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homeschoolgraduation

Fun Graduation DIY Decorations Day 6 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation

March 2, 2023 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is Day 6 graduation diy decorations for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

I have always confessed that I don’t seek out crafts, but like most people when they are inspired, they venture out.

Sink or swim, I was determined to add a bit of my not so craftiness to the party. I didn’t want the special moment to pass too without having something mom made.

Fun Graduation DIY Decorations Day 6 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation

I will be sharing more of these ideas on my other two graduation parties I planned.

However, this party was my first and I kept it easy.

Day 6. DIY Decoration Ideas. 10 Days of Planning a Homeschool Highschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus-1

So I decided to go with some easy decorated numbers.  Believe me, this has to be EASY for me to do it!

Graduation DIY Decorations

Supplies Needed.

  • Cardboard Numbers.
  • Mod Podge Glue.
  • Scrapbook Paper.
  • Acrylic Paint of Your Choice.  I used Skyline from FolkArt and Margarita from Americana.
  • Scissors.
  • Sponge Brushes.

Now if you really want to get thrifty, you can cut the letters out way ahead of time from cardboard and make them 3d your self by using duck tape.

Letter Collage for Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

This really is a good project that can be done way ahead of time and that is why I did it too.

There are so many last minute details that having a few crafts done makes it less stressful the closer it gets to the party.

Here is how I made them.

First, I painted the front and backs of the numbers, but only after I found paint to match the paper that I wanted to use.

It’s important that you decide your patterns and colors at the beginning. I wasn’t going to be showing the backs of these numbers, but was going to have them at an angle on the gift table. 

But, just in case the back did show some, I didn’t want them to appear unfinished.

So I made sure I covered them in paint.

But, if you plan to place them in a place where you are going to see the back, I think it would be hot looking to use one paper design or color on the front and another on the back side.

Get how easy this second step is.

After they were painted, I placed the numbers on the back of the scrapbook paper and penciled the shape lightly so I could cut.

Then I cut out the number shapes on the paper.

Paint the backs of the number too @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then with my mod podge glue, I used a sponge brush to glue the scrapbook paper on.  Impressed yet?

More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

  • Start the Planning Day 1.
  • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
  • Invitations Day 3
  • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
  • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
  • DIY Decorations Day 6 
  • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
  • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
  • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
  • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

Actually this is so easy you can use it for letters or numbers.

Easy DIY Letters Homeschool Graduation Party @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

That’s it. The hardest part to anything I want to do needs to be picking up the supplies.

DIY Decorated Numbers 10 Days of Planning A Homeschool Highschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I went with a glitter like blue scrapbook for part of the numbers and a lime or kiwi green for the other part of the numbers.

The sweet thing is that I already had the green paper which is a snake skin-like textured paper for these fun graduation diy decorations.

And then taaaaa-daaaaa…fast forward to the day of the party……..here they were.

DIY Cardboard Letters Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Along with my picture collage, the numbers looked beautiful on the opposite end of the gift table. We just tied some tulle balls together with and laid them around the numbers. It wasn’t too girly girl for Mr. Senior 2013, but still fun.

Finished Cardboard Letters @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Tiny liked them and….

Back of Cardboard Letters @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

well Grandma, she loved everything! But, then again she is biased. The backs of the numbers looked good too, like they were complete. I can’t imagine now leaving the backs undone, but I was thinking of doing that.

Fun Graduation DIY Decorations Day 6 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation

But the simple cardboard numbers and photo collage is not all we done.

In my next post, we did a few more of our own simple decorations that I will tell you about.

What do you think? Do you got this planning for the decorations down?  I think so, because you have to be way more crafty than I am.

Hugs and love ya,

1 CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: homeschoolgraduation

The Day is About Your Graduate Home Graduation Ideas Day 5 of 10 Days

March 1, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is Day 5 home graduation ideas remember the day for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

By this time in the stage of planning, I am feeling better because we have hired a baker for the cake, a caterer for our chicken and prime rib dinner, had invitations ordered and a place to hold our graduation.

