teen. Embrace it and make your time with family, loved ones and homeschooling friends a treasured time.

Like your homeschooling journey where you lived and learned together, don’t forget to do the things on that special day that mean the most to your family no matter how seemingly insignificant they are to others.

What I’m trying to say is that this is also a celebration of your family and the unique homeschool lifestyle you chose. Let your party reflect those values.

From mundane to memorable, from fun food ideas to family fun, I hope you can use one of these 21 amazing homeschool graduation ideas.

1._Have your teen show a talent he has studied. He could play a musical piece or have a collage to showcase his art talent.

We recently went to a graduation and the graduate had a beautiful voice as a jazz singer. We enjoyed a film presentation of her singing. It was nice that it was a prerecorded film so that the graduate could enjoy her family and friends.

2._Mr. Senior 2013 loves to public speak and prepared a short speech at his party. I found that about 5 minutes or so is enough time to talk to his audience.

Mr. Awesome 2015 didn’t want to be in front of the people to make a speech, so we didn’t make him.

However, he did know that he would have to make remarks to express his gratitude for the volunteers of his party. That is all we required of him. Each kid has a different personality for sure.

3._ Several picture collages placed around were perfect conversation pieces and especially for our family and friends that were not homeschoolers. It showed what an enriching introduction to a wide range of learning topics we had covered.

4._ Everyone differs on food. We love having a gathering where we can enjoy a meal. For Mr. Senior 2013, I felt like we had the best of both worlds, ie. catering and budget-friendly meals.

I ordered food at a local favorite restaurant and had it delivered, but not catered. I saved hundreds of dollars by having everybody go through the food line buffet style.

For Mr. Awesome 2015, we provided some of the main dishes like turkey and dressing, but had several volunteers bring side dishes.

Also, don’t forget finger foods like crescent roll sandwiches, ham and cheese and minisliders made ahead of time. Those are great and fun options.

On another note, a taco, nacho or even potato bar are great ideas that please a crowd.

I went to one party where all the toppings for tacos were lined up down the table and everybody built their own tacos or nachos.

This idea is great if you’re short on cooking help because the items can be made ahead of time.

Use crock pots to carry food to the party because they can travel easy and be turned on low to keep food heated.

Make Family Time Memorable

5._Have a ceremony where you and the Mr. present your teen with his diploma.

6._If your teen has studied a foreign language, use some of the words he has learned as part of the decorations. Todos Bienvenidos!

7._If you’re hosting your gathering at home, have an area set up in your home, garage or media area for the kids to play video games together. They’ve enjoyed being with each other during the years at field trips and will love this if you’re planning a less formal gathering.

8._We love to dance group dances at any party we have. So the boys told some of their friends ahead of time the songs that we would playing. This allowed their friends to practice their polished dance moves ahead of time. Then they all did group dances together. It made for a lot of fun and laughs.

Also though because my boys took ballroom dancing in high school, they were able to make that part of the party.

9._Decide the dress and communicate it clearly to your guests. Mr. Senior 2013 wanted something a bit more dressy casual and Mr. Awesome 2015 was all about shorts and comfort.

Sometimes this is a time, especially by girls, to dress formal and wear that long formal gown they’ve been wanting to wear.

Let each kid’s personality dictate the night of fun.

10._Have a photo booth. We gathered up items from the dollar store and made some other props. Browse thrift shops for costumes and fun things to use in a photo booth.

This was so much fun because it allowed for friends to take pictures together as well as a whole family to get in on it. Even the little kids had fun doing this.

11._While some of our friends were having fun taking pictures, we had a prepared music list so that others could enjoy dancing. I didn’t just let the boys pick the music. We’re pretty selective, but too I wanted grandparents and older ones to join in. So we got music from different time periods.

12._If you don’t have a sound system you can borrow, some places still have a jukebox, which you can rent from a party or music supply place.

13._Don’t forget creating keepsakes like a program for the night. I wished I had done that but you have to remember, I have all boys. So in the scheme of things it wasn’t a big deal for them.

I think if I had a girl, she would like a few more momentoes.

A prepared program along with taking pictures of their homeschool classmates was on tap for the evening too.

14._And whatever you do also don’t forget to get a picture of you and your family for the special occasion. I had a list of photo ideas for the photographer that we hired.

Some photo ideas were non-negotiable meaning the photographer had to be sure to capture certain moments. Other ideas we had on the list were for fun things to take pictures of while the party was going on.

15._Don’t forget to put the ending time on your invitations.

I know some people forget to put the ending time on invitations and that makes it hard to clean up or pack up when everybody has been having so much fun.



However, because you and your family are probably doing most of the work, be sure you have enough time to shut the party down and not be dead tired the next morning. Okay, you will be but at least you won’t ever forget the party.

16._Remember to appoint somebody to record at the party AND to email different ones to follow up and get their recordings as well. If you like DVDs you can ask somebody to record and have a keepsake DVD.

17._Another graduation we went to the girl had a father and daughter dance.

The graduate was adopted by her grandparents and you could see her deep moving gratitude. The obvious emotion in the dance was full of meaning to all present and tear jerking because we all knew the story.

Create New Memorable Homeschool Moments

I know I’ve said it before, but each event should be unique to your family.

18._ Have a book or big board for your family and friends to write on for advice. One party the family had a huge poster board where all the family and friends could give their tidbits of wisdom. One party we went to recently, the graduate passed around a small book decorated by her for her special night.

19._As far as more fun food, we did a candy buffet at both parties complete with what each son really loved.

For the non-sugar eating friends, we assigned out a few deserts made with splenda. This was a big hit as not everybody can eat sugar. A lot of our family is diabetic. We have it on both sides of the family. So this night was one time to splurge – just a bit.

20._Another practical idea I liked by one family was to have a jar at the party. They ask family and friends to bring their favorite recipe to put in the jar.

Later the girl’s parents made a collage book out of it. Such a memorable and practical gift – a first cookbook.

21._Not every homeschool graduate wants to celebrate with others.

Some families I’ve known planned a special cruise or hike to their favorite vacation spot.

You’ll also love reading my 10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation where I go into more detail and you’ll love these absolutely stunning and creative ideas from this Purdy Purdy Pink – Homeschool Graduation.

Tell me! What homeschool graduation ideas have you come up with or want to do with your family?

Hugs and love ya,

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Leave a CommentFiled Under: Graduate a Homeschooler Tagged With: diy, high school, homeschool, homeschool graduation, homeschool joy, homeschool joys

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