Question for Homeschool Parents

socialization was an issue for the first few months with my older son. we didn't know anyone else and the only groups we could find were very christian, to the point where you had to sign a 'statement of faith' to participate, and of course i could not in good conscience do that.
but once we hooked into the secular homeschooling groups we never, ever lacked for things to do. not only learning co-ops, but field trips, sports, hikes, and lots of just plain hanging out. we had to weed through all the opportunities and make sure we didn't spread ourselves too thinly.
i was on 3 different email lists and participated in 2 co-ops on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. and if there weren't classes in what i wanted my kids to take, i'd teach 'em here. every time i did so (several times a year) my house would be overflowing.
secular groups are small compared to religious groups, but they're out there!
and of course, if you want religious groups, the opportunities are even greater.
don't let that stop you from homeschooling! my kids were with other kids several days per week!
khairete
su

Here was our average 'outside the house' schedule.

Music
Drama
Art
Computer Science
Chess Club
Languages (spanish and latin)
Gymnastics
Breakdance
Aikido
Swimming
Seasonal Sport (Fall = Basketball, Winter = Snowboarding, Spring = Baseball, Summer = Swim/Sail)
** School Break Camps (fall, winter, midwinter, spring, and summer breaks all have great camps!)***

- Yes. Many of these activities were 2x-3x per week. SOME were 5x per week.
- Many days we had 2-3 activities per day. (Which sounds insane to awayschoolers, until you account that that only averages about 4 hours of outside classes, out of a 14 hour day... that still leaves 10 hours to fill. AS OPPOSED to losing all morning hours in 'morning madness', plus school time, and plus daycare time as well if there's afterschool care. Homeschooling means a LOT of time available to schedule.)
- Grand monthly total apx $150-$200 (daytime homeschool classes often cost 20% of what an afternoon/evening class costs)

ON TOP of his outside classes and activities

- 1 playdate every Monday afternoon (set in stone)
- 1 rotating playday every Saturday (he has several awayschool friends that we'd rotate through on Saturdays. 4 friends, meant we saw each about once a month)
- 2+ wanna play/ spur of the moment playdates per week (often fieldtrip style with other homeschoolers... like hitting up a museum or concert or play, but also things like meeting up for lunch and kites, or picnic and beach, etc.)

______

I homeschooled for 5 years. During those years my very extroverted son had about 15 close friends that he saw several times a week, and about 100 'know your name and enjoy haning out with you' type friends from his sports and classes.

Now that we're in public school, he is in a class of 20, and has 3 friends.

His socializing has MASSIVELY GONE DOWNHILL.

And yet... people's first thought keeps being "Well, at least he's around kids now."

Um........

First of all, congratulations on your choice to homeschool. It's a very rewarding experience and I'm sure you will both enjoy it. Second, it is work, but it doesn't have to be grueling. We follow the Charlotte Mason approach - started with classical but realized it wasn't for us - and it works beautifully. Our daughter went from sighing and complaining when it was time to do schoolwork to excitedly looking forward to learning every day and seeking out knowledge from everywhere she could find it. (And her younger siblings are following the same.) It focuses on keeping the curiosity and love of learning alive and learning from the classics and living books. (Just google simply Charlotte Mason and it takes you a great website that has lots of helps and resources.) It actually works very well in family life and doesn't take hours of prep work. As for socialization, there are more than enough opportunities for that. But don't jump in and try to do everything at once. Add one thing at a time and see what works best for your family. Definitely seek out homeschool groups in your area as a starting point. Then look at her interests and let her follow them. For instance if she's interested in music, maybe there's a homeschool choir or band in your area. Also, don't overlook service opportunities as some of the most valuable social experiences. Good luck and have fun turning your home into a house of learning! :)

In my area there are home school groups. The parents get together several times a week, for trips, playing etc as well as teaching the kids together. Say for instance you excel in math and another mom doesn't, but is a literary genius; you would have both children for math and she, english. Other times they may work on "projects" together to ensure they learn that skill. My local YMCA has gym/p.e. solely for homeschoolers, they encounter a lot of other children that way. Most libraries have a storytime or other event in the middle of the day and you will soon find the same people are there, talk, and set up play dates. You will also discover other homeschoolers.

Good Luck!

P.S. In my area you have to let the school board know of your intentions. Twice a year present your curriculum, as well as student exemplars. If you ever decide to switch back to public, you won't have a problem, as they know they are learning the same skills. They also allow you to come in and take standardize tests, if you wish, even the PSAT and SAT!

