Need middle school graduation ideas or graduation from 8th grade ideas for homeschool? Or, wondering about a middle school graduation ceremony or grad party at home (or even how to celebrate middle school graduation during quarantine)? Here’s how to host a graduation ceremony, the best middle school graduation party ideas, how to have a graduation ceremony at home, and even the best graduation gifts for the big day!
BEST MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADUATION IDEAS AT HOME / HOMESCHOOL 8TH GRADE GRADUATION IDEAS
A homeschool middle school graduation ceremony is an important celebration to advance your student into high school with all the pomp and circumstance of traditional school! You can opt for no middle school graduation, but it’s really a lot of fun to recognize your 8th grader or homeschooler at this stage in their education!
How do you do a graduation ceremony at home?
Here are great ways to celebrate middle school graduation day and have a memorable graduation ceremony / party with friends and family.
How To Celebrate 8th Grade Graduation:
- Set your graduation date and get your graduation invitations out
- Organize a virtual video party to include friends and relatives who are out of town on the graduation date (complete with a digital guest book)
- Decide on homeschool graduation ceremony ideas that honors achievements and also looks back and highlights your graduate’s school work and extracurricular activities
- Decide if you want a middle school homeschool cap and gown or if they’ll wear a dress/suit or go casual in a graduation tee
- Create an official middle school diploma to present to your graduate
- Get congratulations on middle school graduation signs and decorations to create a festive party mood
- Use homemade banners with inspiring middle school grad quotes
- Give a special graduation speech or message for middle school graduation
- Make a middle school graduation frame with photos from the past school years
- Give a middle school graduation gift basket with favorite goodies and high school supplies as a grad gift
- Use magic wish paper to send up middle school grad wishes
- Create a middle school graduation ornament with keepsakes from school trips or school memories
- Have a graduation selfie booth and a custom graduation hashtag so friends and family can share their photos on social media
- Decorate your car and have a graduation parade around your neighborhood or town
- Plan a middle school graduation trip to somewhere your student has wanted to visit (can even be somewhere local!)
Don’t miss the full tips and ideas for throwing the best at home graduation celebration and fun homeschool graduation ideas below. Keep scrolling!
Does middle school have graduation?
You may be surprised to learn that 8th grade graduation is a thing! The middle school graduation age is usually around 13-14 years old after the eighth grade year. The graduates and their achievements are honored during a ceremony, much like high school or college graduations. It’s not a mock graduation ceremony (or a fake graduation ceremony), it’s a real graduation ceremony for homeschoolers!
What is a middle school graduation ceremony?
A middle school graduation ceremony is just like other graduation ceremonies (like for high school or college): it celebrates 8th grade students and honors their journey into high school. Graduation homeschool ceremonies are fun for both middle school and high school, so don’t miss those milestones! Graduating homeschool is an exciting time!
IMPORTANT TIP: ALWAYS CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS TO INSURE THAT YOU ARE MEETING ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR HOMESCHOOLING IN YOUR AREA, INCLUDING FOR GRADUATION.
What do you call 8th grade graduation?
Eighth-grade celebrations are often just called 8th grade graduation or middle school graduation. However, many also assign graduation theme names to the graduation ceremony or the graduation party and may also use those theme names.
How To Graduate Homeschooling Middle School
How to graduate from homeschool middle school will be different for every family and will depend on a variety of factors.
How do you homeschool in middle school?
- Understand state homeschool laws and requirements
- Consider the age and stage of your homeschooler
- Look at school work level
- Ask your kids what they want to include their studies
- Use a curriculum or create your own middle school courses and resources
- Keep track of attendance, lessons, and field trips
- Work on life skills
- Facilitate social skills
- Get your kids involved in volunteering, community service, and extra-curricular activities
- Start looking ahead to high school
How do homeschoolers celebrate graduation?
Wondering how do middle schoolers celebrate graduation? You can have a homeschool graduation ceremony the same as traditional school graduation ceremonies. A homeschooler’s graduation can take place at home, as part of a local homeschool graduation ceremony group, or even just a graduation party at home or a party venue. At home commencement celebrations really are a thing — the same as public school graduations or traditional school graduation ceremony!
What is the name of a middle school diploma?
In the United States, there is no official designation for middle school graduation. The 8th grade or middle school diplomas are usually just called general diplomas and, if having a middles school homeschool graduation, people refer to them as a homeschool graduation certificate or a middle school diploma / 8th grade diploma.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Homeschool High School: Do homeschoolers have a graduation ceremony?
OK!
Let’s get to our at home graduation ideas!
How To Plan A Graduation Ceremony for Middle School
These 8th grade/middle school graduation activities and ideas will help you have a fantastic graduation from home!
At home graduation ceremony ideas can be as small or as elaborate as you and your homeschooler want it to be — whether it be a simple backyard graduation ceremony or a full graduation party at a different venue!
How do you organize a graduation ceremony?
A graduation ceremony at home will be a little different than a graduation ceremony at a venue (like a school, etc.). Some things to consider when organizing an at-home graduation ceremony:
- What type of graduation ceremony do you want? (Will it be a traditional graduation ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance or will be more of a casual backyard graduation?)
- Thank about what will you use as a DIY graduation stage or presentation area.
- Plan seating and bathroom options.
- Create an official graduation diploma.
- Decide if you want to get 8th grade graduation pictures taken.
- Create a middle school graduation slideshow honoring the grad’s accomplishments over the years.
- Determine if you and/or your grad want to give a graduation speech.
