A Graduation PhotoJournal

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Last weekend, I had the wonderful privilege of celebrating my daughter's graduation from Mount St. Mary's University. 

Some photos from the weekend, and a quick recap of her college history:

There was a Baccalaureate Mass on Friday. There was a hooding ceremony at this Mass. Kennady is in the chorale which sang during the Mass so we decided to attend this as well. It was very interesting, but I've got conflicting information about hooding. It seems that only Masters or Doctoral graduates are hooded in a ceremony, but I'm not certain about that. I would guess that only the graduates receiving a Masters were required to attend, and Bachelors degree graduates could if they wished. 

The commencement exercises were on Saturday, and this gymnasium/auditorium was full to the rafters. Once again, the grads in the chorale and band were not part of the processional, but were in place in a balcony to sing and play during the ceremony. Of course she did come down to walk the stage and receive her diploma. It would have been nice if she and the other graduates up there could have come down to stand with the others when the degrees were conferred as well.

Posing for photos after a very long, but good ceremony:

A couple of weeks earlier, I had been home to attend Kennady's Senior Recital, her Opera Workshop Recital, and the Honors Convocation, at which she received a prize for excellence in choral music.

Hard to believe it's been four years already! Kennady started at Carroll Community College in September of 2019.

And then in the spring of 2020, everyone was sent home to try and figure out how to continue their education in a virtual classroom. This presented so many challenges for everyone, but especially for students taking classes requiring labs, practicum, or performance. Kennady was taking guitar and voice lessons, and was in a rock band class. Guitar lessons really didn't work well at all, thanks to lots of scheduling issues and if I remember correctly, the instructor was ill and missed several lessons. It was very frustrating. Voice lessons went better, but obviously a video call with an instructor and without a live accompanist was far less than ideal. In the rock band class they wound up recording and tracking everything and presenting a video concert instead of live. Recording tracks was a valuable experience, but not the experience the students had signed up for!

The 2020-2021 school year started at home, and we all just hoped and prayed that "soon" we could return to "normal".

An entire school year went by with very little in person instruction for her though. Her graduation with an Associate of Arts was a drive-thru "ceremony".

Kennady transferred into Mount St. Mary's University to continue her studies, and started the 2021-2022 school year with high hopes, as most of the classes were in person. Masks were still required on campus, so her voice lessons and choral class were rather interesting. 

Things gradually opened up and by the beginning of her senior year, everything was open again. Thankfully she was able to enjoy two full years of in-person voice instruction, choral class, opera workshops, conducting class, and performances at concerts and recitals. 

What's next? For right now, the plan is for her to continue working at the music shop, and to start building a studio practice teaching guitar and ukulele. And see what opportunities come her way.

Congratulations Kennady!

This post will be linked at Pictorial Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

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Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - May 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• Enrollment in U.S. government schools dropped by over one million students from 2019 to 2021, and while some of that shift was certainly due to Covid lockdowns, the trend is continuing. Many parents are finding that public schools are unwilling or unable to provide help for students that are struggling, sometimes stating that scores aren't 'low enough' to warrant intervention. It begs the question, how far behind does a student need to be to prompt a public school to help? As public schools fail to address students' needs, more parents turn to alternatives (from The Lion) explains.
• Since my son was a member of Civil Air Patrol, I found this article very interesting. A Virginia student who had been in Civil Air Patrol applied to an Air Force JROTC program but was told he was ineligible because he was homeschooled. Ryan Carbonel had plans to get into the US Air Force Academy, so this was a setback. Thanks to assistance from the HSLDA, the public school was informed that Carbonel did have the right to join the JROTC and he is back on track. Read more: Never Give Up: How a Teen, His Mom, and HSLDA Cleared the Runway to JROTC.
• Congratulations to these homeschool students and to the Richmond Mall for this colorful art showcase, "Art Around the World", featuring artwork from homeschooled students at a local co-op. See: Homeschool Art Showcase Adds Color to Mall (from the Richmond Register)
• I'm not sure about statistics, but it seems like families that homeschool are more likely to eat meals together. Anecdotally, a large majority of the homeschool families I know do eat at least one meal together on most days of the week. I saved this article quite some time ago, but I believe it's still relevant. Anita Ojeda asked Does The Family That Eats Together Have Better Mental Health? and also offered a few tips for making family mealtime work better. And that's news we can all use, even if we're not homeschooling!
• Visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self-control, the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home. ~David O. McKay

Dear friend, don't let the bustling culture determine the needs of your own children. You get to choose how they grow up. You can protect their time, energy, and imagination. You are the gatekeeper of the garden of their childhood. ~Ainsley Arment

Resource Spotlight:

This free webinar takes place this evening, so very time-sensitive! Learning to Write: Getting the Right Start! is a free 45-minute workshop Q&A provided by HSLDA. This workshop will help you introduce K-6 students to writing and cultivate their love of writing. 

