Homeschool Socialization: Providing Social Settings for the Your Child

When talking to other parents, online or in-person, about homeschooling, one of the phrases you will frequently hear lobbied against teaching your children at home is “homeschool socialization.” This is due to the perceived lack of social situations that traditional schools provide. However, it has never been a problem for most of the homeschoolers that I know. But that doesn’t mean some families will find it harder to provide social settings for their child. We all want to provide a rich environment to enable healthy emotional development for our children. There are plenty of ways to foster that environment for your child. Below I have detailed a few.

WAYS TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY

HOMESCHOOL SOCIALIZATION

Find a hobby that lets them get involved

Rarely will a child’s only friend group be those that they go to school with. In many cases, they also have those they play with near their own home. But whether you want to ensure a fuller social life, or you don’t live close to other kids, you should look at apps like Yuggler that help you find group activities and clubs near you. Not only can you find another place to socialize, but you can also find extra-curricular activities that help your child further develop and grow.

Consider homeschool experiences

Since I started homeschooling 25 years ago, there have been many changes in this arena. It is becoming more and more common. Once upon a time, you had to search to find a support group. With the advent of Facebook, it is easier to find support groups, field trip groups, teen homeschool groups, and more to connect with other homeschool families.

There are a lot of ways to collaborate with other parents and organizing school trips can be an excellent way to do just that. It brings the group learning experience into your child’s education and also helps to show them that they’re not the only one being homeschooled if they’re feeling a little ostracized.

Give them time away from the homeschool environment

A lot of parents get into homeschooling because they do not like the learning environment that traditional schools represent. However, those aren’t the only learning environments your child can take part in. America’s Finest Summer Camps can show you the opportunities your child has to be a little more independent and to discover that they can learn from more than just one source growing up. There are specialized summer camps for all kinds of kids, too, such as religious camps, sporting camps, 4-H camps, camps for children with autism, and so on, so you can ensure that you choose one that’s a fit for your child.

Focus on the social-emotional side

Social-emotional learning (or SEL) is fast-growing in popularity across the education world, but it’s also a concern for homeschooling parents. As such, there are plenty of resources you can use to teach your child about kindness, generosity, conflict, bullying, and other concepts that they’re going to have to wrestle with when it comes to social situations. A lot of finding your feet socially is down to practice, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare them, too.

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Additional ideas for providing homeschool socialization for your child

Most churches in our neighborhood have weekly children’s programs ranging from AWANA, basketball leagues, and even just weekly pizza after the football game. Attendance at the church is not usually required to participate in most events.

If you don’t want to attend a church, there may be programs at your local public library for children to meet. Ours has everything from toddler story time all the way to teen programs. Furthermore, our librarians are usually accommodating in providing an experience for homeschool children on a certain subject. Many times all you have to do is ask.

My children have also been involved in 4-H (which is not just about animals), and community sports teams ranging from baseball, softball and soccer, fencing lessons, and more. My oldest son participated in the Explorers program (now called Exploring) which offers career-specific programs for youth to delve into such as law, aviation, engineering, etc. I could literally fill pages with ideas for enrichment activities that will lend itself to social interactions.

Our local YMCA offers weekly gym, swim and art lessons. Our local art museum offers a homeschool program. Every single museum I know in a 60-mile radius has some homeschool programs whether they are weekly or monthly. In fact, there are so many activities for homeschoolers to meet that there is even a style of homeschooling called car-schooling because families spend so much time in the car travel from one program to another that they capitalize on the travel time by doing activities in the car.

Don’t Discount Volunteering as a Means of Social Interaction

Volunteering is another post altogether, but it is important to remember that creating a great atmosphere for learning will include volunteerism. When you and your children give time to an organization, your children will once again be learning social skills, but they will also be giving of themselves. Some areas to volunteer are at a local nursing home, soup kitchen, or food pantry.

In fact, there are just so many ways to foster social situations for your children. After you have homeschooled for a couple of years, and someone asks you the “what about socialization question,” you will laugh because you will have a greater understanding of how naturally these interactions occur. Homeschooling provides more opportunities to talk with people of all ages providing a much better foundation for your child overall.

If you’re getting into homeschooling, it’s important to understand that you will be responsible for providing a unique environment to foster your child’s social skills. Just because they will not partake in the traditional “school experiences” doesn’t mean that their experiences will be less enriching. As you can see, there are many different ways to keep your child learning and growing without the traditional school setting.

READ MORE ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING:

SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR HOMESCHOOLING AND RECREATION – By Porch.Com

Questions to Ask Before Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

Before You Begin – Homeschooling Pros and Cons

The Benefits of Homeschooling Autism