Ways To Socialize Your Child While Homeschooling
Teaching Your Child Important Social Skills
How can homeschooling parents teach their children social skills?
Learning to get along with other people, working as part of a team or group, and just knowing what our culture and society expect of a worthwhile contributing young adult is important.
How can responsible homeschooling parents make sure their child(ren) is/are learning these important fundamental social skills?
There are many places where a child can learn social skills.
Just as all humans start learning about their world the moment they arrive on this planet and in this world, so all situations bring experience that teach us in some respect, how to relate to other people.
There are many opportunities for children to learn how to interact with other children, how to get along with other children, and how to work with other children, as well as people of all ages.
Activities That Teach Social Skills and Team Work
Great Places Where Your Child(ren) Can Learn Important Social Skills
· Enroll your child in a club like the Girl or Boy Scouts of America.
· Get your child(ren) involved with Girls and Boys Clubs where they are available.
· Enroll your child in a community sports team for children of a similar age.
· Enroll your child in 4-H.
· Enroll your child in dance lessons or classes that will include recitals.
· Enroll your child in a theatre group that includes just children, or both children and adults. Performing in plays helps build self-confidence and teaches children to work with other people to accomplish a common goal. Also, everyone needs to be able to get along with people of all ages and to work with people of all ages, not just their own age.
One of the objections I have to public and private schools is that children are segregated so much of the time with people of their own age. Children in public and private school rarely if ever get an opportunity to get to know people of different ages. Learning to get along with people of many different ages is a skill they will need all of their lives.
· Enroll your child in music lessons that include recitals. Or if there is a children’s chorus or similar kind of singing group in your community, get your child(ren)involved in it. Music is part of a well-rounded education, and some experts even say that early music lessons (beginning before the age of 6) will help children do better in math.
· Enroll your child in a library group for children. Most libraries have story times for very young children as well as library clubs for older age groups. Contact your local library to see what they have to offer.
· Look around your community and see if there is a group that specializes in something your child is especially interested in like bird watching for children, or a science group. It need not be any of the things I’ve listed here, but look for groups that do whatever it is your child is interested in.
· Form a playgroup for your very young children that includes neighborhood children or children of your friends.
· Enroll your young children in a Daycare Facility for just a couple of hours a day, or just a couple of times a week, allowing you time to run errands and shop while your children are engaged with other children their age.
· Check to see if there is a group within your church that gives children the opportunity to socialize with each other.
· Look around your community for after school programs. Your child need not be enrolled in a public or private school to be involved in community after school programs.
· Check with your local school district. Some public or private schools will allow homeschooled children to participate in just some of their classes or extra curricular activities instead of being enrolled as full-time students. This is not common, but it is the case in some places, so if that is something that would interest you, check to see what is offered in your community.
Public School May Not Be The Best Place For Your Child To Learn Social Skills
Public and private school are not the only venues where children can learn social skills.
Many parents would agree, I think, that many of the social skills children pick up in a formal school situation may not be all that useful or desirable.
One of the advantages of home schooling your child(ren) is that you have more control over the people they spend their time with and the sort of behaviors your children are learning.
Home schooling allows parents a lot more control over the influences in their children’s lives and the behaviors other people are modeling for their children.
There are many great opportunities for children to learn and grow socially besides formal public or private schools. I recommend taking advantage of those opportunities whether you home school or not.
