Homeschool: A Social Affair!

When people find out I homeschool my two boys, I get different responses from different types of people. First, there's the teacher response: "What?!? Aren't you concerned about your children's education?" Why, YES! I am. I'm so concerned about my children's education that I'm willing to devote the next 13 years of my life to making sure their educational needs are being met. No one knows my child better than I. I can individualize their school work to make sure they learn everything in a way they understand best.

Then there's the guilty parent response. These are the parents who typically spend 40+ hours a week at work. They drop their children off at the sitter, the sitter sends them off to school for 8 hours, they go back to the sitter's house, then finally somewhere around 6pm mom shows back up. There's just enough time to get home, eat dinner, have a bath, and put their child to bed. These parents typically respond angrily. They want to know why I think I'm so much better than the teachers at school. I try to explain that my choice to homeschool does not mean I think I know better than the teachers, it simply means that I know my children better. Therefor, I can teach while focusing on their individual needs.

Last, there is the social butterfly parent. These parents are usually very upset that my kids are not being socialized. This is probably my favorite discussion to have with other parents! How many of you remember sitting in your classroom and whispering to your best friend about what you wanted to do during recess, only to have your teacher stop what she's doing, turn around and say, "This is a place to learn, NOT a place to socialize!"? I was told to be quiet in school more than I was told to do my homework. So where is all of this socializing taking place that my children are missing out on? My children play sports, they play instruments, they meet once a week with a group of other homeschooled children to play at the local parks. We also finish school work around noon and meet with our friends for a Wii marathon or perhaps a luncheon. Once a month we take a field trip with other children. We go to museums, art shows, the zoo, the aquarium, etc.

One of the best parts of homeschooling is that there are weeks when we actually spend more time socializing than we do book work. We socialize with children and adults of all ages! My children aren't confined to a 20 minute recess with 40 children their own age. They learn to play just as nicely with the 3 and 4 year olds as they do the 30 and 40 year olds in our group. If you have concerns about socializing, you may want to walk down the halls of your child's school and see what's going on!