This, my friends, make me laugh every time I hear someone ask me these questions. How do you socialize with your child?  How is your child socialized if you homeschool? Hey, your child is not weird how did you get them socialized? I could never homeschool my child I don’t know how to socialize them.

Again this falls on the parent, just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  If you’re a hermit, a chance is your kids will be.  If you are shy chances are they will be able also. My advice is don’t be these things and work really hard at getting your child out there to talk to other human beings.  I am super shy, so my kids tend to be shy but I have made a huge effort not to be (I am a work in progress).

Ideas to socialize your child:

• Join a Facebook page in your town (i.e.: Facebook savannah homeschool group) – go to their field trips
• Join Yahoo Group in the town where you live
• Unschool groups, Christian groups, secular groups, circular based groups – find your nitch
• check out the local paper for kids’ activities, fairs,
• girl scouts, boy scouts, book club,
• ask your friends or neighbors for advice
• do sports (i.e.: soccer, baseball, gymnastics, ballet, cheerleading, archery, horseback riding, Irish dancing)
• take extra activities (i.e.: art class for homeschoolers, music class, )
• get school work done by 3 pm and go play with kids that go to normal school
• Volunteer at your local shelter
• older kids can become camp councilors
• get them off the iPads, computers, and tv and just make them play outside

Point of socialization

The point of socialization is so that your child will be able to hold intelligent conservation with anyone.  When they get that dream job they can talk to their co-workers, and explain their ideas.  We want our kids to have friends find that special someone, and be able to tell the Starbucks guy our order. It’s like school if you teach them the basics they will figure out the rest.

Here is an example, My youngest is a determined little girl (she gets that from her dad).  When we got to the road school rally she didn’t know anyone. She found 2 girls her age and followed them around till they finally talked to her. They still didn’t want to hang out with her, so she went on to the next set of girls (younger than her), they didn’t know anyone either so we’re happy someone was talking to them. By the end of the rally, they were inseparable. Along the way, my oldest (11) made friends with our neighbor who was 15, and her friends 12.  After the little girls left they hung out with the big girls and were again all best friends. Age didn’t matter they just wanted someone to talk to and hang out with, as long as it wasn’t their parents.

Let me know if you have more ideas, tell me your story of socializing your child, and inspire us, We would love to hear them.