“And what about socialization?”
That is the second most common question that I get when I drop the homeschool bomb. Honestly, I find it a frustrating question. When did being in structured activities with your same aged peers for six hours a day, five days a week become the gold standard for adequate socialization?
From a pure numbers perspective, my kids come in regular contact with about the same number of kids as their schooled peers. Between the homeschool drop-off program, Pennsylvania Girlchoir, chess club, soccer, tennis lessons, sewing class, t-ball, etc., they are around other kids nearly every day. They each have a core group of about six close friends – some of whom are homeschooled, some of whom are not – that we get together with regularly for playdates.
Unlike schooled kids, they spend a lot of time with people of all different ages. We visit my parents weekly. We spend two hours each week talking and visiting with the homebound elderly as part of volunteering for Meals on Wheels. At homeschooling events, they may spend time playing with a toddler or talking to one of my adult friends. I think that homeschooling offers another social advantage for us. While we have some activities that we stick with all year long and therefore see the same kids each week, we also participate in lots of classes, workshops, and clubs where my children will not know any other kids. My children therefore get plenty of practice in being thrown into new social situations.
Then there is the issue of quality. My friend’s daughter made a new friend (more…)
