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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,

Signature T

 

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

The Perfect Personal Planner: 5 Questions to Ask (before you buy)

December 20, 2016 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The Perfect Personal Planner 5 Questions to Ask before you buy @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Life is full of seasons of change and for the first time this year I will be using two different planners. One planner will be the one I always use each year, which is my 7 Step Homeschool Planner and the other one is a new personal planner.

My homeschool planner is considerably thinner now that I am down to homeschooling one son and my personal life after school (taking care of aging parents, guiding young adults on career and education and keeping up with my husband’s new career) is considerably fuller.

Choosing a personal planner can be just as overwhelming as choosing as a homeschool planner.

Because I had used a personal planner in my LBK (life before kids) when I was important busy working in a law office, I had some previous experience using one prior to switching to exclusively using a homeschool planner. Life comes full circle for sure.

Personal Planners that Fits a Homeschooling Lifestyle (or don’t)

I’m sure my personal planner will be a journey like my 7 Step Homeschool Planner has been, but there are few questions I had to answer before I chose one.

I thought you could benefit from my brainstorming questions.

One/ How big do you want it? Size matters.

One reason for choosing a personal planner is because I still want this baby to fit in my purse. This is the hardest part for me because by nature, I tend to like large size planners, which give me a lot of room to write.

But I’m sucking it up and going tighter and smaller to keep my personal planner fitting in my purse because I need to be able to not carrying too much in my hands as I take my mother in law back and forth to the doctor for her appointments. Besides my other hand is for more important things like coffee or iced tea.

Pointer: Remember if you use a smaller planner, you may need to only keep half the year in your planner for the daily pages. I’m keeping the glance at a view for the whole year, but scaled back my daily pages to only 6 months because I want journal pages to write notes in. I’ll see how I survive.

Two/ Do you want to reuse a binder or choose one already spiral bound?

I know that I will be using my binder a lot and so I wanted one with rings and chose a faux leather one to refill. If I stick with this method, I think I would be willing to cough up the bucks for a leather one that will last.

But that also leads me to my next question.

Three/ What type of refillable calendar pages do you want?

Knowing that I want as much room to write on my journal pages and daily pages, I chose a one-page-per-day layout.

Four/ What type of journal pages do you want?

I chose simple colored pages because I’m still waffling about how I want to make my lists and take notes, so I chose Filofax ruled and plain personal size pages to keep it simple.

Five/ What kind of extras (i.e. glam) do you want to add to your planner?

Then my favorite part is choosing all the pretty stuff to go in it. I do like some of it, but I’m not into turning my planner into a scrapbook. Who has time for that while homeschooling? Inspiration and enhancing yes, but dawdling and idling no.

Having inspiration in my planner is important to me as I use it everyday. Like my 7 Step Homeschool Planner, I have to add a few smokin’ hot things I love.

Here is what I’ve added so far.

Posh bookmarks.
Michaels carries a lot of the Recollections brand, which I like for my planner.

Planner Charm (everybody needs one or two)

Here is the planner charm I using right now which is the Creative Year Sky Blue Tassel & Feather Planner Charm.

creative-yearThen you never want to leave home without having an accessory pouch and well if it’s gold, it just makes things better! ha.

Must have accessory pouch for a personal planner @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Not only can you include in the pouch a few mentionables like paper clips, small tube of lip balm and a rubber band, but any small unmentionable you want to as well. (wink).

I got my gold accessory pouch from Michaels and used it this year and I think I can get another years use out of it.

And a few pretty page markers for your personal planner while you homeschool @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

And then I love having more than one way to spot sections in my planner, so I have been using these Creative Year Blush Magnetic Bookmarks too.

Will you be using two planners this next year too?

It has been a longggggg time since I have and I’m so giddy to jump into using it and I’m sure I will have some pros and cons next year after I start using it and I won’t forget to share them with you

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.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Organization Tagged With: diy, organization, organize, organizedhomeschool, planner

DIY Undated 12 Month Calendar | Organized Planner

December 18, 2016 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I created this diy undated 12 month calendar so you can use it in multiple type of planners. Too, look at my Homeschool Planner for more free beautiful forms.

Remember this? I loved sharing my free printables and tips for my home management binder.

But it’s in need of an update.

It’s been about four years since I’ve updated it and a lot of things have changed.

DIY Undated 12 Month Calendar | Organized Planner

The first thing that I need to update is the diy undated 12 month calendar.

The last set I did to use in the home management binder was hard to use.

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I created it.

Home Management Binder @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PLus

I must have had an out of body experience because it was so hard to read.

Of course, like I said that was almost four years ago and my experience in printables has grown tremendously (thank goodness).

Today, I have updated this set of undated monthly calendars because it is the one I prefer to use in my home management binder.

I prefer to use this set because I can add two or three years of the same month in my binder, which is a huge motivator for me as I track and plan our family life and look over the past year, current year and next year.

DIY Undated 12 Month Calendar @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

By simply filling out the calendars as needed, I have a ready made calendar at my finger tips.

However, the other thing too that unnerves me about writing in planners and calendars is that I’m a little obsessed with having lines to write on when I add a date or track information on my planner.

DIY Undated 12 Month Calendar | Organized Planner

So not only did I make the calendar pages easier to read, but I added lines for writing.

