Some ideas of what kinds of social programs there are for kids who are home schooled...(ages 9-12) ?

Question

I've been homeschooled for a long time and now my two little sisters and brother want to do it. I've always played tennis (up to six hours a day) and so I've never had to worry about keeping myself busy and/or social.

Now that my little sister and twins (brother sister) want to homeschool, I want to make a list of options they can choose from to keep them busy/active/social. ....Especially social for the twins, because they are quite shy and are 12 years old...

Any ideas would be great. (Just kind of brain storming right now...

Answer 1

Ah, you can't be too clueness.  Not with a computer and the internet.  Do a search for 4-H in your area and learn all about it.  It is a wonderful club program for children of all ages.

Formal home-school groups plan many activities together.  The parents have meetings and arrange field trips, gym days, team sports, co-op classes, picnics, parties, etc.  We had neighbors that were also homeschooling and we got together for fun things nearly every day.

We have done 4H clubs (horsemanship, woodworking, cooking, sewing, knitting, etc.).  

My daughters were on the high-school equestrian team.  

My sons played little league baseball and home-school league baseball, and they participated on teams for basketball, wrestling, and football, Ultimate (frisbee) etc.... Check your community newspaper for activities for children and families.  One son joined a wood carving class at the art center.

Go online to HSLDA.org and look for links to your state and community.  There are many people in your area that are like you and want to get together with others for events and activities.

Find out if any of the local people are in home-school groups.  Some are casual and made up of people that just want the kids to play together at the park for a while.  Others have what they call, "Friday School" when all of them get together and take classes from the parents that sign up to teach.  We've done science classes, drama, report writing, biology, chemistry, art (drawing, painting, ceramics, etc.), the list is as long as the ability within each family.  

Some people like to start reading groups -- the children all read the same book and get together to talk about it.  Others like to have regular game nights --- once a week or once a month --- along with a potluck meal.  

Group field trips include aviation museums, meat packers, leather workers, electrician shops, the zoo, boating, camping, etc. It's easy to figure out what things are interesting to 12 yr olds and then go to see those things.  Many businesses hold job-fairs for home-schoolers to see what the working world is like.  

My children were in piano classes and group violin classes.  They joined a local home-school choir and put on very professional concerts for the community.

There is also plenty to do as community service.  One option is to visit a local nursing home on a regular basis.  Get to know the elderly people and talk to them -- learn about their history.  Another option is to volunteer at a food-bank or at a children's day care center.  

My daughter became a regular babysitter for a mom's group bible study (non-homeschoolers) and became good friends with many of the ladies.

Many states have home-school organizations that work within the legislature and also hold conferences and curriculum fairs.  They will have newsletters that you can receive.  I am the editor for our local newsletter in Oregon and receive articles about events from many people.

The key is to not take on TOO much extra activity.  :-)  It can become hard to get any actual studies done if they are "playing" all of the time!  But, many of the group things are very academic and it works out great.

Found this for you:

4-H History

4-H didn't really start in one time or place. It began around the start of the 20th century in the work of several people in different parts of the United States who were concerned about young people.

The seed of the 4-H idea of practical and “hands-on” learning came from the desire to make public school education more connected to country life. Early programs tied both public and private resources together for the purpose of helping rural youth.

During this time, researchers at experiment stations of the land-grant college system and USDA saw that adults in the farming community did not readily accept new agricultural discoveries. But, educators found that youth would "experiment" with these new ideas and then share their experiences and successes with the adults.

So rural youth programs became a way to introduce new agriculture technology to the adults. A.B. Graham started one such youth program in Ohio in 1902. It is considered the birth of the 4-H program in the U.S. When Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service at USDA in 1914, it included boys' and girls' club work. This soon became known as 4-H clubs - Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

Nearing its 50th anniversary, 4-H began to undergo several changes. In 1948, a group of American young people went to Europe, and a group of Europeans came to the United States on the first International Farm Youth Exchange. Since then, thousands of young people have participated in 4-H out-of-state trips and international exchanges. 4-H began to extend into urban areas in the 1950's.

Later, the basic 4-H focus became the personal growth of the member. Life skills development was built into 4-H projects, activities and events to help youth become contributing, productive, self-directed members of society. The organization changed in the 1960's, combining 4-H groups divided by gender or race into a single integrated program.

You can learn more about 4-H history with this 4-H timeline (PDF). You can also visit the 4-H Centennial Web site history section, which includes historic 4-H photographs and songs.

Answer 2

Most areas have homeschool groups.   Homeschool groups usually get together and do a lot of things.

Some of the things my kids have been involved in, in the last year, are

many field trips

fencing lessons

golf lessons

snowboarding/ski lessons

film school - making their own movies

workshops

musicals/dramas

swimming

summer camps

working at camp

Those are just a few.

Answer 3

Look for a homeschool association in your area.  Through that, they will be able to have regular play dates, science fairs, spelling bees, co-op classes, etc.  Ours also hosts an annual father-daughter Valentine dance, book clubs, and the like.

4H and Scouts would be a good outlet.

What programs are there in your community?  Homeschooled children can still participate in mainstream programs, such as baseball, swimming, tennis, etc.

Our local YMCA has homeschool gymnastics programs-they are offered during the day when other children are in school.

Likewise, our local museum and zoos offer programs for homeschoolers.  These are not only educational, but provide an opportunity to socialize as well.

You will not be moving, will you?  Your siblings will still have their friends from school and your neighborhood.  They will still have cousins and the like to play with.  Most likely, they will socialize MORE if they homeschool, because they will make new friends and have more time for socializing.

Perhaps they could also spend time at a local hospital or nursing home, play with babies in the neighborhood-socialization need not only be with people born the same year you were.  They will probably accompany your mother on outings and meet the mail man, meat cutter, etc.

It is not something you need worry about.

Answer 4

they would be allowed to participate in band and/ or

sports programs in the local school.  If that is out of the question- try the local recreation park or YMCA  - they often have programs or classes available for their age group - different sports or activities.

Other options are

dance classes

martial arts

swim team

girl / boy scouts

4H

Answer 5

4-h, girl scouts\boy scouts, summer sports programs,---contact local chamber of commerce---they would know of public programs that they could volunteer\join, check with local churches--4-h has cooking\sewing\small animals etc etc--good luck