Back to Homeschool part 3

Randi at I have to say... is hosting Back to Homeschool week. She's put forth one question for each day this week.

Wednesday, August 8---Getting out there...
Extra-curricular activities, community involvement, volunteering, sports teams, music lessons, making sure your kids have opportunities to be social, co-ops, etc., etc., etc...

Like I said, I have little kids. We have friends, and in the past we've just hung out with them - playdates and park days and such. We go to THREE different churches during a week (sounds nuttier than it is). We go to StoryTime at the library, the grocery stores, the local parks, the zoo, and the aquarium. We spend so much time going that I have to be careful to get schoolwork done on a daily basis.

I haven't joined a homeschool group or a co-op yet, though we've been to the park with one local group, and we will probably go again. Other co-ops in this area are very formal, and at this point, we just need kids to play with at the park. After all, most social interactions can be taught there.

#2 is good at making friends and meeting people. He will go up to the lady at the bakery counter in the local SuperTarget and ask for cookies for he and his brother quite politely and actually share one of the two cookies with #3. He typically will talk to anybody - particularly about garage doors - he's a garage door connoisseur. We are working at home on things like personal space and appropriate conversation. Little brothers give lots of opportunity for how to treat people. I am reading Scott Turansky's book Saying Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids, so we have had many conversations about honor lately.

We also have family in town. Well, that might be an understatement. We have 65 relatives in this city. Sometimes that's good - at Thanksgiving, it can be overwhelming (just try eating Thanksgiving dinner three or four times in one day). Of the relatives, the two sets of grandparents are seen several times each week. There are large family gatherings every month. It gets a bit wild, but it presents many more social opportunities.

Overall, I want my children to treat people right - to honor others. Right now, as young as #2 is, I do my best to keep him with children from other families that teach similarly. As he grows, there will be plenty of time to meet people. Right now, sheltering him a bit isn't a bad thing. He's quite the social creature, so we haven't picked out a sport or an instrument for him yet, but it will come in time.