Awesome Field Trip: DFW Car and Toy Museum

https://dfwcarandtoymuseum.com/

This was truly one of the greatest boy field trips of all time.

It's free.

It's the largest car museum in Texas.

Cars...cars...cars...  My two sons would NOT leave.  We were there for over three hours.  There are couches and places to stop and rest all over the facility (because there is no way I can stare at cars for three hours like my sons can).

The staff is super nice and they'll answer questions about the cars.  If you have kids obsessed with cars, just GO.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Interactive Notebooks Blog Post

We don't use Interactive Notebooks, but I was really fascinated by this blog post on how to make/use them with upper elementary students.

https://thriveingradefive.com/interactive-notebooks-how-to-get-started/#:~:text=I%20highly%20recommend%20using%20composition,work%20to%20pull%20them%20out.

Getting Ready for Homeschool Graduation

 I've posted something similar three years ago when the last kid graduated.  Now, here we are - getting ready for high school graduate #4.

Since this kid is also a dual enrollment student at the college, I need to wait until she has her final exams at the college to graduate her from our homeschool.  Her college exams will be during the first week of May.  On her paperwork, I will probably put her high school graduation date as May 1, 2025.  Just to keep things simple.

Here's my homeschool graduation checklist:

• Transcripts
• I make these on Microsoft Word, but Google Docs or Excel or anything else would be fine.  I finalize all her grades and GPA on the transcript.  I print out 10 copies, sign them, place 3 or 4 into envelopes, seal the envelopes and sign my name/date across the back.  I then put all of these transcripts into her Graduation Folder (which is literally a folder).
• Graduation Packet
• This is a folder where I print out booklists, curriculum we used, volunteer work/dates, sports they played, activities, leadership activities (like Scouts), awards (some of mine held sports records), etc.  This goes in the folder with the transcripts.
• Diploma, Cap and Gown, and Tassel
• I order these from www.homeschooldiploma.com.  I design an individual diploma for each student and choose colors for their tassel.  Two of my kids had tassel colors based off their team colors (they did track and football).  One kid had her colors chosen by a sibling.  
• Graduation Pictures
• This is pretty obvious
• Graduation Announcements
• I think I will order these from www.snapfish.com.  
• Scrapbook
• I make a scrapbook for each kid and give it to them at graduation.  I also make these on Snapfish.
• Gift Bag and Ceremony
• We have a tiny ceremony in our dining room with just family.  We give them a gift bag, their diploma and their graduation packet

That's it!  My daughter is already taking college classes, so nothing is really going to change for her in the fall other than she will take a full-time college load, instead of two classes at a time.  She's already picking out her fall classes and putting them in her registration cart.

She is graduating high school as a 17 year-old (a year early), but having completed high school and four college courses (Composition 1, Composition 2, US History 1 and Kinesiology).