Those social misfits!
Tuesday, 6 May 2008 by muddyboots
I’m speaking about homeschoolers, of course. How dare they step outside the bounds of normal and actually interact with other children who are not their age! Can you read the sarcasm dripping off that sentence? I hope so.
Today I was reminded of one of the perks homeschooling sends our way. For many families who teach their kids at home, including us, this usually isn’t one of the reasons people list when they are making the initial decision to homeschool. Yet, it is one of the reasons most families continue to homeschool!
At Princess’s soccer practice tonight only a handful of girls showed up. Of those who showed up, the majority are homeschooled. I sat in the car so I could catch up on my reading (two Home Education magazines from the library and a Family Circle with a great article on container gardens) and about half way through I looked up and across the field to see not only the girls playing soccer, but Rooster, Flower Child, and two brothers of one of Princess’s homeschooled friends. A team of 13-14 year old girls, the coach, a 10 yo girl, and 12,13,&16 yo boys. And they were having fun! A huge sigh of contentment flew out of my heart.
How dare they! Don’t they know boys have cooties and no one is supposed to like their own brother?
It is interesting when you look at homeschooled kids interacting. My five year old son is afraid of the slide at the Y, but he conquers it every time the homeschool group goes swimming…by inching down it, taking several minutes to go down and jump in the water. No one chides him or gets impatient. They all line up on the slide, encouraging him and cheering for him when he gets to the bottom.
It’s nearly a foregone conclusion, it’s happened so many times: at a homeschoolers’ gathering, I can send my scrappy five year old out into the crowd of kids to run, and expect no problems.
Ditto for large families - you’d think that an only child would have trouble playing with a sibling group of 4-6 kids - nope. She fits right in.
With a group of conventionally schooled kids, though, and I know that I’ve got to watch my daughter much more carefully, since for some reason, she acts much worse around them - more ugly competition, more bickering, more selfishness.
I am always so blessed to go to large homeschool gatherings and see teenagers helping and playing with their younger siblings. Homeschoolers rock!