HOMESCHOOLING | SOCIALISATION

Homeschooling: “What about the social aspect?”

Homeschooling newbies announce to friends and family they have chosen to homeschool their children and are hit with the socialisation question.

It is a question that never goes away because mainstreamers seem to believe that the ONLY space where children can meet and interact with others of any age is within a brick-and-mortar building.

So first, exactly what do they mean when they ask about socialisation?

Do they mean learning manners, conversation skills, and getting along with others? That all starts at home.

Do they mean how to make and keep friends, the value of acquaintances and playmates, and how to entertain themselves when they are alone? That also all starts at home.

Maybe they mean taking turns, waiting in line, sharing, and fairness? Oops, that also starts at home.

Brick-and-mortar schools aren’t really social places for children. Being under the constant direction of adults who don’t respect their autonomy allows children no opportunity to follow their interests and learn through their experiences.

There are rules that limit the choices they can make and don’t allow them to solve their own problems. So no compromise, negotiation, or reaching of consensus skills are encouraged or learned.

Recess can be a lot of don’t do this, don’t do that, and stop having fun because it is disruptive.

The homeschooling community at large and locally is quite a social group.

We meet regularly for park days and play dates, workshops and excursions, meetups and cooperative learning.

We homeschooling parents do the work to create opportunities for our children and for ourselves (mostly for ourselves really) because we know how vitally important it is for our children to have extended time with their peers to play.

We’ve done the reading of the research and know the value of our children playing in mixed-age groups and having the freedom to take not-hazardous risks.

Also, once children go into brick-and-mortar schools, their social currency is the culture of COOL which may or may not align with your own personal values. It can be quite toxic.

Books on this topic include but are not limited to: There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather, 1000 Hours Outside, Teach Your Own, It’s OK to go Up the Slide, Bringing Up GEEKs, and Free to Learn.

Previous article: My Less-is-Best Morning Routine

This article contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase after clicking these links, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my writing.