The End of the Year is Here! 3 Fun Ways to Celebrate
Ready to celebrate the end of another school year? Even if you homeschool year-round, it’s still nice to mark the milestones of finishing up curriculum, advancing another year, making progress, or just the change of seasons. Read on for ideas on how to do that!
The end of the school year is upon us!
So the big question is: How are you celebrating the end of the school year?
How are you celebrating all of the awesome things that happened this school year? How are you celebrating all the great growth and change (in your kids, and, yes, even in you!)?
Taking Time to Celebrate Growth in your Homeschool
Even if it’s been an especially hard year, I promise you that there was growth. There was progress made, and lives were changed.
This is the time of year when we start torturing ourselves with the “did I do enough?” thoughts. We begin to play Monday-morning quarterback and say, “If we’d only… “ or “I should have…” or (insert your form of self-torture here).
It sure is easy to be on this end of all the enormous amount of work that goes into a school year and pass judgement on ourselves.
OK, maybe your year didn’t work out the way you’d designed in your lovely homeschooling planner.
Mine didn’t either.
But what if what happened was even more glorious, more wonderful and more exciting than anything we’d planned? I truly believe it was.
I believe all those great plans were just what got us to the starting gate, and here—at what we’ve deemed the “imperfect” finish line—is where we can step back and recognize the real victories.
And, oh my goodness… it’s critical that we celebrate those victories (even the small ones) to first, encourage our kids to keep giving their best; and second, to remind us that yes, all of this hard, hard work is worth it and is making a difference!
Three Ways You Can Celebrate the End of the School Year:
End-Of-The-Year Dates
This is a really great tradition that the kids and I look forward to each year!
I take each child to a location that they would enjoy (a frozen yogurt place, coffeehouse, cupcake store, etc) and while we’re indulging in a fun treat, we talk about what the year was like. I lead the conversation with casual questions like “What was your favorite thing that we did this year?” or “Tell me something that you’d like to learn more about?” You can read more about what I ask here.
We also talk about what they’re most looking forward to this summer; and I help them identify what specific things they’d like to learn either this summer or next year.
I also gather up their portfolio of work from the year (art projects, workbooks, notebooks, other projects) and we look at them again and recall learning about the material and doing the project.
Overall, I keep the conversation really positive and focus on the wonderful growth I’ve seen.
I also take notes on what they share because: one, I want to make sure I remember it; and two, I want them to know that their comments are important enough for me to write them down.
This time together is just precious because the kids feel special, honored and listened to; and I really do get some great feedback on what worked this past year, and what they’d like to change! Plan to Be Flexible talks more about these End-Of-The-Year Dates and gives ideas of how to incorporate these suggestions into next year’s teaching materials.
Celebration Day and Dinner
This is something new we’re trying this year!
The End-Of-The-Year-Dates are great, but we also really wanted to have a time where my husband and I could stand up and publicly affirm each of our kids. We want this time to be about sharing the great character traits we see them developing; the ways they are a blessing to our family; and how much we love each of them for their individual talents and personalities.
We’re taking a two-part approach: first, we’re going to have a morning of pure fun (family games, nature center) and then we’re having a special dinner where they’ve chosen the menu (each one of them told me their favorite appetizer, dinner or dessert and I’ve combined them into one meal for all of us to share).
During or after dinner is when my husband and I will share our praises and pray for each of our kids individually. I also plan to put together a very simple slideshow of photos/videos from our field trips and projects.
Special Treat for Mom!
Oh yes. This is something that we must do, moms!
We think about doing end-of-the-year stuff for our kids, but we can’t forget to take the time to reward ourselves for all the blood, sweat, and tears that we’ve invested in this school year! At first this may feel selfish, but it’s more than alright to give ourselves a pat on the back for the sometimes-really-difficult work of homeschooling!
This “special treat” will mean something different to all of us. Maybe for you it’s a pedicure, or a day off shopping by yourself. Maybe you decide to get together for dinner with several other homeschool moms and go to that great new restaurant that just opened nearby. Maybe you can even do a fun weekend away with some girlfriends. Or it might just be a great new pair of shoes!
Do what would feel rewarding and relaxing to you (and what fits in the budget)!
It doesn’t have to be a two-week-long trip to Tahiti (even though that’s probably what we all could really use right now). See what small thing you can come up with to tell yourself, “I worked super hard this year, and yes, it was enough.”
Your Turn!
Tell us about your plans! How are you going to celebrate the end of the school year? Will you try any of these ideas, or do you have other ways that your family will celebrate?
About the author:
Alicia Michelle writes about living the beautifully imperfect homeschooling journey in Plan to Be Flexible. She has been married to her best friend for 14 years and together they spend their days lovingly guiding their four passionate and creative kids.
She believes each day offers new opportunities to grow in grace and to trust God in unexpected ways; and that “acceptance with joy” is one of the hidden secrets to a full, contented Christian life.
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