Homeschool Facts

Graduations come in lots of sizes. Once a ceremony that only occurred for high school and college graduations, it was then always a serious and formal affair. Now we see graduations for kids of all ages. They all are embarking on a new chapter in their lives.

It starts with preschool graduations. These have become more common in the past several years. My own preschool graduation was nothing formal. We simply had a picnic in the local park. My younger brother, however, had a more “traditional” graduation ceremony - complete with a construction paper cap and diploma that he made himself. This ceremony was very special to my family, as he had been a preschool dropout the year before. (Life without mommy is tough when you’re three!)

My oldest daughter is soon to graduate into the world of Middle School. Since she will still be at the same school, there will be no formal graduation ceremony. But that doesn’t mean she is the same old “kid”. Her parents used to be pretty bright people in her eyes. But if you ask her now, she believes she knows so much more than we can begin to comprehend. The relatively safe world of play dates and Brownie troops will soon give way to middle school dances and trips to the mall and movies with new friends. I am silently celebrating this graduation, as I will truly miss the delightful child she was, and am equally fascinated by the young lady she is becoming.

By the time high school graduations come around, our childhood really has been put away. It’s a bittersweet time where we are sad to leave some of our friends behind but we are also excited to move forward. In some ways this is clearer to us when we get older - just how much our lives changed at that moment. One of the cool things I do remember about that graduation was getting a lot of presents. Everything I needed for my dorm room in college and even some cash.

College was a lot of work and when I got around to graduating, I really felt proud of myself. The pomp and ceremony were so much more meaningful than it was when I graduated from high school. I also was far more aware that I was at yet another turning point in my life and was quite anxious to move forward.

Whether it’s your child or a niece or nephew or even grandchild, participate in all of their graduations. Each will etch a strong memory in his or her mind and be a momentous occasion for the rest of their lives.

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