This summer I’ve been mulling over how to handle the end-of-year. Some homeschoolers do nothing because they consider homeschooling an on-going, everyday lifestyle. While I agree with that, I also want my son to see what he’s accomplishing and in the process, help him understand goal-setting. However, doing a “graduation” every year would be overkill, and it would take away from the real graduation at the end of high school.
I’ve decided to do an end-of-the-year review and brief celebration. For that, I have put together a slideshow of my son’s homeschooling year, and I’ve pulled together some of the work he’s done, including the portfolio I keep for him, so he and his family can see it. We’ll also give him a certificate of completion and a small congratulatory gift – though probably something to help continue with his studies. (This year we got him a poster of carnivorous plants, which is his latest interest and project, and he yelped with joy when he saw it, so I think he likes it!)
Here you can see him after we did a brief review with the slideshow. My son loved it and was full of commentary about what he did this year! He also earned some badges, so I gave those to him as well. (Note: I’m sharing the slideshow with close family and friends in my next post. If you’re family or friend, just e-mail me for the password.)
In Georgia, we’re required by law to write a progress report for our students every year, and we’re supposed to retain them for our own records. Since you probably won’t ever have to show them to anyone, there’s no reason to stress over how you write it, but I know there are people who would like guidance on how to do this, so I’m sharing the format I use in a Word document that you can download and tailor for your needs. I plan to write it in this format every year unless for some reason the law changes and gives me specific guidelines on how to do it. Basically it’s very simple. I list each subject and then use bullet points to fill in the resources and comments about his work.
Download this Word document here: YEARLY PROGRESS REPORT Word doc
NEWS! I have created a Printables Page where you can download these and other print-outs for free that might help you on your homeschooling journey. If they are helpful to you, I hope you’ll send me an e-mail and let me know!
Do you mark the end of your homeschooling year? If so, how?
Mama of Letters 
My husband and I have always scoffed at the notion of kindergarten graduation, but as I saw all the Facebook posts and whatnot I felt sad that I didn’t have any plans to acknowledge all that my daughter accomplished this year. I decided to make her a small photo book highlighting all that we had done together. She wanted to learn how to make ice cream this summer. My plan is to have a small celebration with homemade ice cream, invite family, and present her with the book. We school year round and are still finishing up, so it will probably be next month. Similar to the ways you acknowledge your son’s accomplishments.
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Hi JenRay – Ice cream and a photo book sounds like the perfect way to end the year! Thanks for sharing!
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He looks so proud! I think end of year, or some sort of annual documentation is fabulous! We think we’ll remember all these things, but we just don’t! 😀
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Thanks, Angie. You are so right – we don’t remember these things. I have a lot of “photo memory book” ideas that I wish I had been making all along. When I look at old pictures or things I wrote when the boys were babies, I’m amazed that I can’t remember it, though thankful that I wrote it down and took photos!
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We don’t really use a set curriculum and learn year-round, so we don’t really have a sense of closure and new beginnings. I am thinking that we might have to start doing something to mark milestones a bit more than we do now. Maybe a photo book, slide show, or something? I am not sure but you have some good ideas here.
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Thank you for your comment, Erica. Although I don’t think you have to mark the end of the year, I do think its beneficial for kids to have some kind of tradition marking some passages and achievements, whatever would be most meaningful to them. If you come up with anything, please come back and share it here!
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Hello! I know this is an old post, but may I ask what the butterfly badge is for? My boys just received their first junior ranger badge Saturday, so I’m familiar with that. Just trying to figure out the other activities that we can do similar to that. Thanks. 😊
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Hi Arminda — The butterfly patch came with our butterfly kit, which we had gotten as a gift. We raised two generations of butterflies that year, and since the patch came with the kit, I felt my son definitely deserved to get it. They have other kits with patches too. Here is the website: http://www.backyardsafari.com
Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog!
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