I am thinking about home schooling?

Question

How do I go about ensuring my child does not become too issolated?

Answer 1

Don't worry, I am completely home schooled, Do look Isolated to you? anyway, there are many activates your children can be involved in, such as home school choir,which I and my siblings were involved in. Swim clubs, anything you would normally have them do for after school activities, they can do when they're home schooled. My mother took us to Museums of science monthly, parks, and zoo's for Field trips. They're is also a home school prom that they can attend when they're older. for other things like legalizing your home schooling, it really depends on where you live. if you need anymore home school info, feel free to write! P.S. Hope I helped!

Answer 2

I was homeschooled from the fourth grade through high school, and I believe I was a bit isolated. I had a hard time adjusting when I started college -- in fact, I'm still adjusting. Many homeschooling parents involve their children in one or more classes/activities at the local school, such as band, choir, art, or sports. Make sure your children socialize with a diverse group of people. When I was homeschooled, the people I knew were mainly white, middle-class, and Christian. I felt uncomfortable around people from different races and cultures when I met them -- which was rare. When I got to college, though, I was exposed to new ideas -- I met international students from around the world, people from many different religions, and people of every race imaginable. Make sure your children know that there's a life outside their neighborhood, outside their town, and outside the United States. Get them a pen pal, take them to see foreign films, travel if you can afford it. With luck, your children won't be isolated or protected, but will have friends and neighbors of all races, religions, and cultures.

Answer 3

Homeschooling doesn't mean staying at home all the time. There are homeschooling support groups, community lessons/clubs/sports, there are play groups, day camps and week-long camps during the summer, there's simply going out to the store, to the library, on field trips (which homeschool support groups often set up or you can just go out on your own or with a family or two you might meet), there's inviting other people over, going over to other people's places... You just need to be creative and seek things out.

Answer 4

You could try to find a home school support group in your area. In a support group, you can get together with other homeschoolers to do fun stuff, or field trips, stuff like that. That way he can make friends his age who are home-schooled and share his values. You could also get him involved in after-school activities, like if your town has a rec. league of some sort, you could get him into sports. My mom actually found a home-school basketball team when my older brother was in 7th grade. My younger brother is now in 10th grade and we are still involved with that team. And I have been doing ballet since I was 5 (I'm 17 now).
Or if your church has some type of club (Sparks,Pioneers,etc...) he could get involved with, I would recommend that.
There are usually a lot of opportunities available to homeschoolers, you just need to keep your eyes open and look around. It's nice that you are thinking of homeschooling. It's a lot of work, but definitely worth it.

Answer 5

I DO like Quaily Ed's (Edwina??) answer.
But why are you considering home schooling? Is your local school very bad? Could you enroll your kids in a different school in your disctrict or a neighboring district? Maybe a parochial or private school? Home schooling is going to be a HUGE commitment and change for both your kids and YOU.
YOu can enroll your kids in many activities, you are still free to teach your kid all you want after the school day is over. You could send them to school and your kids would get the benefits of BOTH PS and HS!

Answer 6

It's pretty easy.

Even if you go for the curriculum-in-a-box, school-time method, there's no issues. Basically, all the things school kids do in and out of school, but without the school.

Sports teams, theater groups, religious groups if you roll like that, homeschool groups, and just general hanging out.

How do you meet people after college? That's how homeschoolers do it.

Answer 7

Get involved in a home school support group, and you can also sign up your child for sports classes, art classes, music classes etc...Spend time with your child, go to the mall, park, store, sporting event etc.....Help your child with his/hers education.

I think that's some of the best ways to help your child not to feel too isolated.

Best of luck!

Answer 8

Get invovled in your local home school group. I don't know which country you live in but if its uk education otherwise can help you to find local groups their number is in the phone book. They will also help with the legal side of things. Also depending on the ages of your children help them to find after school clubs or help with local community groups ect. Home school children also tend to be involved in the social side of their parents lives. Once you take the step you will find that there is a thriving community of home schoolers somewhere near you so don't worry.

Answer 9

Only you can answer this question!

What do you do to maintain contact and relationships with other people? Do the same for your child.

1. Church meetings and events
2. Sports -- baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, horseback riding.
3. Friends -- phone calls, visits.
4. Potluck dinners
5. Gym play days
6. Grocery shopping
7. Neighbors -- visit, rake their leaves, bake cookies for them
8. Go see grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.... etc.
9. Community service: Visit the elderly in nursing homes, make lap blankets for hospital patients and quilts for new babies, volunteer in soup-kitchens.
10. The children can offer to rake leaves, shovel snow, sweep sidewalks etc.. for others.
11. Piano lessons (or violin, guitar, tuba, flute, trumpet, drums, the list is very long!)
12. Choir practice and performance.
13. Dance -- Ballet lessons, hip-hop, ballroom, clogging, etc....
14. Language classes -- spanish, latin, chinese, french, german, etc. etc. etc.
15. Bicycle rides
16. Park days
17. Museums -- we have a great Aviation Museum in our area.
18. 4-H (just about every activity you can think of!)
19. County Fair and State Fair
20. Concerts, Plays, Lectures
21. Entrepreneurship: Woodworking, sewing, knitting, painting, cooking, housecleaning -- anything that will sell at a booth or earn a buck.
22. Rock and Gem shows
23. Camping, fishing, hunting.....
24. Summer camp and weekend camps.
25. Debate club
26. Toastmasters
27. Train rides
28. Zoo
29. Science Fair
30. Geography Bee
31. Spelling Bee
32. Restaurants
33. Dog obedience classes
34. Garage sales -- shop and sell!
35. Go shopping!!!
26. Used book stores
27. Libraries
28. River rafting
29. Mountain climbing or hiking
30. Children can tutor other children too.
31. Young Eagles or other Air Cadet type program
32. Swimming
33. Movie theater
34. Bowling
35. Paint-ball parties
36. Air-soft parties
37. Ultimate Frisbee teams
38. Help run a Christmas tree lot
39. Help someone else to decorate their house.
40. Fund-raisers --- bottle drives, car-washes, candy sales, etc. etc. etc.

Check your community calendar and make a list of upcoming events in which to participate.

I do suggest that you actively pursue things that involve personal contact with people --- eliminate electronic entertainment (TV, video-games, computer games, myspace, instant messaging, etc. etc. etc.)
Children tend to become very isolated when they do not see others face-to-face.

So, if you can come up with a list of your own that satisfies your likes you will have plenty to do with your children.

A list of only 5 things will keep you busy for one school-week.

visit a yahoo group for homeschoolers at:
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/homeschoolanswers

It will be interesting to hear what YOU come up with for your family.

Answer 10

Enrol them in 'leisure' groups - like the Brownies/Cubs and/or swimming classes at the local leisure centre.

A lot of libraries and big book stores have a story time for kids.