Now came the nitty-gritty details of planning for the big day and for the fun part – decorations.

The Day is About Your Graduate Home Graduation Ideas Day 5 of 10 Days

Here were some of the ideas going through my mind for the events of the big day.

  • How would my son want his diploma given to him?
  • Did we want a table showcased with his achievements, hobbies and interests?
  • How comfortable was my son with a slide show presentation of our journey?
  • Did he want to give a graduation speech?
  • Did he want to play the piano?

Surprisingly, my son wanted it pretty simple for the day.

He wanted a dinner, give a short but gracious speech, have lots of pictures taken and reflect back by looking at pictures from previous field trips and events.

Home School Graduation Ideas

The Mr. gets emotional only on a few occasions, but wanted to give my son his diploma in private so the could tell him how he felt. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

A lot of our friends are homeschooled too and have been with us from the beginning, so they know his achievements.

The Day is About Your Graduate Home Graduation Ideas Day 5 of 10 Days. Today is Day 5 home graduation ideas remember the day for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page. By this time in the stage of planning, I am feeling better because we have hired a baker for the cake, a caterer for our chicken and prime rib dinner, had invitations ordered and a place to hold our graduation.

Would my son feel differently or want something more elaborate if we had started homeschooling in high school?  I don’t know.

I do know that I learned that my son was not affected by the things of this world like I am because I went to public school. He didn’t have any preconceived ideas of what a graduation was suppose to look like.

Was I still trying to do things the public school way, even on his graduation?

Remembering that the day is more about what our family wanted, I started planning to keep it simple, but fun for the night.

Understanding that my son wanted pictures at the party more than a slideshow focused on him, I started preparing a photo collage.

The Day is About Your Graduate Home Graduation Ideas Day 5 of 10 Days. Today is Day 5 home graduation ideas remember the day for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page. By this time in the stage of planning, I am feeling better because we have hired a baker for the cake, a caterer for our chicken and prime rib dinner, had invitations ordered and a place to hold our graduation.

I started at one small corner by making letters of his name. Of course, you know my love affair with washi tape, so it has to go on anything I make. It can’t hurt.

Home Graduation Ideas

After slowly adding more pictures I think I had something that Mr. Senior 2013 would allow at the party. Boys! They have to be sure everything is not too girly looking or too big.

ME? I wanted a whole wall of pictures, but restrained myself to a smaller display.

 Homeschool  High School Photo Collage

Fast forwarding you to the day of the party. What do you think?

The photo collage turned out to be just enough of his accomplishments, but focused on friendships we built through the years.

But oh no, I couldn’t stop there with decorations.

I had way more ideas. I will show you another project or two we did with the help of hubby and some more ideas for THE day.

More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

  • Start the Planning Day 1.
  • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
  • Invitations Day 3
  • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
  • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
  • DIY Decorations Day 6 
  • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
  • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
  • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
  • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

Every family and teen is different too.

It’s not like I didn’t already know that, it just became more of a reality check when planning the graduation.

The Day is About Your Graduate Home Graduation Ideas Day 5 of 10 Days

As I stopped trying to follow what I think our special day should look like or be according to everyone else and started planning for an occasion unique to my family, things started to fall in place.

If you missed the other posts in this series, you can catch up below:

Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation 10 days day 1 Start the Planning thumb Day 4. Menu & Venue. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation
Day 2 Senior Portraits and Senior Cap and Gowns Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus thumb Day 4. Menu & Venue. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation
Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations Which Words Matter Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus thum Day 4. Menu & Venue. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation
Day 4 Menu Venue of 10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation CP Tinas Dynamic H2 Day 4. Menu & Venue. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: homeschoolgraduation

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

February 28, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is Day 4 homeschool high school graduation menu and party venue ideas for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue.

We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments.

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them.

We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. Keeping it small keeps it affordable too.

At first, Mr. Senior 2013 decided he wanted Italian food. We love Italian food.