- Decide if there will be food and what kind (a sit down dinner, buffet, cookout, finger food, just snacks, etc.).
- Select a date and send invitations.
Middle School Graduation Ceremony Ideas
Here are fun ways to graduate a homeschooler from 8th grade.
A great thing about graduating from homeschool middle school is that your DIY graduation ceremony can be anything you want and tailored specifically to your homeschooler!
Middle School Graduation Ceremony Ideas:
- Graduation announcements can be online announcements emailed or texted to guests, professional announcements, or even these affordable Amazon graduation announcements that can be personalized. You just need a way to let your graduation guests know when it is and what’s going to happen (will there be a party after, etc.).
- Middle school graduation traditions can include a full grad ceremony with awards and honors, cap and gown, and party, or can be super casual!
- The graduation order of ceremony is up to you for a homeschool graduation! A traditional graduation ceremony usually includes a processional (“Pomp and Circumstance”) with your student walking in, a presentation of flags, a message from the school dean (in homeschooling, the parent), a student speaker address /student graduation speech, the commencement address, and presentation of the diplomas. However, as a homeschool student, you may find that you want to do something less formal and instead have something like a slide show of achievements, etc.
- Don’t forget to have a virtual middle school graduation streaming for out of towners!
- Decide if your grad wants to give a middle school graduation speech / what you will say about your graduate during the ceremony. (There’s no requirement for a speech for middle school graduation! If you and your student are not comfortable with this, don’t do it!)
- Make a middle school graduation video of different pictures of your graduate over the last 8 school years that you can show during the ceremony or play on a loop. (We used a digital frame like this for this at a party we had and it worked great for a memories slide show!)
- Decide on a fun playlist of songs for middle school graduation (during the ceremony and after for the graduation party).
- If you plan on having a longer ceremony, create a middle school graduation program that will list out the sequence of graduation events for your guest.
- If your graduate is wearing a graduation cap and gown, you may want to have a turning of the tassel. (Search online for a turning of the tassel script on what to say during tradition.)
How To Make A Graduation Program
Your graduation at home doesn’t necessarily need a graduation ceremony program. However, if you are planning a longer ceremony, you may want a graduation program.
You can order custom ones online or make a free graduation ceremony program easily on free sites like PicMonkey.com and Canva.com. Grab some quality graduation program paper like this and print it at home to save money!
A middle school graduation program can include:
- Picture of graduate
- Middle school student’s full name
- Date of graduation
- Graduation agenda (sequence of graduation events)
- An invitation statement to join the graduation open house or grad party after the program
See an example of graduation program here (or just search online for examples of graduation ceremony programs).
Middle School Graduation Attire
Homeschool middles school graduation attire and what the graduate wears (as well as what you and the guests wear) is up to you since you are having your graduation in home!
Middle students often take the opportunity to dress up and wear special middle school graduation dresses or suits.
In other cases, students will wear middle school graduation gowns. (You can find inexpensive cap and gown packages for middle school and homeschool high school graduation).
You can also decide to go completely casual and wear middle school graduation t shirts (I love this one)!
Whatever you decide, be sure to let your guests know with something like “casual attire” or “semi-formal attire” on the graduation invitations.
How To Throw A Middle School Graduation Party
A middle school grad party is a super fun way to say congrats on middle school graduation! These work whether you’re need small graduation ceremony ideas as just a family graduation or you’re having a large graduation party to celebrate your middle school student going into high school!
Use this as a reference to create your homeschool graduation supplies list!
Middle School Graduation Theme Ideas
Fun 8th Grade Graduation Party Themes:
- Glow Dance Party
- Favorite Sport Theme
- Emoji Graduation Party Theme
- Under The Sea Pool Party
- Glitz and Glamor Influencer Party
- Bookworm Smart
- Smart Cookie (with a cookie bar)
- Follow Your Dreams
- Oh The Places You’ll Go (use colors and decorations from the book and get party ideas here)
- Artistic (art / music)
- Foam / Bubble Dance Party (this is my dream for a party!)
- Beach Theme Party
- TikTok Party
Middle School Graduation Decoration Ideas and Party Fun
Fun graduation at home ideas:
- Get middle school graduation party invitations
- Have a middle school graduation backdrop for a selfie station and graduation pictures
- Get middle school graduation car decorations for a parade
- Create a homeschool graduation yearbook and have people sign middle school graduation yearbook messages
- Play middle school graduation games (these graduation printable games are perfect!)
- Use this magic flying wish paper (one of our favorite all time party supplies!) to have everyone write wishes and then send them up all at the sam
- Have signs with motivational middle school graduation sayings and middle school graduation words of wisdom
- Use this fun graduation keepsake for people to give advice to middle school graduates, quotes, or notes (I also love THIS – which is really for a wedding, but can be adapted to a keepsake for graduation by asking guests to write one word that reminds them of the graduate and then the graduate can hang it on their wall as a reminder of how awesome they are!)
- Have a graduation sleepover as one of those fun things to do after graduation!
Graduation Gifts for Middle School
Whether you’re looking for the best middle school graduation gift ideas for daughter / middle school graduation gifts for her or middle school graduation gift ideas for son, these will work!
Best Middle School Graduation Gifts
- Cash (always a great gift for grads!)
- New laptop for high school
- Gift cards
- 8th Grade level up gamer shirt
- Graduation compass bracelet
- Class Of sweatshirt
- Next Chapter bookmark
- Snack box
- Fun middle school graduation books:
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