Speaking of writing, one resource we liked a lot, especially for middle grades was Fix It! Grammar from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). Their Structure and Style writing method is well-known for teaching composition. Fix It! Grammar is a series of six books that teach grammar skills and knowledge by having students find and correct errors in short daily passages that tell a story. It's an interesting and fun way to practice using grammar skills.

See our full review: Fixing Grammar with IEW

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a Drivers Ed course! Did you know? I remember that when my kids were teens learning to drive, my state still required new drivers to learn from a driving school, so you will need to check what the laws are where you live. But either way, the Friendly Drivers Ed course will be a big help! It covers how to pass the exams to get the license, basic car science, safety, maintenance, and ownership concerns that every one of us needs to know. 

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

Curious about Civil Air Patrol, which I mentioned in one of the news stories? Here's an article I wrote about the organization in 2016 when my son graduated from high school: From the High School Lesson Book - Civil Air Patrol

Our daughter just graduated from university, and this is the season for graduations! Got me thinking about many of the graduation traditions like the cap and gown, and I remembered mentioning a few of those traditions when I wrote about my son's high school graduation a few years ago. I suppose I should share about my daughter's latest achievement here - watch for that post coming soon! For now, you can check out: From the High School Lesson Book - Graduation

My personal coffee break reading:

Fair As A Star by Mimi Matthews

The Keys to Gramercy Park by Candice Sue Patterson

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - April 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• One of the enduring misconceptions about homeschooling is that kids are missing out on socialization. Personally, I don't think people know exactly what they mean by the word when they ask that stereotypical question: What about socialization? The article Examining the Socialization Myth at the Homeschool Review Crew website addresses the question and some possible answers. 
• Apparently, we're starting to see a shift in what young people pursue after high school and apprenticeship type programs are gaining in popularity while college enrollment is not. Not The Bee summarizes in Great News: More and more young people are foregoing college and taking up apprenticeships instead. As their article concludes, certainly a college education is needed for some career choices, but unless it's a necessity for what your high schooler wants to pursue, check out other options. My recommendation is to find the most efficient way to get to the job or career you're after, and you might be surprised how often it's possible and beneficial to bypass college to get there.
• Speaking of alternatives to college, here's a homeschooled student in Australia that's on a fast track to learning sales, marketing, and business, and basically apprenticing in his father's business. 'Why wait till I'm 18?': Teen makes 30k a year while finishing school (from news.com.au)
• HB 127 has been introduced in Ohio, which would lift some of the paperwork and approval burden from parents wishing to homeschool. Ohio bill loosens home schooling requirements, as reported by NBC. Follow what the HSLDA legal team is recommending regarding Ohio legislation, and visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

Don't waste a lot of time and money pushing kids in a direction they don't want to go. Instead, find out what weirdness they excel at and encourage them to do that. Then get out of the way. ~Seth Godin

The best education does not happen at a desk, but rather engaged in everyday living - hands-on, exploring, in active relationship with life. ~Vince Gowman

Resource Spotlight:

If you have a high school student that will graduate this year, you're probably making plans to celebrate their achievement―and yours! Some homeschool groups get together for graduation ceremonies, present diplomas, and all of that, but not all do. If you're looking to do any part of it yourself, you might want to check out this How-to post of mine: Transcripts? Diplomas? How do you do those? You'll find links there to some companies that provide tools to help you with the transcript and the diploma.

That includes a link to my 2018 (and 2016) review of  Homeschool Diploma - Celebrating Homeschool Graduations.

 SchoolhouseTeachers.com will be honoring seniors during the 2023 Senior Recognition. If you have a graduate in the house, send in a photo of your senior and a favorite quote, Scripture, or plans for the future (280-character limit). Seniors will be showcased in the SchoolhouseTeachers.com Facebook group, Instagram, and Twitter pages, beginning May 29th. Visit the Activity Calendar section of your Member Dashboard to find full details. 

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

Homeschool convention season is also beginning, so here's a guide to getting the most out of one if you go: Do You Attend Homeschool Conventions?

Links to help you find conventions near you:

2023 List of Christian Homeschool Conventions, Conferences, and Retreats (The Homeschool Compass)

Great Homeschool Conventions

Teach Them Diligently 2023 Convention Locations

My personal coffee break reading:

Women Talking by Miriam Toews (just finished!)

After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller (also just finished!)

When Tomorrow Came by Hannah Linder

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber 

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.