However, I feel when serving to a larger crowd and because not everybody has the same taste palate, a more diverse menu was in order.

10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation: Menu and Venue (Day 4). As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue. We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments. I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them. We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. CLICK here to learn how we celebrated!

Making Homeschool Lifetime Memories NOW

He agreed and in the end we kept to our southern roots and added in something special, like the prime rib.

Here is our menu for the night

  • chicken friend chicken with smothered cream gravy
  • prime rib
  • garlic mashed potatoes
  • southern style green beans (no half cooked crispy green beans)
  • salad/trimmings
  • homemade bread sticks

Having hosted many parties where I both prepared the food and brought it, I didn’t want to do that this time.

I wanted to enjoy the out of town guests and family instead of running around serving/preparing food.

Look at these tips I learned when ordering the food through a catering service that saved us some money.

  • Choose a time of the week when it’s not as busy. Saturday is more like a peak time, so having our party on Friday, it was a better price break.
  • I chose entrees and sides separately instead of paying by the plate. In other words think like you are picking up the food with 40 servings instead of telling them they are catering.
  • By serving the food ourselves, we didn’t have the extra charge for set up, serving and tips for servers.
  • For us, the venue was right down the road, so the caterer only charged an extra $25.00 for delivery. If the place is further away, having somebody responsible with a huge van works too. For me, having the chef deliver the food worked out better since he had rolling carts and brought his hired help.
    • Cake and Food - Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

At this time, I ordered the cake too. Being the guy that he is, Mr. Senior 2013 only had a few things he wanted.

One thing was he didn’t want it to look like a wedding cake or “too girly”.

I think if you have a daughter, she will probably have a lot to say on this.

Homeschool High School Graduation – Party Time!

I think it’s hard for cakes to look anything other than plain pretty.

I ended up having it made and chose an ombre (graduated color) blue design.

Keeping the table simple with candles, flowers and a white cake stand, kept it pretty, simple, and elegant.

Homeschool Venue @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusWelcoming Lobby Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
homeschool graduation location @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusKitchen matters Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

As far as the venue, we have a lot of places around us to choose from.

I have lived in places where you only have a handful of places that are nice. But, if you have a choice, look for these things.

  • Is there a fee for set up or cleaning?
  • Do you have to clean? Can you pay for somebody to clean it afterwards? We got the place clean and so all we had to do was pitch in at the end and clean up. Our homeschool kids are use to doing this because of how many field trips we have had hosted.
  • We ended up going with a community center that has a nice kitchen so I could keep the food warm when it was delivered. There was plenty of parking and it was easy to find so I didn’t have to send out instructions with the invitations. The lobby was warm and inviting.

But, I think the best tips of all are the money savings tips because why not take advantage of them. Who wants to pay full price when we can get a deal?

Remembering that some managers gave me a discount for places we have rented for our homeschool co-ops during the week, my hubby asked them for renting the place on FRIDAY and not a peak time like Saturday night.

They were delighted because hardly anybody rents a room or building on a Friday.

We cut our cost significantly, about 40% by renting it on Friday.

Our homeschool friends are pretty flexible and as long as they knew ahead of time, they can arrange their schedules.

Choosing to do some of the serving and cleaning ourselves, the party was fast becoming a part diy party.

But that is not the only diy thing we did. You know homeschoolers become true do it yourself people the longer we homeschool. It’s true.

Next post, I will share some more things we did to prepare for the decorations and yep, it included getting the Mr. to help us out too.

If you missed the other posts in this series, you can catch up below:

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 
    10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation: Day 1 Start the Planning

    Day 2 Senior Portraits/Cap & Gown. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations Which Words Matter Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus thum Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations–Which Words Matter. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Leave a CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: fearless homeschooling, homeschool, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, homeschoolgraduation, middleschool, teens

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    February 27, 2023 | 1 Comment
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    Today is Day 3 high school homeschool graduation invitations for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

    You would think it would be easy.

    Pick out some homeschool graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that?

