Quote:
Originally Posted by marsupial
Social skills are extremely important--perhaps the most important. Yes, kids can learn social skills outside of school but their parents must be dilligent in finding them opportunities. I am not sure all parents do this.
My son did not go to preschool or daycare. It became more difficult for me to find opportunities for him to interact with children his age once he turned 4 and all his peers were in preschool programs or daycare. I really had to take the initiative to make playdates and get him out to activities where other kids would be so that he would be prepared socially for kindergarten.
When do homeschooled children have opportunities to interact with their peers? There are community sports programs, homeschool groups, what else?
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I can say that at least in Orange County, there's a very organized homeschool program that's actually administered through the county. There is a credentialed teacher overseeing each student (meets once a month). Curricula are provided through the program. There are also frequent (almost overwhelming) workshops, classes, and field trips that are provided through the program. If a homeschool student participates in this program, they will receive virtually as much social interaction with other children their age as they would at the public school.
I agree, however, that many of parents who home school do so to shelter their children from the world, and under those circumstances, it's often detrimental to the children.
But to make a blanket statement that home schooled children don't have equal opportunity to interact with their peers, I disagree with that, because if the parents participate in the type of program they have here in OC, they have plenty of opportunity.