With studies being taken care of by a parent at home, and no families with homeschooling children close by, it may seem difficult for homeschool students to get socialized. However this is a myth as almost all homeschool students have a number of co-curricular activities that allow them to interact and learn new skills with other children their age. In a study conducted by HSLDA an average homeschool student was involved in a minimum of two or more activities.
What are the most popular activities?
Play dates with people outside the family was the most common socialization activity followed a close second by field trips. No matter where you live there is always a place near by that you can plan a field trip to. The beauty of homeschooling is that a visit to a local natural park, a factory, a museum or even a historical monument can be turned into an educational activity. This makes field trips a very popular activity for homeschool parents.
What else are the other homeschoolers doing?
The top of the list is group sports. Community sports centres are very popular with homeschoolers and most of them learn more than one active group sport. Great for socializing with peers, this also inculcates a sense of team work in the children. Then we move on to the second most popular activity, music class. Be it singing in a choir, leanring ballet, contemporary dance clases or learning to play a musical instrument, most homeschoolers are involved in some kind of music classes. It is a great way to introduce appreciation of art and culture to them.
Other popular activities that the homeschooler students are involved in
Bible Clubs, Ministry and Volunteer work are all popular outlets for homeschooler enthusiasm. The children are often involved in social projects that affect the local community and thrive as they learn about caring for others. The natural compassion that young children have make them excellent volunteers for both human and animal related charities. Parents usually guide their youngsters towards volunteer work which invokes their imagination and fires them up with the need to make a difference in the world.