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do-it-yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. 

    The words mattered to me because we have traveled a different road for almost our whole journey.  

    Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now?

    I admit it, tears came with mulling over and searching to find the right words of how I felt deep down. You know not the surface wording we are suppose to say on an invitation.

    But words you keep tucked away low down, because if they surface people may think you have lost it.

    Planning Homeschool High School Graduation: Invitations – Which Words Matter (Day 3). You would think it would be easy. Pick out some graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that? When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do it yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now? Click here to get ideas for wording for your homeschool graduate's invitation!

    I wanted to express how grateful his father and I were that we had the privilege to homeschool Mr. Senior 2013. I wanted to thank the Creator for the blessing of having him in our life.

    Heart Felt Words Meaningful to Your Family

    Tears streamed as my hands typed.

    Knowing the quiet, dignified demeanor of my son (he doesn’t take after me, must be his father) I knew right away he would be, to say the least uncomfortable by what I had already drafted.

    Remember, what I said earlier about this not being just your party? It’s true. Mr. Senior 2013 cared about the details of the party including the invitation wording.

    I had always thought because he was a boy, he might leave some of that up to me, but he didn’t.

    I think that it is one of the privileges of homeschooling – teaching kids to care and being responsible even about little things.

    Front Side of Mr Senior 2013 Homeschool Graduation Invitation | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    So after realizing that much of my wording was way too sentimental for an invitation and that it wasn’t a Thank the Lord invitation for his life, I was able to pick out words that expressed how we felt without scaring away my guests.

    Too, by this point you will have decided if you will do a group graduation, which we decided not to. 

    We really wanted something private where we dictated the events for the evening.

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

    Look at some of these ideas for wording for both individual and group graduations.

    Homeschool Graduation Invitations

    • “Join us as we celebrate the homeschool graduation…..”
    • “The Class of 20__ proudly announces the homeschool graduation from (use the name of your school).”
    • “We have accomplished our God-given assignment and proudly announce the homeschool graduation of…”
    • “Mr. & Mrs. You are proud to announce the graduation of …….from their homeschool education.”
    • “With thanks to God for his guidance, the parents of ….. announce the homeschool high school graduation of……”
    • “…….will be receiving his high school diploma from (name your school) Homeschool Program.”
    • “As our final years come to an end, we pause to reflect on the joy and memories. Please join us as _____ celebrates his homeschool high school graduation.”
    • ‘We celebrate the blessing of our homeschool journey by announcing the high school graduation of……”
    • “Please join us in honor of ____’s graduation from (your school name)”
    • “It is with great pride that we announce the graduation of our son………..from ………”
    homeschool graduation invitation back side @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Do Save the Date Text or Email

    Deciding to do a double-sided card also allowed room for more wording on the back which was important to us.

    We were able to express our thankfulness for Mr. Senior 2013 and keep his dignity. Looking above I was able to get in all the details on the card.

    Just as a side point to remember, I did send out a save the date email/text way early to my guests.

    Especially if you plan a graduation in the summer, you will want to do this way ahead of time even if you don’t have all the details worked out.

    I know our friends appreciated the save the date email/text so they could make vacation plans.

    Homeschool High School Graduation Invitation Wording

    Though saving money was not the main driving point for me preparing his invitation, it was a nice side advantage.

    Two ways I have saved money so far, but felt like we were still having a unique experience are:

    • I had 2 photographers. One was not quite so professional where I had more time to devote to the photo shoot. The second one I knew exactly how long I would have him and had a list of photos for him too which I will tell you about in an upcoming post.
    • I designed my own invitations and only paid for printing/envelopes. Even if you don’t have the skill set for creating graphics, a lot of homeschoolers do. It is possible among your local group that you may find a homeschool teen or parent that can do this.

    In the end, choosing invitations mattered more than I realized, and I didn’t want to leave the words that mattered most up to a stranger.

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    Whether you homeschool the whole time or a few short years, it is is a treasured time and there is no substitute for expressing your heart.

