2014 Homeschool Grad {Jordan}




Well, we did it! And I do mean we! We made it through 4 years of home high school and 9 years of homeschooling.

We had a celebratory BBQ with Jordan's close family and friends. I was so busy setting up and making sure everything went well that I didn't even get a chance to eat (or take many pictures). We had burgers with all the fixings, potato salad, homemade fruit salad, a veggie tray, chips and dill dip, ice tea and coolers of water and soda. I decorated the cake table with balloons, framed photos of Jordan, and his diploma. I had one of Jordan's friends play music on Pandora from his truck, which gave it a nice atmosphere. It ended with a downpour of beautiful rain and I served cake under the canopy tent.

I had many compliments on Jordan's diploma ~ how real and official it looked. I ordered it from homeschooldiploma.com along with a cap, gown, and tassel to make it "official."


He felt awkward in the cap and gown, so his smile is not as natural. Of course, I think he is handsome and am very proud of him for all of his hard work.

I finished his transcript a few days before he graduated. It is 1 page - front and back. It includes all of his high school courses, credits assigned, and his grades listed by subject. It also includes total credits, his G.P.A., and extra curricular activities. On a 2nd sheet, I included my grading scale. On a 3rd optional sheet is a list of all the books and curricula that we used, if requested.

Jordan will be entering into the Diesel Tech program at Sheridan College this fall.

Congrats, Jordan! So proud of you!

And me, I'm very happy, thankful, and relieved to have graduated my first homeschooled student. [happy sigh]

26 comments

  1. Such a handsome young man! Many prayers for a new journey for him. Congratulations Michelle! I know what a great feeling it is!!

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  2. Wow, you must feel so proud and so blessed (and so teary!!) Congratulations to Jordan and you all <3

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  3. Much congrats!!!
    Good color choice too:)

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  4. Wow! Congratulations!! What an accomplishment and mile stone in life! I pray you will enjoy this next season of his life and create more wonderful memories! Much love!

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  5. How exciting for all of you! I know this will sneak up on my faster than I think. I am sure the graduation party was a perfect way to celebrate and thank you for sharing the resource of where to get a diploma. I know you use Sonlight, and I do as well. It would be awesome if maybe you could do a post on how you went about create a transcript and maybe just homeschooling the high school years in general.

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  6. Wow, congrats!!! Great work, Jordan!!

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  7. AMAZING grace of God's hand on your family! Praise the Lord for blessing you all with the fruits of your motherly and fatherly labour! Congrats!!! SO happy for you. : )

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  8. Congratulations Michelle and Jordan!

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  9. I love that you did grad pictures and had the hat, tassel and gown! I've known to many people who didn't think that would be important and for went it all. So sad for a graduate! Such an amazing step forward and an accomplishment for both of you

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  10. Congratulations to you both on such a major accomplishment. We will be praying for Jordan's success as he continues to move forward.

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  11. Congratulations to Jordan and all of you! Well done! He's quite the handsome young man!

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  12. He is such a handsome guy :)He and You did an awesome job and I am sure he is going to be awesome in his chosen career path too :)
    May God Bless You, Jordan! I pray you have success, love and happiness in your path ahead, always!

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  13. Congratulations to you and your family on such a heartwarming accomplishment! May He take the seeds you've planted and grow them with many branches and fruit.

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  14. Many congratulations to you all! I'm so glad to see someone stay the course through high school. Michelle - I would love to hear more about what you've learned on the high school journey. Makayla is 8th grade now so we're sliding closer and closer. Sometimes it seems like I'm stuck in three different worlds - almost high school and trying to wrap my head around that, elementary kids (4 of them this fall), and still soaking in the baby and toddler years with the 3 littlest boys. If I focus on one group too deeply I'll forget about the others and I don't want to miss any of it!

    Glad you found my blog again! I closed the Blogger one last year and move hosting. Unfortunately someone is now using the old blogger address and posting other people's content. (They tried copying 3 of my posts word for word and I got blogger to remove those.) It's so weird what people will do.

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  15. Thank you, Tristan! I've been thinking a lot about what I've learned and what I will do differently with my next two boys. But, I honestly wouldn't have done anything different with my oldest, except to give him more testing experience. I am working on a year in review to share my thoughts (inspired by you!), and will include more there. I'm not sure if I will mention this until we get closer, but I have my next two boys on a more accelerated path. They will start college courses their Junior year if they are ready. So my focus will be preparing them for that. Now, after experience with Jordan taking college English and Govt, I know how to prepare them a little better. I feel more confident and relaxed, too. But, still have a desire to give them a good education.

