Of (Homeschool) Parents and (Homeschool) Proms

PROM!A week ago, my teenage daughter went to a prom for the first time. She was invited by her friend in football school. She was excited about buying a dress and getting new make-up. (Thankfully, neither one came out to be expensive.) I was simply excited about the fact that my homeschooling daughter was going to have the opportunity to experience a homeschool prom.

I didn’t go to any prom and I attended one graduation ball when I was in high school. From what I remember then and from what I hear about proms now, I’m guessing this homeschool prom is quite different.

Thankfully, my daughter didn’t mind that her dad and I planned to follow to the hotel an hour before the party would end. I was so curious about how this homeschool prom came about, so I wanted to meet the organizers. When my husband and I got to the entrance to the ballroom, we saw about eight to ten parents, sitting around a table outside the door. They were chatting, having snacks and drinking wine. I met some of these homeschooling parents, whose kids were currently partying inside. As they offered us snacks and wine, I learned that they were a group of less than ten homeschooling families who organized this prom for their teenage children and their dates. They booked the venue, arranged for the food and music, and even strung up the lights and decorated the ballroom. Altogether, there were about 30 teenagers at this prom.

I asked if I could take a photo of my daughter and her date (since I wasn’t able to take a nice one at home). One mom assured me, “Don’t worry.  We hired a professional photographer who is taking all their photos, especially since we’re not allowed to go inside…And that’s also why we are having our own little party here outside.” 🙂

So we didn’t go inside.  But as curious and as excited as we were, some of us took quick peeks in whenever the door was opened. I caught a glimpse of beautiful colored string lights, and of young ladies in beautiful dresses and young men in suits dancing and sitting and talking. And we all heard the loud dance music, of course.

After briefly chatting with some of the other homeschool parents, my husband and I went to the hotel lobby to have drinks while waiting for the prom to end. When it did, I rushed back to take a quick snapshot of my daughter and her date. Then we said our thank yous and goodbyes and called it a night.

It wasn’t a big affair, but it was fun. Not too fancy, yet fancy enough. So that’s a prom, homeschool style.

 

Leave a Reply