Social interaction

How important is it for your children to be socially interactive when you home school them? Learning to get along with others is a learning experience isn't it?

Learning to get along with others is important, and homeschooling is a wonderful opportunity to provide social learning experiences that public schools don't provide. It all depends on the effort and time parents want to put into their children. If they network with others in their program, there are as many, if not more, opportunities for field trips and outings for homeschooled kids as there are for public school kids. The difference is that in public schools, the outings are usually with kids their own age, often only with the ones in their own class. Those who are homeschooled are often with kids whose ages vary. That provides an opportunity for them to learn how to get along with kids of varying ages.

Another benefit of homeschooling in the area of socialization is that parents can take their own children on outings that provide socialization with adults. The kids can join clubs and sports teams. The possibilities for socialization for homeschooled kids is endless, whereas public schools are rather limited.

I know this must sound like a commercial for homeschooling, but it's not meant to be. Socialization is very important for children and I'm just tired of hearing how homeschooling doesn't provide that when, depending on the parents, it does. Not only that, but it can be provided more naturally than it is in public schools.

It is so true that homeschooled children are more socialized than your public school students and in a much better way. They can easily socialize with any age group. By the way, socialization skills are learned in the home and family not in all the extracurricular activities you can put your child in.

I think the socialization skills of home schooled kids are better then that of kids in the public school system simply because there is more structure and more 1 on 1 adult supervision.

I think that's true, Johnny. I think more and more, people are finding out that homeschooled kids actually have much better socialization skills than kids in public schools. When you think about it, kids in public schools don't get that much time to socialize at school. When they do, it's usually only with kids their own age. Homeschooled kids socialize more with people of all ages.

There are homeschooling groups all over the place now that you can get your kids involved with. Everybody else is right - the interaction they will experience spending time with other homeschoolers is more diverse than what they would get in a classroom. I know the homeschooling group in my area plans outings and field trips a lot more often than they would experience in school. Then they also get together a couple of times a week to allow the kids to study together and just socialize.

One of the main reasons I don't home school my kids is because I think that social interaction is very important to kids. I know they have a home school group here where I live but I don't think it's the same as the every day interaction they get at school.

I think it is extremely important to know what type of interaction your children are really having every day at school, Queenie. The sad thing is that it isn't always good interaction that they are getting at school. Socialization skills are actually learned in the home with the parents and siblings. They are only practiced when the children are out with others in public. It isn't necessary as a homeschool family to have your child participating in every activity that comes along. Be careful not to overdue your child's socialization, too.