The S word
Back in the day, the biggest concern I heard when we decided to home school was (usually) not
"how will they learn?", "what about college?" or even "are you qualified to teach?",
but the ever popular "what about socialization?
Ah, the S word as we like to refer to it.
Daily life; grocery stores, banks, libraries, parks, ministry/ community service, and all the events that we incorporate into our lives as home schoolers, give us the opportunity to TRULY socialize.
so·cial·ize
/ˈsōSHəˌlīz/
verb 1 .partcipate in social activities; mix socially with others.
2, make (someone) behave in a way that is acceptable to their society.
It doesn't say a word about getting integrating with your own age group. Just others in our society. As home schoolers we have no need to control the masses (class size of 20+ in whatever grade), so let's stop acting like it matters in any other situation.
Gathering with other home schoolers, or public school groups (after school hours of course), for game nights, youth groups, field trips, service projects, and classes of all sorts is a great opportunity to socialize as well. If you can't find some close to you, put out a call on "social media" and get one set up yourself!
~Jeanette
