I make an hour-and-a-half (round trip) drive to get raw milk every Friday. Well, most of last week was raining and nasty. A friend of mine who also has 4 boys was saying how her pre-k son was going stir crazy pent up in the house (the other three are in PS and have gym class to burn off energy). I can relate, so I asked her if she and the youngling would like to join us on our drive. It's still just sitting around, but the drive is loveley and there are lots of farms/animals to look at. I spent the better part of the trip asking my children to please stop talking to my friend so her and I could talk for a few. We were almost home and the subject of HSing come up. She said, and I quote, "Homeschooled kids have such a difficult time interacting with people outside of their families." Um????? I just burst out laughing.
WOW! LOL Amie, was she not paying attention during the drive as you were trying so hard to get something in the conversation? Did you point out that your children have no difficulty interacting to her?
We have that same problem here. If we have company, the kids jump right in there and talk to the person more than I usually get to.
Im ready to start HS my children this coming school year but I dont have DH on board 100% yet. IF he agrees he really would like to see them go one more year at the PS. This is a BIG concern of his with socialization. We have 4 families in our church that HS and plan on starting their own co op at the church. If I HS, then that is 12 children right there that they can socialize with? Besides, why do I want them to socialize with some of the children at school that I'm trying to tell them to stay away from?
Great story! I always get told by older people (40+) how nice it is that my 7-year-old can hold an adult conversation with them and not be scared of them. Then they usually find out we HS and they grin and say something along the lines of "I knew he had to be... kids that are in school only want to talk to other kids."
Too funny! Your friend's going to have to rethink her assumptions about homeschooled kids! I've got one who is very sociable - in the sense that she greets everyone with a smile and is happy and open, just as a teenaged girl should be. And I've got another one who runs hot and cold. My 12yo been known to flat-out ignore strange adults who speak to him. When he was very small he used to try to hit the sweet little old ladies who wanted to pat his adorable curls. But on the other hand, when he decides to speak to you, he's serious and thoughtful and extremely well spoken. I've had adults tell me that talking to him is like talking to a thirty year old. He has a busy social life and he's very well liked by other boys. He's just not very child-like. I don't know what that says about homeschooling! Except that my mother says keeping him with us when he was young probably cemented an inborn conviction that he's the intellectual equal of everyone he meets.
