Q: How do you handle socialization and extracurricular activities for your children?
A: Socialization: one of the best things about homeschooling is having high standards that you can enforce. Being able to guide your children toward quality friendships, and help them avoid those that will bring trouble, is one of the best benefits of homeschooling. Do not be afraid to steer away when you or your husband sees trouble ahead. Pray for discernment. I have numerous examples of how this is very important. Friends can make or break a child, and it is better to have no friends than the wrong friends. God will work through this aspect of the growing years more than many other ways if your family is like ours and others I've known.
Places/ways to be with others:
church-3 times a week for us, YMCA homeschool PE class, library programs (but be careful of content these days), local homeschoolers teaching classes like art, there used to be a Nature Days program we did weekly, homeschool groups like REACH that take field trips-- I'm sure on FB there are local groups that can outline what is around these days, volunteering together (assisted living: go visit and take homemade pictures; play piano for them), serve meals with homeless shelter, clean cages at pet shelter and pet puppies, music lessons, dance lessons, Parks and Rec Sports, private sport lessons like tennis and fencing, political opportunities to volunteer and serve together...I had a literature group meet in my home that I taught a few times for just about 4 or 5 weeks and had a friend invite us to her group for years (didn't go, but opportunity was there). If you have a skill you could offer to have a few moms and their kids over to learn it or do a craft together or meet up at a park...you have to make the effort since the kids aren't with others otherwise, but it is not hard, and they really do not need tons of time with other kids. Family time is more important.
We were in a homeschool co-op where we had classes with other kids from the time our kids were very young on up, weekly. Lots do not do this, but it was what we liked. The main concern new homeschoolers need to be aware of is that you can lose a lot of valuable time socializing and not doing sufficient school/training your kids. The opportunities ABOUND and are fun and appealing, but to educate, you do need to be home some ;).
Academics do get to where it is an all day thing, but that is middle and high school, though the work was generally all finished by dinner time, so evenings were free. High school this changes some depending on what they've got going on (for example we started dual-enrollment in college classes in 11th gr).
Side note to go with this issue:
Stick to a schedule to help yourself not socialize to a fault, and I heartily recommend an early bedtime. Even in middle school and high school we said to go up to bed at 9 pm. They had time to unwind, read, have good hygiene, etc. and my husband and I needed our time together to unwind. Our very young kids went to bed at 7:30, then 8 was the norm for a long long time. I attribute a lot of the anxiety/depression and underperformance academically that I've witnessed to parents letting their kids stay up late, especially as they got to middle/high school. Early good habits stick with children as they age. I'm not a morning person, but we got the kids up and moving and started school no later than 8 am.
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