Hi! My kids are 19 and just turned 17 this week and have never been to school. Look, I don't know why they call it homeschooling 'cos we are never home. The things you will find to do with your daughter will change over time but you will never have a lack unless you choose to.
Your daughter can still do Girl Scouts, Little League, soccer, 4H, anything her "schooled" friends are doing. She can also join any number of homeschool classes, playground days, field trips, museum trips, and play dates.
She can have a much larger social experience than her friends in a classroom. My son has been an interpreter at a living history museum speaking to people from all over the world. My daughter teaches little ones to dance and has been sewing with a group of women who can only be described as grandmotherly. She loves being with them, they love being with her. Her schooled friends think she's weird because she likes being with these women. She thinks her friends are close minded.
Volunteer somewhere. We did the zoo when they were little. Through the years we have added and subtracted where but always do something. I could write a book on the value of volunteering.
But six is so wonderful! You can read together, watch Magic School Bus together, go off on great adventures and learn so much! Find some friends, make a friend out of your librarian, and have fun!!!

Participate or join home school groups in your area, there you will find activities for your children and yourself. The whole family can participate (mom nights out, couples' nights out, etc.soccer, Physical Education, soccer, co op groups, field trips etc) just depend on the group, so it is a good idea to meet different groups until you find that one you like.
Enroll your kids in different programs at a recreation center (or YMCA); you will find sports or activities for just homeschooled kids or kids from public and private schools , depending of the recreation center.
Visit places where you and the kids can volunteer (churches, clubs, etc)
Boy/girl scouts, Heritage girls....
Homeschooling is a wonderful journey, but keep in mind that is a great change of the lifestyle for the whole family. It is challenging but rewarding, it is a huge responsibility, but we love it!

It looks like you're in Atlanta, that's great! All you have to do is look around.
My daughter is in 3rd grade, we're in Gwinnett.
She goes to Brownies, Ballet, church choir, Sunday school, she's in theater, and once a week we go to Summit Academy. There she takes piano, art, and drama. We also go to park play dates when possible and invite school friends over after they get home.
In our area I know that there are homeschool opportunities at Swim Atlanta, bowling, roller skating, sports academies. The zoo and the aquarium also do home school classes.
Honestly, we have time to do these extra things now that we homeschool. When she was in regular school, all she did was ballet and church.
Just look around! Good luck!

First, I'm sure you are aware, this will be a LOT of work for you. My daughter is only in first grade and I'm homeschooling her in the Classical style. She's learning a TON, but we work from 8:00am to 12:30 (she's doing her math chapter right now) but I spend many late nights preparing her lessons and getting things in order for the day to go smoothly, we are always at the library getting books to reinforce core lessons, and teaching is exhausting. It took me a year to research the process before kindergarten and get all of her materials together for what we want to achieve. If I knew she would get all that information in school (our local school does not cover most of it), I'd plop her on the bus and send her. Also, You have to LOVE learning, you have to LOVE academics, and you have to passionately want to teach her, or it will be tedious and boring for you, which will short-change her. Even if you follow a cyber program, you have to be enthusiastic and on top of it.

THAT SAID, if you accept that the main challenge is how much work it is for you, the socializing is easy. There is TOO MUCH socializing to do, and we've had to cut back on the social activities with our homeschool network from last year as her school work increases. Homeschooling is gaining popularity, and our large network has doubled in size since last year as many local schools have suffered budget cuts and closed. My daughter has many friends in the network, and she also takes Tae Kwon Do and has friends there plus we do many community things. You will have MORE time for sports, arts and social activities because she won't be in school all day long and then coming home with homework. If you start early enough, you can have the whole afternoon free depending on her grade and daily hours.

If your only concern for now is some demerits at a brand new school-fair or not- if the academics are up to par, I would personally try to meet their expectations for a while before ditching the whole thing. But start researching the style of curriculum you want to do in case you take the plunge. Don't worry about the socializing-there's TONS. Riley is so right.

My kids are young, so I very much "unschool," i.e. no curriculum, we play. We have a small cooperative with friends once a week, and I recently started a big (10 families, NFP, rent a space) play-based cooperative that meets weekly for 2 hours of organized activities and then a picnic/park play. My oldest then has class one other day, but will be doing story time again soon and gymnastics.

Check out meet-up.com and see if there are any groups in your area or cooperatives.

Does she have friends already? Does she have cousins? Actually the social aspects aren't all that important til they're older. Although people think it's a big deal. Obviously kids need some socializing but what kind and with who is the bigger question. Don't know how old your child is, but I know kids learn socializing first at home and they need their mama to be near. There are different classes you could put her in but there wont' be all that much socializing.

You live in Atlanta and there are quite a few groups there. A lot of Christian ones and a Waldorf group called the Peach Cobblers, there is also a group called AAEN. Just goggle them. We use to belong to AAEN years ago when they first started. It stands for Atlanta Alternative Edcation Network. We live out from Atlanta now so we don't really belong to a group anymore.