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Hello Lee,

 

I’m happy to share what I know about the local Christian homeschool prom in our area last month. I had hoped to have this to you sooner, but it has been one whirlwind of a month!

 

Through one of the mothers I met at the Christian homeschool co-op my son attends, I learned that here is a local network for Christian families that plans activities for teens that are homeschooled. She directed me to the leaders of that group (all communication was handled via e-mail and Evite).

 

The prom was organized by two mothers of homeschooled students. They sent out information, via Evite, about the prom about 3 months ahead of the date. Students had to be a junior or senior in high school, between the ages of 16-19. The Evite contained all the information about the event: date, time, place, specific dress code, ticket costs (purchasing tickets earlier was cheaper than waiting; there were rolling deadlines for doing this). In RSVPing, students had to select one of 3 dinner menu options. The prom was held on the an authentic riverboat.  Included in the ticket price (besides the venue & the meal) was a DJ and roaming photographers (for random pictures) with each student receiving a CD of pictures a couple of weeks after the event (of course, there were many pictures also taken by the students themselves that showed up on Facebook.) The women who organized the prom had arranged for chaperones to roam through the venue-and the students were allowed to be in more than one room (e.g. dining/dancing in one room; tables set up to hang out in another).

 

What made this an extra special evening were the creative ideas by two families from the homeschool co-op we are part of:

 

• Pre-Prom picture taking @ the home of one of the seniors: this was scheduled from 5:30-6:30 to give ample time for plenty of pictures to be taken. I dubbed this event the “Pre-Prom Parent Paparazzi Party”. The family had set up outside a table beautifully decorated with flowers & hors d’oeuvres (they live on acreage, so I can’t call it their “backyard”.) The homeowners (parents of a senior girl) had arranged to transport the 14 students who came to the pre-prom picture taking by driving all of them in their RV. Yes, all 14 students had some type of seat in the RV, with the parents driving. They had looked into getting a limo for this group to ride in-but the total cost from beginning to end of the evening would have been $800. I applaud the creativity of this family-and the students had fun!

 

• Another family graciously planned a Prom After Party at their home. Not only did they agree to serve the group until the wee hour of 1:30 am at their home, but they also arranged rides for the students from the prom venue at 11 pm back to their home (about a 20 mile trip). There were a few parents who volunteered to drive students from the venue to this family’s home, which freed up the rest of us (at least until 1:30 am!). This parent was so organized that she had the students bring a change of clothes to the Pre-Prom home which she transported to her home, so that they could change when they got there, approximately 11:30 pm. Families were asked to contribute snacks & sweet treats for the after party which she also transported in her van. When I arrived to pick my son, the teens were still energized and having a great time! It was a bit of a Cinderella moment though because, as you’ll see from the picture I’ve attached, when we left the pre-prom festivities, the students were resplendently dressed, but by 1:30 am, all were casually attired in jeans and shorts.

 

One of the questions we’ve all been asked, with regard to homeschooling high school, is “what about prom?” I can now say “What About That Prom!!” The Sacramento area Christian homeschool network parents had the vision to create this event for the students. Within our co-op, two families took the initiative to add some extra special activities for the kids. The pictures posted on Facebook looked very similar to ones I was seeing of friends’ teenagers at their formal events at the end of the school year. It was an extra special night. My son is looking forward to next year’s prom when he’s a senior; those that graduated will have wonderful memories of this special night, part of the culmination of their homeschooling years.

 

Blessings,

Donna