Four Reasons Why Homeschooling is Great for Socialization

Published:
April 10, 2019

Contributor:
Brooke Poston

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No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling, you’ve probably heard it before. You may have just mentioned homeschooling and heard the comments from “concerned” bystanders. 

Everyone seems to be a novice when it comes to the lack of socialization that homeschoolers get. But that point of view is so oxymoronic, because homeschoolers are some of the most socialized children, and people, you will ever have the chance of meeting.

So, a word of advice mama? Don’t listen to them. Don’t even let this overzealous homeschooling myth bother you. Here’s a fact for you to cling to; homeschooling is great for socialization.

homeschooling is good for socialization 

It is both a right and an honor to be able to homeschool your children. You are empowering your children to learn on their own terms, in their own ways, and in any environment. You’re teaching them how to use every day, real-life experiences to promote hands-on learning.

Homeschoolers aren’t tied to normal school hours, limited field trip days, or even lesson plans. We can teach our children that learning is more about books and facts, but it’s about learning from the world around us, the diverse culture that surrounds us, and the people that abound us.

So the next time someone tries to bring up that myth, you just direct them back to this article, or at least try to enlighten them a little!

Four Reasons Why Homeschooling is Great for Socialization

1. Flexibility

Because homeschoolers aren’t tied to mundane school schedules, we have the freedom to branch out of textbooks, teachers, and technology to teach our children that they learn best by actively participating in their own education.

How do they do this? They meet new people, ask new questions, and go new places. The melting pot of the United States provides the perfect background for diversity of culture and values.

Let your children get to know their cashiers at the grocery store. Make friends with museum workers. Let them chat with the mail person. Teach them about respecting those who serve us and extending courtesy to those who are different from us.

Because of the flexibility of homeschooling, we are able to provide these real-life experiences as daily opportunities to socialize.

2. Community

Despite what many people think, the majority of homeschoolers don’t spend the best part of their school time at home. If that surprises you, just wait until you hear what else we have to say about this myth. 

You see, homeschoolers take advantage of the fact that we are un-schooled. We meet other families at co-ops, we participate in organized sports, we arrange field trips, play dates, and study groups.

We take advantage of the time and resources that we have right where we are. We visit our local courthouse to learn about government. We head to our local farms when we’re learning about nutrition. We visit a local gallery when we are learning about Art.

We still participate in sports, we take a ton of group coordinated field trips. We explore our towns and our communities, and our local businesses to learn how the things, and the people, around us work.

We socialize by exploring our community and becoming a part of it.

3. Connections

Another reason homeschooling is great for socialization is the connections that we are able to make. When we visit and participate in our communities, we also learn more about the people who make up those communities. 

We learn about Bill, whose family has run the farm for the past 5 generations. We learn from Bonnie who is paving the way for more women in government. We can’t wait to see what new local artists Tim has to show us at the gallery. 

Then Bill tells us about the local beekeeper. And Bonnie arranges mock court and trials and elections for your local homeschool society. And Tim tells us about the kid’s pottery classes that they host down the street. 

These connections become friendships and extended families. 

4. Research

Despite what so many people claim to be true about homeschoolers lacking socialization, the evidence just isn’t there. I challenge you to ask them their proof because they don’t have any. 

Actually, evidence tells us that homeschooled children are usually calm, nurturing leaders who are concerned about others. Further, research shows that they have higher self-reliance and heightened independence compared to children who attend public school.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association put together a great article with a number of different doctors and universities that conducted studies on homeschoolers and socialization. You may be surprised by some of the findings! 

Northern Michigan University also put together an interesting study when it compared homeschoolers to public schoolers. There findings where quite the same and even concluded, “The truth is, they do not have any further adjustment issues than their counterparts who attended public schools. ” 

All in all, the flexibility of homeschooling allows us to cultivate connections in our community, creating healthy relationships, and young adults. And if all else fails, hold to the fact that research proves that homeschooling is great for socialization! 

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