Socialization is by far the most discussed issue regarding homeschooling. Those who do not homeschool their children feel that without regular school children will not know how to interact with their peers and authority figures.Time and again homeschool families have been asked to defend their choice. To provide proof that their homeschool students are indeed normal, well adjusted children who have no problem interacting with who they wish to.
The school is a good place for children to meet other children and make friends, but it is no way near the only place they can do so. There are a number of options for homeschool students to make friends with others. Here we go through a few such possible locations. Needless to say this is just an indicative list and many other options will exist. Find one that is comfortable for your family and try it out.
Sunday School
Even if your homeschool family is not overly religious, having the children attend Sunday School does more than teach them scripture. They will meet a cross section of children from different social and economical classes in church. The children will learn to get along with people from diverse backgrounds as they perform a common activity. Being charitable and giving back to society are traits that they will naturally develop.
Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
If getting along with peers while you do useful activities is necessary for socialization, you can’t ask for a better bet than the scouts and guides. They learn useful skills along with making new friends. The team activities will help foster team spirit and earning badges will make them feel motivated to do more good work. What more can you ask for.
Sports Teams
Playing a team sport is a great way to cultivate the personality of a child. They learn to get along with others, work towards a common objective, take advantage each other’s strengths and motivate each other to perform the best they can. You can pick up any physical sport and add the benefit of getting regular exercise to the long list of advantages here.
