People who homeschool;?

Question

part of the appeal of regular schooling is the socialization aspect; how do you provide for your kids to be socialized with other kids?

and to p2o, socializing happens in small ways as well as big ones; even the chance to learn from each other when you hear your schoolmates answer a question the teacher asks contributes to it. It's not just talking out of turn, it's also learned when you are raising your hand to speak and being polite when someone else is called on other than you. There are many aspects to socializing a person.

Answer 1

We belong to a homeschool group called PEACH (Parents Educating At Christian Homes), but ours is not the only group out there. Look around on the web to find one in your area. We have field trips, skating parties, swimming parties, you name it. Our kids are also friends with kids in the neighborhood who attend public school, so they have playdates after school just like alot of other kids. If you belong to a church, have your kids active in the youth activities. Public libraries, museums and parks often offer special classes and activities that kids from all around attend. Enroll them in lessons of some sort: swimming, art, gymnastics, music...you get the point. Many public school systems have opened up their sports programs to be able to include homeschooled children who live within that district. Ask around...you'll be surprised at how much you'll find!

Answer 2

Schooling is the most unnatural socialization in the world. When, for the rest of your life, will you ever spend the majority of your day with people all approximately your own age, all of you oing the same thing. NEVER. School socialization prepares you for only one thing: more school socialization.

Homeschooling provides for dozens and dozens of opportunities to socialize in many positive ways, kinda like real life. And then, homeschooling frees up children's time so they can do a lot of the things they really like. There are homeschool sports if the local schools won't allow homeschooled kids to participate (ours won't). And parents get together to organize science fairs and everything else imaginable. My kids participated heavily in piano, band, gymnastics, basketball, chess, youth group at church, and volunteering, building houses in Mexico, helping the homeless, visiting in nursing homes, and so much more.

My two youngest, adopted, (the others are grown and out and happy and well adjusted) are serious gymnasts. They are in the gym 3 hours a night, 4 days a week. They socialize there, or at piano recitals, or chess tournaments or at church. It is a good thing that they are homeschooled, because they are so active that they don't have time to spend six or more hours in school and another hour on the bus every day.

Once you start homeschooling, you'll never want to give up your children to others for the best hours of their day. It all goes by so fast, that you don't want them to waste any precious moments, let alone hours in school.




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Answer 3

There are little groups I guess you could say that people I know go to called Co-ops. Every family's parent or parents teaches a class and pitches in with cleaning and setting up. The classes are for specific age groups, so the kids can make some new friends. Also, most school districts allow homeschooled kids to participate in band, chorus, sports, ets. The kids still get a social learning experience.

Answer 4

Actually, part of the appeal of homeschooling was that my kids would would not be inundated daily with the school socializing!! It is the school socialization--which means to adopt behaviours, values, attitudes, points of view of the society around you--that worried me first. And just the sense that kids should really have more time to be parented by their own parents instead of strange adults (teachers). (I say this as a former school teacher.)

Now, how do I provide socializing? We do lots of things. We regularly do things with kids from another homeschooling family--I'm talking several times a week. We have weekly park days, have frequent field trips, we try to host a get-together once a month, are part of a club that tries to get together once or twice a month, we'll be invited over to others' houses for play dates or invite them here, my kids have lessons, summer daycamp... And of course family get-togethers (they have 5 cousins fairly close in age). I expect that the older they get, the more they will be getting out. They're only 6 and 9 right now and content with the above activities. I can see the possibility of scouting or an increase in lessons/classes or more regular field trips or other clubs or informal get-togethers.

Answer 5

For us we keep my son busy.
Wednesday we go have dinner at the church and he eats with different friends every time. He then goes to either AWANAs or Team Kids from 6-8

Thursday he has basketball practice for an hour

Friday we have dinner with his grandparents and great grandmother so he spend time enjoying the company of people from other generations

Saturday he has at least one basketball game

Sunday he has church and Sunday School in the morning and childrens chior practice followed by church.

In addition he is on the summer league swim team from March to July. They practice 5 days a week and have meets every Saturday starting in May. We are going to join Boy Scouts next year as well as take science classes at the local observatory and health museum. We also have 2 other homeschool families on our street with boys my sons age that he plays with in addition to occasional get togethers with public school kids as schedules permit (more during the summer).

We are busy. But another thing is that my son is naturally outgoing and gregarious. He can and will talk to anyone. He loves people. So when we are at Walmart he talks to people, at the store, the museum, church, the tire store... where ever he talks and visits. To adults, to children his age, children younger and older. He does great. So we don't worry. And in case there are those who would say wouldn't he love school then? No. We tried it. He hated it and likes being homeschooled. He likes his family, he likes studying the way he wants. He likes learning bible and eating the hot lunch of his choice. He hated the noise and chaos of the bus. He is happy. He is academically at least a year ahead, and socially fine.

Answer 6

Things must have changed since I graduated high school in 92. Back then we weren't allowed to socialize during school, unless you count the 4 minutes between classes, or the 45 minutes for lunch. That comes to, let's see....1 hour and 18 minutes of socializing per day--and half of that was while carreening down to hall to grab books from my locker and getting to my next class in time to NOT get a tardy. My kids (who are homeschooled) get more social time in a day than I got in a week!

Incidently, in case no one else mentions it, there are also co-ops available. They provide group learning for home schoolers.



ADD-ON: I guess I could agree with that, BUT it seems a tad ridiculous to assume that children can only hang out with kids their own age from their own class. My kids have friends right on our block of varying ages, not to mention our big, fat Sicilian family, complete with 11 cousins. They also belong to a play group.

In my own experience, I felt total culture shock when I started my first job after graduation. Not one person I worked with was my age! And if all school friendships were solid, websites like Classmates.com would be out of business and high reunions would be unnecessary. Clumping kids together year after year in groups based on age alone is not at all a natural way to learn how society works.

Answer 7

children who are home schooled get to socialize with a larger group of different people. We volunteer once a week at a thrift store he gets to socialize with adult . He goes to a weekly bible study class on another day. He goes to the library once a week on yet another day when a group of other home schoolers are there. Then he has the phone and the park during his free time. He still sees his friends from public school its just not at school. My son has learned to get along with people of all ages and is also learning in a real life setting instead of staring at 4 walls bored out of his skull

Answer 8

There are so many ways to socialize in homeschooling. Many cities have groups for homeschoolers that organize homework help, socializing, and even field trips. I was in public school until I had two years of high school left, and I socialized more after I was homeschooled. Just being around anyone else you socialize (believe it or not, homeschoolers are not locked in their room until they graduate...well, normal ones)

Answer 9

Home is where they belong. No one knows your child better than you. Another thing is that socializing at school has become a problem, and distraction. I recently started home schooling my 2ND grader and it was the best decision made regarding my sons future. He gets to socialize in group field trips and also by participating in sports and music lessons.. Academics should not involve socializing. Homeschooling produces Home grown Heart!!! LOVE IT

Answer 10

Well, haven't you heard of neighbors, parks, chuches, playgrounds and even the internet.

What kind of socializing goes on in schools.

Bullies

Preppies

Geeks

Nerds

Jocks

You KNOW you can't cross mingle. You KNOW if you're a cute guy BRAIN the top princess Cheerleader will NOT give you to the time of day.

What does this type of socialization teach a child. The SEGREGATION is a way of life.

Is that something GOOD to teach a kid!