One thing that I was asked about when I would tell someone we were homeschooling was about not sheltering the kids. Or, you know, the fear that they would never be around other kids their age and erither not have friends or the ability to play with children their age.
So here is the life of our sheltered children:
Sunday- church- we go to a church that currently has more children than adults. We have a wonderful lady that puts together the children's teaching time and they sing, learn Scripture, make things and put on skits/performances every few months to show us what they are learning.
After church- we head to my mom's for a homecooked lunch with my parents, my grandmother, my sister and her family which brings the total to 7 children ages 12 to 3, not to mention lots of generations at one table.
Monday- the afternoon is usually some outdoor play with the neighbor boys.
6:30pm, Sarah has t-ball practice
Tuesday- we spent quite awhile at the library and made a quick grocery stop ;same with the neighbors, this coming week we have a baseball game for Alexa
Wednesday- shopping day; we went to two stores, they played in the afternoon, then they had ballet at 6:45
Thursday- we were at home most of the day, they played with neighbors, Alexa had a practice game at 7:30 during which my other girls met some other kids and had a big time in the dirt pile.
Friday- the oldest is home from school. We will do our Bible lessons, color eggs, watch the movie about Jesus, do some baking, laundry and so on.
Saturday- family gathering for lunch followed by Easter egg hunt, and Sarah has another practice that afternoon, but we may not make it.
So, we get out, we see people, they do things not in a classroom setting. They aren't stuck together with the same group of people for hours a day; they can choose to play with each other or alone, play with the neighbors or not, practice baseball for a few hours a week with girls they are getting to know and that are learning to play as a team. Good stuff.
The argument that home schooled children are not socialized is severely flawed. It implies that public schooled children ~are~ socialized, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
ReplyDeleteEvery home schooled child I know (a lot of the families at my church home school) is very polite, respects their elders, plays nicely with my children, has manners, and clean language.
Most public schooled children I've met have dirty mouths, argue with me and other adults, are self-centered, and don't seem to realize there is a whole world outside of themselves. They are rude. Not at all socialized, if you ask me.