Should your homeschool student receive a High School Diploma and a Graduation Party? Yes they should. Just because they are not part of a large academic institute does not diminish their achievement. The end of high school should be a special occasion marked with joy and festivities.
Creating the High School Diploma
Most parents will create their own diploma to be presented to their graduate. It could be a ready-made diploma that they purchase and customize by writing the name of the child, or it could be made from scratch by the homeschool parent. If the child is looking to join college, it would be a good idea to get a more professional looking one. Print it out and have it signed by the homeschool teacher, as well as the head of an umbrella group for homeschool students that you may be a part of. This will give it a more official touch.
Presenting the High School Diploma
It may be a good idea to get together with other homeschool students who are graduating the same year and have an official convocation ceremony for all of them. Get in touch with other parents who may share the excitement and would like to invite family and friends to watch the children receive their high school diplomas. It can be conducted in a community hall and you can even invite a guest speaker to give away the diplomas and give a motivational speech.
Graduation Party
Once the formalities of having presented the high school students with their diplomas are completed, the students should be allowed to celebrate. Have a party planned for them with food and music. It could even happen at the same venue if there is no other place available to the group to host the party. The younger siblings could come up with organized games and decorations for the venue. Homeschool Parents are usually good at dividing up responsibilities in order to make the event a success. The idea is to make the homeschool students graduating high school feel special.
