Making things Official

Each year in June or July I find myself trying to wrap things up so as to take a break before jumping into a new learning year in August or September. Now, in truth, learning never stops. I named my school and based our "school philosophy" for the idea that life is learning and one should learn throughout their lives, no matter the age or setting.  Even though I do try to keep my kids roughly on track with their assigned age/grade, we rarely have everything (book-wise) done by June. Yesterday (just in time for a new years docket of activities!), I finally threw in the towel and gave them their "diplomas" (It's been a tough year.) The yearly diploma is something I've come up with to try to make things official and give the kids a sense of accomplishment at the end of each year.

Other things we do include a yearly "showcase" put on by our local homeschool group. The Showcase is a way for the kids to show off their accomplishments for the year to friends and family, as well as to new and prospective homeschool families. It's also a way for them to see what other families have been doing. It's helpful for me, in that I am forced to review what we have done and catalog all of those writing and art projects. It's usually a great boost to realize just how much we did do! As the kids get older, I am trying to give them more control over what goes on their displays and what we show or don't show. This past year they provided some content, designed the colors, and decided what artwork and other books to show. Our showcase usually occurs in late May or early June. There are very few rules to this. People display all sorts of things in all sorts of ways. This is what we did.

Our homeschool group helps with yearly milestones as well, by organizing an "end-of-the-school-year" and a "NOT-back-to-school kickoff" each year. These parties tend to bracket the summer trips and fun. The kids get to see all of their friends and we usually have a blast.

Finally, if you do any sort of outside classes and lessons, you'll find that many of them run on a traditional calendar. We usually have a gamut of recitals and presentations in May and June (piano, Spanish, Cub scouts, etc.).

Although the learning never stops, I find it's nice to have rituals and rights-of-passage to mark the years. What do you do?