But What About Socialization?
By Karlie Margaret Houser
Homeschooling may very well be the best choice for your child’s education, but as a parent (and now teacher), making sure that your son or daughter becoming well-rounded and socially healthy is just as important. Planning lessons and introducing new academic concepts to your child may be fairly easy, but it may be more of a challenge to make sure your child’s school life is just as exciting and rewarding as it would be outside of the home. Providing a wonderful social life for your son or daughter while homeschooling is certainly possible. Here are some helpful suggestions for making sure that your child doesn’t miss out on one of the most important aspects of education—socialization.
Try learning in groups. If you’ve decided to homeschool your child, chances are you have a few friends or family members who have done the same thing, or are considering it. Whenever possible, make arrangements for your children to learn together. If you’re working on a big science project, or want your kids to practice reading to one another, learning in groups is a great way to give your son or daughter time to spend with their peers. One of the reasons parents choose homeschooling is to provide a more intimate learning setting for their children, so small groups are definitely manageable. Your son or daughter doesn’t necessarily need to be in a classroom full of children to be comfortable or feel ‘normal’; but regular contact with other children will help to improve their social skills.
Bring visitors to the classroom. Having show-and-tell or a Bring your Parents to School Day will help to make school days at home more interesting. If you know someone that is an expert in a certain subject, and want to make sure that your child remembers certain concepts, why not ask a visitor to come speak to your child for part of the day? For instance, if you’re studying different parts of the body for a biology or anatomy class, ask a physician to speak to your child about how the body works, and even to bring in a few visual aids. If you’re studying poetry or historic literature, ask an author to explain grammatical concepts to your child. And, don’t hesitate to ask family for help. If your family members are professionals in fields you are currently studying with your child, your children will be more likely to remember important parts of the lessons when someone they trust is teaching them. This will also motivate your son or daughter to continue learning, and will help you to discover their particular academic and career interests.
Take field trips. Plan to take field trips as often as you can. Visit museums to learn about famous artists and scientific feats, or go to the park to learn about plants and the ecosystem. Smaller children usually enjoy going to places like the local fire station, hospital, or even the grocery store to learn about the different roles each person in the community plays, as well as how grown-ups use math, English, and science in their daily lives. You can also have your children document the events of the day with pictures and written descriptions to make sure the lessons were learned.
Using one or all of these methods will expose your child to the world outside of the home, and will teach them not to be afraid to interact with others. Be sure to take some time at the end of each day to talk to your child about the field trips, visits, or groups learning sessions used as teaching tactics. Find out what works and what doesn’t, and schedule more socialization-based learning time if you find your child is enjoying—and learning—from each experience.
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