    The other words that I have for my son as his mom stayed where they should be and that is with him.

    But those are not the only ways I unexpectedly saved money.

    The venue or location to have our graduation was equally important and by accident I stumbled across another way to save money on this part of the planning too.

    In my next post on this series, I will give you some tips on how we chose a venue.

    More High School Help

    • Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses
    • How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon
    • Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)
    • What You Must Know to Teach High School Unit Studies
    • How to Make A Homeschool High School Transcript & Middle School (Free Editable Form)
    • 3 Free High School Planner Cover Designs
    • 25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum
    • How to Easily Meet the Lab Component of Homeschool High School Science

    1 CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: boys, high school, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschoolgraduation, homeschoolhighschool, teens

    High School Senior Portraits Day 2 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool Graduation

    February 26, 2023 | 4 Comments
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    Today is day 2 homeschool high school senior portraits for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

    Early on I realized that I could go ahead and get Mr. Senior 2013’s official portraits done.

    And I could purchase his cap and gown as we hashed out the other details on venue and menu.

    Homeschool senior portraits were important to him.

    High School Senior Portraits Day 2 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool Graduation

    But I learned while graduating my other seniors that it was not the same for each one.

    For example, my second graduate was not interested in formality or tradition.

    And my third graduate was a mix of both.

    First, determine what is important to your senior.

    10 days-Planning Homeschool High School Graduation: Senior Portraits (Day 2). Many details were floating around in my mind, one thing I figured out quite early was that I could go ahead and get official portraits done and purchase his cap and gown. Grab some ideas for places to take pictures that last a lifetime!

    Too right away, we had to determine if he wanted a senior ring or not.

    Homeschool Senior Portraits Matter Most

    Breaking with tradition, he didn’t want a graduation ring.

    I knew a regular, but no ordinary ring would be worn by him longer.

    Grandma and grandpa wanted to make that purchase for their gift to him.  So that was one long term project done.

    I love how sometimes he was traditional during planning and other times not so much.

    Loving the details about planning, earlier in the year I had put together some color boards.

    In my mind, we could then go from there to choosing a cap and gown for his high school senior portraits.

    That approach made sense to me or so I thought at the time.

    High School Senior Portraits Day 2 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool Graduation

    {Picture Source: The Craft Begins)

    We spent wasted hours poring over color schemes. 

    Being the boy that he is the color scheme above is close to what he ended up liking best, or he thought so too at the moment. Of course with less peach and more terra cotta color at the party is what he thought he wanted.

    All I could think of was a green cake when I saw that color scheme.

    All Mr. Senior 2013 could think of was an ivory wedding cake and a wedding theme which he wanted to be sure to steer clear of.

    We backed up and started with what was easiest to pick out first and that was his favorite color for his cap and gown. He knew right away he wanted royal blue.

    (Picture: Graduation Source)

    There it was. Our inspiration for our color scheme and party just got easier.

    We ended up going with Graduation Source because it was a  big company, had some great reviews and it was fast and pretty painless to deal with.

    Overflowing Inspiration

    Also, I went ahead and ordered only the diploma cover because guess I was creating his homeschool diploma too.

    All of it was at our home fairly quickly and all I had to decide now on was how to get official senior portraits.

    As I figured out, the color scheme could wait a bit longer because I needed to focus on senior portraits. I knew I wanted other pictures too of him showing things he loved.

    After looking at a lot of senior packages from photographers, I knew I wanted more control input into the pictures and how many we got.

    So I ended up getting my girlfriend who has a DSLR camera and is not an expert and knows less about her new camera than I do about photography. 

    I coordinated the photo shoot because I knew what type of settings and expressions on my son’s face that I wanted to be sure to capture.

    Let me tell you the extent of my knowledge of photography.

    I know one very important thing and that is that light is everything.

    I know the prime time to take pictures is either close to sundown like between 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. or shortly after sunrise. That’s it! That is the extent of what I know to make pictures beautiful.