Too, for my home management binder, I wanted a full page to write on and I also added a place at the bottom of each month for note taking.

Of course you can use these fee calendars on my

  • free student planner,
  • my free 7 Step Homeschool Planner
  • or my free Home Management Binder.

How to Get the Free Printable

Now, how to grab the free printable. It’s a subscriber freebie.

When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

 1) Sign up on my email list.
 2) Grab the printable now – instantly.
3) Last, look for my emails in your inbox as a follower. Glad to have you.

I hope you love the update.

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.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, Home Tagged With: calendar, curriculum planner, diy, freecalendars, homeschoolplanner, lesson planner

DIY Family Calendar (Fabulous & Frugal) + Free Calendar Cover

January 2, 2016 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

DIY Family Calendar. Not only beautiful but frugal @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

DIY Family Calendar (Fabulous & Frugal)

Because I am not sure where we will be living permanently and because life doesn’t wait, I put together a diy family calendar, which is both frugal and fabulous.

In an earlier post, I shared about how I created some beautiful diy brads for this calendar to keep it frugal.

Today, I created a quick and beautiful calendar for the new year and used those diy brads to bind the pages.

Look at how quickly I put it together with my pages that I have here.

First, I grabbed my .99 cent 2 page spread Appointment Keeper in the Dreaming color option. You can grab it below.

2016 2 page per month physical year - Dreaming @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then because I want this calendar cover to match my Home Management Binder cover, which I will be updating too now that we moved back to the states, I created this new cover to match.

Too, I don’t really have a place for a command center in this tiny apartment so a diy calendar is the best option for us this year.

Actually, I created TWO front covers. I created one for 2016 and one that does not have the year on it.

You can grab them both below.

2016 DIY Calendar Page @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Grab the calendar cover with 2016 on it here.

DIY Calendar Page

Grab the calendar cover that is not dated here.

Also, look what else I have here that is free to put in your diy family calendar.

After the cover, I added my free 2016 peek at the year calendar and put the free 2017 calendar in the back of my planner.2016 Free Printable Calendar Page

I also added my free goal sheet and free important dates for the year at the beginning of the planner.

2 page spread DIY Family Calendar

I’m all ready for the new year and have a place that I can track our family appointments and frugal too.

Inside DIY calendar

Why buy an expensive store bought calendar when you can create exactly what you want?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

If you love planners like I do, be sure you look at my Free 7 Step Homeschool Planner, my free Home Management Binder and my Free Student Planners.

Follow BOTH of my Pinterest Accounts for SUPER DUPER DIY Pins too.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.
Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Linking up @ these awesome places:
Sunday Blog Hop|Motivation Monday|Thoughtful Spot|The Homeschool Nook|Mommy Monday|Modest Monday|Faith Filled Parenting|Hip Homeschool Hop|Tuesday Talk|Laugh and Learn|Turn It Up Tuesday|Little Bird Told Me|Mom’s Library|Resources & Solutions for Mom|Wonderful Wednesday|Little R & R|This Is How We Roll|The Homeschool Link Up|Teaching Together|Hearts for Home|

6 CommentsFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, DIY, Home, Organization Tagged With: 2pagepermonthcalendar, diy, freecalendars

5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 5 Things the Teacher Luvs

July 26, 2014 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschooling is not all about the kids.  Okay, well maybe it is.  Today though it’s all about you and in 5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for your Homeschool Spaces, Day 5. Things the Teacher Luvs,  I rounded up some things to keep the teacher happy.

Whether it’s eye candy, a cute printable or how to make a diy magazine holder (swoon), I have to be excited about the new school year too.  Besides creating my 7 Step Homeschool Planner, I try to create a teacher space that I want to be at each day too.

Sometimes it’s a small thing like a new pen or a new chair.  One year, I got tired of looking at my lamp shade and knowing that a little coral color loving doesn’t hurt anything, I painted my lampshade.  Adding a little chic to your homeschool spaces will keep you excited about the new school year too.

Look at some of these things I rounded up. So swoonworthy! Just click the image to find out how to DIY each project.

15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Easy Labeling & Storage Containers
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Art Print Quotes to Display on your Walls
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Paper Storage & Folder System
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Chalkboard Window Calendar
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Ombre Pen Pots
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Easy DIY Message Center to Keep it All Organized
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Easy DIY Zipper Pouch
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Comb Binding Machine Luv
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Decorated Magazine Holders
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Geometric Drawers
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
School Paperwork Storage
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Fabric Covered Storage Boxes
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Floating Book Shelves
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Teacher Clipboard with Washi Tape Luv
15 DIY Hacks | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
DIY Personalizd Pencil Cases

Do you have any favorite things you luv as the teacher?

Hugs and love ya,

2012Tinasignature 5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 4 Just Plain Clever Storage

Did you miss any days in this series?

5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 1 Small Spaces

5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 2 Repurpose and Reimagine

5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 3 Eazy Peazy Learning Tools

5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 4 Just Plain Clever Storage

Look at some of these other creative ideas!

Creative Storage Solutions for Homeschool

Streamlined Record Keeping

Baskets, Bins and Buckets For Homeschool Storage

 

 

5 CommentsFiled Under: Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces, Homeschool Space, Homeschool Tools, Storage, & Accessories Tagged With: diy, homeschoolrooms

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