Elijah Dean's Graduation 2020!

I really wanted to make Elijah Dean's graduation special despite the circumstances of COVID 19. We knew that we would not be able to do any kind of in-person party, and he really didn't want a drive-thru party because it seemed "weird" to him. He acted like he really didn't care if we did anything. Ha, that is not the way I run! We worked so hard to get to this point, and I was having a celebration one way or another, darn it! I ordered his diploma from our state's homeschool organization and told him to pick a color for his cap and gown. He chose forest green which is actually our state's homeschool organization's color and what his older brother graduated in so many years ago.

On the day of his graduation, we created a room on Facebook (per two of his friends' requests) and some of his friends joined to congratulate him and talk for a little while. I wish I had planned that part a little bit better, because many of the people who may have joined didn't have enough warning or are not on Facebook. However, the rest of the day was great!

We enjoyed a lovely cake from Whole Foods. It was very, very rich. Elijah Dean really enjoyed the design.

We took many, many photos! Elijah hates having his photo taken, so this was by far not his favorite part. The first picture represents his thoughts on the whole thing. My Mom bought him a sign for the front yard. Most of the public school graduates in our area have them in their front yards, so we thought it would be fun to have one, too.

I really racked my brain to think of a unique way to have his friends, family and important adults in his life involved. I finally remembered an idea I had seen months ago to have a unique guest book at your party. Buy a Jenga game and have everyone sign their name on a block. I decided to go with that idea but upgrade to a large yard-size Jenga game, so people could have their own block and have lots of room to decorate. I secretly drove all over the county, dropping off blocks and retrieving them later. Elijah never suspected a thing. We still have more blocks for out-of-town people to decorate. So this will be an evolving project, but we had lots of lovely blocks to give him on his special day. Everyone was so eager to be part of his day and they did a wonderful job. It was a perfect gift for Elijah. He loves them.

Lastly, we presented him with his diploma. Congrats, Elijah! We are so proud of you.

Blessings, Dawn