    I so know what you mean! It is a balancing act for sure. I usually focus on what seems to be a priority for a season (like teaching a little one to read or talk) or getting my oldest into college. Then I feel my heart tug in the direction of another child that needs me more. I make my rounds and meet needs the best I can. I know you are doing that too. I think it is normal! :)

    Will hopefully say more in my post - been thinking about it a lot. :)

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  16. Michelle, I watched a webinar from Lee Binz The HomeScholar about 4 years ago ~ it was a free one and well worth the listen! I attended 2 of them and asked questions. The most important things I learned was that anything your child does IN highschool can count as high school credit. And that 60-75 hours equals a half credit, and 120-150 hours equals a full credit. I used her sample transcript on her website as well as one from HSLDA to make Jordan's. I did his by subject and a little different, because I listed the subjects required by the state of Wyoming to teach. So, I list History, Geography and Civics, then Literature, Writing, Math, Science, etc. But, very similar to the subject one, except that mine is front and back. I will talk about changes and plans in my year in review post coming up, and when I share our curriculum in August. I will think more about homeschooling the high school years in general. If you have specific questions, that would help! :)

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  17. Congratulations!!!! How exciting. I'm still terrified. Josh will be a jr. next year and I still have no idea how to put his transcript together. I wish my sister lived closer so she could help me out. She's so good with that.

    Annette will be a high schooler this year, then Caleb, next year, then Brent the year after, yes, I'm freaked.

    Because my children are all so close in age I always still feel so unprepared. Like when we started schooling, I was teaching Phonics to four children and was just overwhelmed.

    You are doing great mama!

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  18. Linda, in a comment above, I link to Lee Binz' sample transcript and how I do credits, but there is also one in the Schoolhouse High School Planner! It is an editable PDF so super easy! You will do just fine! You do such a good job documenting everything! Just start NOW! Record what you do and the books they read, because it is harder doing it at the end! :)

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  19. Well done to both of you! You must be very proud after years of vision, trust and hard work. I'm so pleased for you both and am looking forward to all the wisdom you will undoubtably have to pass on to those of us heading towards that season!

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  20. Congrats to both of you!! He's a handsome guy, I'm sure you're quite proud of him!

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  21. I would love to hear what you think will prepare Nathan and Dylan for dual credit courses their Junior and Senior years. That's my plan for Hanna--if she's ready. I have her road map all done as of today and feel like I can breathe a little easier, but nothing is "written in stone". We'll adjust as needed along the way time and time again, I'm sure :).

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  22. Congratulations to you and Jordan, Michelle!!!! What a blessing for your whole family! You are such an example to me as a mother and homeschool teacher. I've learned a lot from you!

    Jordan looks so handsome. I know you are so very proud and excited for him.

    Blessings to him as he starts this new journey and part of his life.

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  23. I would like to get both boys through Sharon Watson's writing course The Power in Your Hands. I think it really helped Jordan prepare for the type of papers he would write in college English and walks them through step by step. Jump In was even more detailed in the steps and helps prepare them for Power in Your Hands (Dylan just finished that). I also want to focus more on the BASICS! Mostly, writing and math. I am using the Algebra 1 Tutor right now and will continue to use that as a help for LOF. LOF gets hard at this level and Nathan said it is really helping him. I also want to do more test prep for the Compass and the ACT. They only need the compass test to place into college classes, so I will have them take that when I think they are ready. So, writing, math and test prep! Oh, and logic. I don't even plan to do a core with Nathan this coming year - takes too much time and he has already mastered the skills of reading so much - vocab, comprehension, context clues, thinking skills, etc. I also want to do logic, but hope to combine it with test prep. I think Dylan did so well on the SAT because he is really good at logic!

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  24. Congratulations to both Jordan and you! I don't homeschool, but I have friends who have and I have a lot of respect for those who do it. I do feel that every child is different and has different needs, and for that reason I have one in private school and two in public. So far so good. My son in private school will graduate from high school next year. I wish Jordan the best as he starts the next phase of his journey!

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  25. Thank you, Michelle! yes, every child has different needs for sure. So glad that is working for you! I'm sure I would have been just as happy and proud no matter what path we chose. :) Here's to one more year and a bright future for your son!

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