Public schools have end of year parties, picnics, ceremonies, etc. to mark the end of a year. When a HS kid finishes, it so low-key. How do you celebrate? I've done a certificate already, called grandparents, but everyone's sort of like "that's nice, dear... how's your brother doing?" I remember when I was a child, we'd get some sort of reward for finishing with good grades (usually ice cream, but sometimes "things"). I don't want to reward with food. We have plenty of "stuff" (which I didn't as a kid). I dunno... ideas?
I was wondering this same thing. My daughter will graduate kindergarten and I wanted to do something special. I know at schools they have a big ceremony and I wanted to do something special, too.
When we finish a grade we have a party. We send out invitations to family and friends and usually we do it at a local park with cake and goodies. Then everyone celebrates with us. I usually specifically request that they not bring gifts, but I will present the children with a "gift" at the party. For Kindergarten I gave them each a framed certificate of graduation that I made up on the computer, along with a little bear with a graduation hat that everyone at the party signed for them. I took their picture with the certificate and bear and put it in their scrapbooks. Then after we have a party we take a break for a couple of weeks and then go "shopping" for new school stuff like the new books, pencils, crayons and such. I only buy a little at that time to get through till June/July when the Back to School sales start then we do a mega buy and get supplies for the remainder of the year.
Is there any fun place locally that could be a treat/reward for finishing the year? We have a couple of bounce house places and an activity center where dd likes to go. I thought about planning an outing with some freinds for the first "school" day after we finish as a celebration.
We can't have a party for a bunch of people....but I'm thinking a party for just us this year! With maybe a certificate,cupcakes, picture taking ceremony-and of course, The Man (my dh) is just the best at 'I cant believe how hard you've worked!" type blah blah blah (they love when dad is super excited). And I'm gonna make little cardboard hats with tassels from embroidery floss I have. We hs all year - soI hope this will do to mentally mark it for them. Oh- I might make the certificates what they have excelled at, instead of grade changes - or both if I can get the computer up (one of my kids has worked really hard at his handwriting, another at upping his reading time...you get the idea.) As for a kindergarten thing-next year when my daughter grads from K, I think she'll be ahead as she is already doing work, and she isnt actually suppossed to "start" until Sept. So I think I'm gonna hand make her a shirt and take her someplace-like the zoo where she can wear it. If I can take her someplace that is used to having alot of kids, the staff will notice (I hope.) Anyway, that's my plan for right now.
I never did the end-of-year thing, but that is a great idea. We always made the first day of school special. Unfortunately, my 14-year-old son is too "cool" to say he wants to do any such thing. I want to do something special and look forward to reading everyone's ideas.
We have our own family celebration. I give a diploma which says "I graduated from such and such grade". They give a speech, get flowers (my son will not get flowers LOL) and tell what they liked best about the year and what they learned. Then I give them a small gift, usually it's a book for them to read, a journal or cookbook (my girls like getting cookbooks LOL), and we take pictures and go out to lunch at our favorite fancy restaurant. Usually we end our current year (school year round) in Dec when family is here with us, and then start the new year in January, but I think this time we'll be starting the next "grade" sooner this time as we have only about 18 weeks left of this present "grade" according to my calculations. I don't really care about grades really but the kids like having a response to the whole "what grade are you in"? Oh and I also do pictures and give them like a year book of fun things we did all year. I have those made at Snapfish. Hope that helps some : )
I honestly have never given this a thought! now I feel really bad for not marking the occasion. I did, however, keep a book list and tell the kids when we read 150 books,we'd have a pizza party. the timing will pretty much coincide with the traditional end of school year. maybe this counts?
We took DS out to The Old County Buffet. He loves that place. We had 12 family and friends and the bill came to just over $100.00. We had a great time.
We don't really do anything. Of course, when I was a kid, the only times it was special was after Kinder, after 6th and after 12th. Other than that....it's a non event...you were expected to move up so why celebrate! LOL We just don't do anything big. Not sure why....just never thought about it!!!!
we started doing report cards for this very reason so thye could see how they did. They could understand and get the joy of advancement to the next level etc. We also have done things like "Swimming day" or one year I gave them gift cards as awards for points they earned for the last day. There really is no end to the possiblities when you homeschool! You can plan a camp out, either in yard or away... let them have sleep overs if they have friends available even!
We usually have a "last day of school" field trip of some sort - one year we went to see an art museum and played mini golf. Another year we went to the planetarium and out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. We've gone to the park and cooked out and played on the playground equipment. It may not sound like much, but it's fun. I have given certificates that I made on the computer, and/or the little prize ribbons from the dollar store, for anybody who had perfect attendance, more than one year's work accomplished in one year, citizenship for the best conduct grade of the year, or whatever else seemed noteworthy. I did, one year, have a student who had been with me for three years, who finished 8th grade and was going back to public for high school, so I made him a cardboard mortarboard and tassel out of embroidery thread, and presented him an 8th grade diploma that I made on the computer. I painted it to look like camo, because regardless whatever else he was wearing, and regardless the weather, he wore a VietNam-era camo Army blouse over it, that his uncle had given him when retiring from the service. The "graduation" was a surprise.
Exactly!!! Only I don't think we had a kindy thing, either. If you do something "special" all the time, it's no longer "special". We do usually go out to eat when school's out, mostly because DH is done and wants to celebrate having the summer off. And a lot of times, we still have some work to do during the summer that didn't get finished.
I don't think we'll do anything much either. I went to PS and all that was ever a big deal for us kindergarten and HS graduation (your first year and last year). Every other year was just another year in between LOL I think the biggest thing we might do is order pizza and let him have a friend or two over.
Sonita , thats what kind of thing we just did, stuff that would show them that they had accomplished the summer break time lol. I know today it seems everyone has a graduation, when I was a kid it was just simple report card being given and you will report to this and that school next fall for such and such grade. So for us, sure in class rooms we had end of the year party day to eat cake and drink coolaid lol, but not any big event things. that is why I kept it simple with my own just the simple things, I mentioned before..,. Hey Sonita one more thought--- reading your signature where do you live that there are only ten days left? here they go till the middle of June?
I'm in GA. Our Co only has 10 days left, as well as my MIL (public school teacher) in another Co but my cousin's kid in another Co in GA has 15 days left. When I was growing up we went from end of Aug to 1st week of June, now they go from the 1st week of August to mid-late May....
I guess I see both sides. For us, holidays and birthdays don't matter. We celebrate "big" birthdays (5, 16, 40, etc.), but we don't really celebrate holidays at all (not the way most people do anyway). For us, school, sports, clubs, etc. are the big things. If you're alive, you're going to have a birthday no matter what, but you're only going to get to the next level of your goal if you work at it. We reward hard work. That's why we celebrate grade level advancement. Thanks for all the ideas you've shared. Those help a lot!
Well we do! This is our 1st "complete" full year away from an actual school or charter. DS never wanted to HS in the first place. There were times that I didn't think we would make it, but we did. So that is reason to celebrate to me. Great year, congrats, you did it.
I usually try to make the beginning of the school year special rather than the end. The end is a reward in itself. I take Ems to the stores and allow her to pick special pencils, erasers, and so forth.
