It's pretty official at this point. The 11th grader will most likely be graduating a year early in May. This is our third graduate and it's a terrible feeling. I'm not ready for her to graduate. I'm also facing the fact that for years, I've homeschooled a "crowd" and now I'm only going to be homeschooling 1-2 kids. Everything about our household and homeschool has been tailored to teaching a group of kids. Even most of the curriculum on our shelves were written for homeschooling large families.
My youngest two kids can not be combined. One is a 1st grader and the other is a 9th grader. Both of them are visual/auditory learners. For reference, my oldest two are social/kinesthetic learners. So, I really do need to sit and think through how the youngest two's schooling is going to look over the next few years. Methods and curricula that were great for the oldest three might not be so great for the youngest two.
I also need to prepare for the inevitable #3's graduation in May. *sigh* Here's my to-do list for a homeschool graduate:
- Prom - she wants to go. I think homeschool prom tickets are usually sold in January or February. I need to keep a look-out.
- Graduation ceremony - I need to see who is holding a homeschool graduation ceremony this year and register. My oldest two did not want a ceremony, but I'm sure this kid will.
- I need to put together a graduation packet for her. I do this for each graduate. I put together a folder of paperwork and give it to them at graduation. In the folder, I have:
- 10 or so signed high school transcripts. I make these on Word and sign them. I usually put 3 in sealed envelopes and sign the back
- Records of awards
- Records of volunteer work
- Sports, activities, etc that they did during high school
- Booklists, field trips, curriculum used during high school, etc
- I need to order her high school diploma and tassel. I always order from www.homeschooldiploma.com . It takes about a month or two to get it made/shipped, so I need to start early.
- Yearbook - I put together a high school "yearbook" for each graduate using Snapfish. This usually involves me crying over the computer keyboard while I design a hardcover book on Snapfish's website.
- Apply to college in January. Take her to the college to take the TSI exam (college placement test). Then go through the whole enormous freshman registration process and fill out the FAFSA. I need to get her meningitis vaccine and get that paperwork filled out by the doctor (required in Texas for college freshmen).
I just went through this last year and the year before. I'm not ready to do this a third time. I'm tired! At least, after this kid graduates, I will have a three year break before I have to do all this a fourth time.