    On the evening of the photo shoot, my girlfriend came to my house first because working with that amount of time, you need to work fast. I wanted some inside pictures too.

    Creating Events To Remember

    I picked out 3 outfits ahead of time for my son to change into as we went along so I was sure to have a variety to select from.

    232323232%7Ffp543 7)nu=9;55)937)257)WSNRCG=368; ; 8(3348nu0mrj

    232323232%7Ffp54393)nu=9;55)937)257)WSNRCG=368; ; 8(5348nu0mrjI wanted to capture moments that he was proud of like his music or piano at our house and his car.

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    So we were able to snap several pictures and ended up with these that we liked the most.

    After that, I grabbed his change of outfits, his cap and gown and we headed to a local historical park.

    Another important thing to me was getting some pictures outside in a natural setting that would have a background that inspired our Texas heritage.

    When it comes down to it, I am a simple girl and like simple country charm with a hint of formal. This park is close to our home and the perfect setting for our outdoor pictures.

    If all possible, I encourage you to have one photography setting outside. You would be surprised at the places that make great photo shoots and I will list some for you in a minute.

    Unforgettable Outdoor Photos

    Look at my list though of what I brought for our outside pictures after choosing a location.

    • I brought three different outfits for my son to change into.
    • I brought a step ladder because I wanted some pictures of the photographer looking down at him.
    • I brought my point and shoot camera too.
    • I brought a chair so we had a place to lay some of the clothes on.
    • If you have a girl think about bringing makeup to touch up her face or to wipe any sweet, but shiny oily faces.
    • I brought some cotton pads for my son’s face to wipe away shiny spots too and of course hairspray and hair brush.
    • I also brought some flip flops or sandals because we took some photos of him barefooted and so he could put those on his feet as we walked to another part of the park.
    Homeschool High School
    Homeschool Graduation
    High School Senior Portraits Day 2 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool Graduation. Today is homeschool high school senior portraits for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page. As I figured out, the color scheme could wait a bit longer because I needed to focus on senior portraits. I knew I wanted other pictures too of him showing things he loved.

    As you can tell we got a variety of poses and pictures to choose from.

    Do not leave the decisions for the poses and positions you want to see your child in up to a photographer, even a good one. Though most professional ones will consult with you prior to the shoot so that they can understand your child’s personality, you are the only one who knows them the best. A photographer will love you for having a list or better yet pictures from the internet if you found some.

    I came up with all the poses either by finding poses online close to what I liked or understanding what my son liked best. He is not an over the top person when it comes to taking pictures either so we knew we didn’t want glamorous. Girls like that kind of stuff better.

    High School Senior Portrait Tips for DIY

    When thinking of an outside place for a portrait think outside the box.

    • Like I mentioned an old historic building makes wonderful outdoor pictures. When we there taking our pictures a girl that was graduating too came in a beautiful formal dress. I can just imagine what her pictures looked like with a touch of class and a touch of simple.
    • Think of old downtown
    • Think of an arboretum
    • Think of a park or place along a river or pond
    • Think of the beach
    • Think of the area around a museum
    • Think of a state park
    • Think of all the cool, out of the ordinary places you have been on a field trip to because they make great photo shoot locations
    • Here in Texas, we have the river walk in San Antonio if you wanted to take them at several different venues and start early by visiting other cities.
    High School Senior Portraits Day 2 of 10 Days Planning a Homeschool Graduation

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

    By using one photographer, my girlfriend, for these pictures and a professional photographer at the party, we saved a bundle already.

    I knew at the party I would be tied up with details for our guests, but my mind could be less stressed because I knew I had pictures already that were important to me.

    Take inspiration from something simple and capture pictures way ahead of time because without one, it is hard to determine the color scheme for the party or for invitations.

    No rest for the excited, because right after that, I had to determine details for the invitation. Next post I will share the details on invitation and venue.

    4 CommentsFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: high school, homeschool, homeschool joys, homeschoolgraduation, homeschoolhighschool, homeschooljoy, teens

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