It was just yesterday, so many years ago, when my granddaughter unexpectedly entered the world at 25 weeks gestation – four months early! She weighed less than 1 pound 7 ounces, dropping to a fraction over one pound! She was amazing. She was beautiful. I was in awe and humbled to witness the miracle usually reserved for God’s eyes alone.

“Peanut’s” eyes were not yet opened. Her dear little hands were the size of her grandfather’s thumbnail, complete with the tiniest fingernails you can imagine. When she would grab onto his finger, it looked like an adult grabbing a large tree limb. Her feet were scarcely an inch long. Her grandfather could literally hold her in the palm of his hand. She swam in the preemie clothes made by the Ladies Auxiliary, but she deserved something to wear. I bought a pattern for a 12” doll and made her a dress. The booties and panties were way too big.

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In a previous post, I discussed that college education may not be right for everyone. For some, both parent and teen know with certainty, that college is the right choice and that’s wonderful! However for those who aren’t so certain, there’s another option that homeschool graduates my want to consider – The Gap Year.

Sadly, I’ve spoken with many college graduates who, after graduation, found very lucrative jobs, lamenting, “I hate what I’m doing!” Many confess they would like to quit but can’t because they are up to their eyeballs in student loan and/or credit card debt. Some consider going back to school to study something different, but still don’t know what they want to do. One recent college grad I spoke with, just up & quit her very big-bucks job, because she couldn’t stand it. Would a gap year have helped these students? I don’t know. Would it have hurt them? No, I don’t think so.

The gap year concept – taking a year off between high school graduation and college – is a growing concept in this country. Many high school advisors and counselors are now recommending it to their students. Furthermore, high schools have begun having “Gap Year Fairs”, showing and promoting the many opportunities available to a high school grad during their year off from formal education.

According to an article in USA Today, as colleges’ witness more and more “gappers” arriving on campus with sharper focus, motivation and maturity Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to all homeschooled graduating highschoolers!!! And, to the parents who stayed the course, hats off to you!!! I have not yet had the privilege of graduating one from high school – that will come next year, but I have already been giving thought as to how to make this milestone in their lives special.

Homeschooled highschoolers don’t typically have the “gala events” that their public schooled counter parts do (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion) but recognizing their accomplishment and ushering them into this new chapter of life can and should be a special time and memory in their life. Here are a few of my thoughts…. Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve done it! Your child has completed their home school highschool education and is ready to graduate. Wow! In some ways it seems like just yesterday when you began homeschooling and in other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. But, nonetheless, the day is here & you want to give your high school grad a diploma in recognition of their accomplishment (and yours! ).

Very seldom do colleges or workplaces ask to see a diploma – most often, it’s the transcript that bears the greater weight & we’ll talk about transcripts in days to come. But for now, let’s look at some of the ways you can inexpensively or even freely produce the important-to-your-highschool-graduate diploma. Read the rest of this entry »