Social Outlets for Homeschooled Kids

How much is enough?

The biggest criticism or concern I hear from non-homeschooling families when I mention our own homeschool, is the potential for isolation from other children. I often wonder how much social time it takes to produce a well rounded individual, but seriously doubt it takes a classroom full of children.

There are countless ways for the homeschooling family to insure their kids have the means of developing deep friendships with other children their own age, and have continued opportunities to make new friends along the way. One of the perks to being a homeschooling mom, is I have the privilege to choose those avenues and consequently have a great deal of influence over who my kids hang out with and I’m usually there when they do.

Just a few suggestions for getting your kids involved in communities of children:

1. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and other similar organizations

2. Gymnastics, dance, karate, swim lessons, soccer teams, little league

3. Homeschooling groups, associations, clubs, field trips, homeschooling coops

4. Church groups, Sunday School, Mid-week programs, MOPS, Mom’s Day Out programs, etc.

5. Library activities, often available to young children.

6. Art classes and workshops hosted by area retailers

7. Here’s a revolutionary idea… host your own homeschooling playgroup, art or craft workshop, pizza party, day at the park, day at the museum… whatever suits you. If it’s a hit, make it a regular monthly event. If you’re purchasing supplies, most homeschoolers won’t blink an eye at covering the expense. Charging a couple dollars per child, isn’t usually a problem.

8. Play dates, at any age. When you’re kids aren’t small any longer, you might choose a more mature name, but getting together with friends for nothing but fun, is a very important part of growing up healthy.

So, just how much is enough? How many times a week? This is such a personal choice, every child should be considered on an individual basis. We all have different needs when it comes to the amount of quality time shared with peers. Some kids are naturally more extroverted than others, I think what it really comes down to is assuring that the time spent with other kids is high in value, rather than frequency. If you’re kids seem lonely, you should find more outlets. If they seem to be overly distracted or are having a hard time balancing all the activities you’ve scheduled for them, you should consider tweaking the schedule a bit, possibly removing an outlet or two. Never discard the outlets where deep friendships are most likely to develop, or where they already have.

Our own experience with getting that ever so important social time, is currently somewhat limited to Sunday School, mid-week church activities, weekly gymnastics or karate, and play dates. As our kids get older, we’ll be doing scouts, possibly 4-H, and hosting our own homeschooling group activities.

Do my kids seem deprived? Not at all. Are my kids shy? Not at all. In fact, when my kids are around other children, of any age, they’re usually the most talkative of the bunch. They interact at a level that neither myself or my husband did at their age, and we were not homeschooled. Additionally, my kids seem to be more comfortable associating with people of all ages, including adults, as opposed to only kids their age.