Unsocialized Homeschool Children

That's probably my biggest pet peeve. When people find out that we are homeschooling, the first thing out of their mouths is, "How will your children have any friends?" Uh, that's one reason we homeschool. I didn't like some of their friends and what they were saying and doing. But it's not like we put dark curtains on the windows and barred the door.

Friday is park day. We like park day. Last Friday only two other families showed up. The children ranged in age from 3-12. But did they play well together? Absolutely! They ran, chased, dug, swang, slid, jumped, drew, laughed, cried, shouted (in joy and anger), and generally acted like a bunch of kids. It was fantastic.

Same thing happened today. Only two other families showed up. This time it was two families that we are very close to. The children range in age from 11-4. Did they play well together? Absolutely! It is fantastic to see the older kids happy to see the younger kids, and great to see the younger kids happy to see the older kids. They all worked together to build a sand wall to close in some spiders that were making a home in one area of the playground.

They would take turns filling a water bottle and mixing it with the sand. Then they would make "bricks" to use for their wall. And believe it or not, that was darn a sturdy wall. We adults were amazed at what they had done together, as a team, as equals. But those poor unsocialized homeschool kids.

By the end of the day, the kids were covered from head to toe in sand, water, mud, and who knows what else. But talk about some happy kids. It was shower time as soon as we got home. The sand in the bottom of my tub got washed straight down the drain. Like I don't have enough sand in my yard to come into my house and the kids just keep dragging more home.

We had a fantastic lunch today, too. I made cheeseburgers before we left. The cheese was still a little warm and melty when we sat down. They were thick and juicy and man I wish I had another one. We sat down together, said a big prayer, and munched until I couldn't move. It didn't stop the kids. They were even back about 30 minutes later begging for a snack. That's what happens when you're young and run around the park all day.

They even made friends with some kids they didn't know. I like the way kids can make friends and they don't have the hang ups we adults have. What a fantastic way to be. Pretty soon, there was a whole gang running from one end of the park to the other, screaming and laughing all the way. And thank God for that.

Have a great day!