Homeschool Graduation

I was blessed to be able to attend two homeschool graduation ceremonies this year. I had attended one a few years ago and it was very similar to one of the ceremonies that I attended this year.

Our area of Pennsylvania has a lot of homeschool families. We have a lot of homeschool groups available to us where we can find co-ops, field trips, special classes, support, etc. One of the things offered is a yearly High School Graduation Ceremony. I thought this was fabulous -- my boys won't miss out on the experience of a graduation ceremony! Yes, this particular ceremony is very much like any other High School Graduation. Of course a couple of things are different. It begins with a few contemporary Christian songs. A student (sometimes more than one) gives a speech. They had a mime team perform to a contemporary Christian song. They had a keynote speaker. We sang a couple more contemporary Christian songs and even a hymn or two. Then the parents present their child with their High School Diploma. The evening ended with a prayer and a benediction. It was a very nice ceremony. There were 89 graduates who participated. I thought of this was great, until...

We attended the second High School Graduation ceremony that we attended this year. One of the girls that is homeschooled and that goes to our church also graduated this year, but she did not want to participate in the large homeschool graduation ceremony. Her parents still wanted to give her accomplishments recognition, so they decided to have their own graduation ceremony and celebration and invite their closest friends and family members. We were blessed to be among the close friends invited. It was really special. Her sister played two hymns on her recorder. The pastor led the congregation in a hymn. Her friend played a song on the piano. Her dad spoke. Her grandfather read a passage from the Bible. She gave a speech. Her dad spoke again. The pastor led the congregation in another hymn and gave the benediction. It lasted about a half-hour but it was so personal and special. She had chosen all of the music herself.

Following the ceremony, they had cake and other goodies, followed by some English country dancing. She read the book Emma by Jane Austen this year, and I think they read Pride and Prejudice also by Jane Austen another year and became very interested in that time period. So, they did some research and learned some English country dances and we all joined in in celebration of Lindsay's graduation.

So, even graduation can be chosen as a homeschooler and can be a lot like everyone else's or something special.