Those who homeschool?

Question

what are some specific ways you provide your children with social interaction?

Answer 1

Park days with your local homeschool group

Classes at the zoo and museum

One day a week co-op

LIFE :)  

Answer 2

Volunteer in the community, get involved at church, and join a homeschool support group in your neighborhood. My kids also take karate and  participate in junior lifeguards.

Best of Luck!

jana

http://www.purehomeschooling.com

Answer 3

I take my children with me when I run errands.  They interact with the banker, the mailman, the lady in line behind us, etc.

I take my children to the park and other places where children congregate.  They easily make friends, with children their own age as well as those older or younger than they are.

Both of the above are instances of what I call "real world" socialization, as school is about the ONLY place where you are forced to socialize with people born the same year as you and living in roughly the same neighborhood.  The real world is much more diverse.

Both of my older children play baseball, and have for several years.  They have friends on their own team and on others.  They are on separate leagues, so while we are at games for one child the other one is running around with his/her friends.  A few of those friends are homeschooled, but most are privately schooled and some are public schooled.

Both of my children are in Scouts.  The other children in their troops are mostly public school students, though atleast one of the children attends private school.

Both children attend church, where about half of the children are homeschooled (because one of the families that homeschools is large, with ten children) and the others are a mix of private and public schooled students.

Both children regularly spend time with their friends and/or young cousins.  They socialize with neighbors (and not just child neighbors, but the elderly couple, the middle aged man and his young adult son, the family with three older children...).

We are a part of a homeschool association which gets together for field trips and other activities, such as ice cream socials, dances.  This association participates in the Spelling Bee, Geography Bee, has dances for the older students, Game Day...there are so many activities I can not name them all nor do we have time to participate in all of them but it is nice to know the option is there.

My daughter volunteers with the Miracle League.  In case you do not know, it is a baseball league for special needs children and young adults, and they have volunteers that accompany these special players on the field and help them out there.

I volunteer at the Center for Birds of Prey, and my children regularly go with me on calls to pick up ill or injured birds (Eagles, Owls, and other raptors) to take back to the center.  They love meeting the people who found the bird, and socialize with the other staff and volunteers at the center, asking questions.

We participate in programs for homeschoolers at our local museum, the state museum and the zoo.

We participate in activities with other children at the arts and crafts stores and the home improvement stores.

We visit the library regularly, where my children can comfortably find their way around and like to socialize with the librarian.  We were sad when our favorite librarian retired several years ago, and it is always nice to run into her at the grocery store or post office on occasion.

My children attend VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our own church and a church neighboring our property.  During both of these programs, they meet new faces and easily make friends.

They attend various summer camps (day-neither have been away for camp yet) geared towards their interests.

They are involved in 4-H, Drama, Piano Lessons...

You get the point.  They are exposed to a wide variety of people, and a wide variety of teachers.  My children are not lacking in socialization, and most of the homeschoolers I know do just as much.  It is easy, because our children are not loaded down with homework, and their days are not completely taken up by school (we usually finish our lessons by lunch and have our afternoons free for activities or projects).

I hope this helps.

EDITED TO ADD: Their newest socialization is pen pals!  It is great.  We have "adopted" a family in two other countries to write back and forth with-me to the other childrens' mother, and my children to her children.

Answer 4

My son is older (he just turned 15) and we just started homeschooling this year... He volunteers in several places throughout the year.. He loves it and meets all kinds of people including kids his age.

Answer 5

Well, I'm involved in/have been involved in...

Fencing club

Two different community art classes

Braille class

Transition club <a program for blind teenagers like myself>

Guitar lessons

Bass lessons

I play in a band of friends

National Federation of the Blind camps, conventions, activities, and programs

Robotics club

Poetry club

Chess club

Volunteering with other teens at the local library

Volunteering at the senior center

Volunteering at a Special Equestrians program

Field trips with other homeschoolers

Playing in a band I formed with friends

Horseback riding

Toastmasters International

People to People International

Lead America

Soccer

Band camp

Summer Reading programs at the library

Blind sports camps

Park days and Beach days with the local homeschool group

Dances with the homeschool group

Prom with the homeschool group

Prom with my boyfriend as a guest at his public school

Going as a guest to football games and other events with my public school friends

Going places with homeschooled and public schooled friends

Science fiction conventions

Duel enrolling in college classes and participating in activities on campus

Piano lessons

Kiyaking

Performing at open mic nights at coffee shops and other venues

Going to open mic nights with friends just to listen and have fun

Yearbook club with homeschoolers

...and a lot more.