Jun. 23, 2008 - That "S" word....
Well, if you've been homeschooling for any length of time (Say, longer than 24 hours) you know what the "S" word is...Socialization. It came up briefly during a family Christmas visit. In the spirit of the season, I didn't launch into a lecture, but you can bet I started composing a super blog in my head :) I got a set of Charlotte Mason's books for Christmas. She has some great things to say on the subject, so of course I was going to include those, too.
However, MBB put it all into one sentence for me one night as he headed off to bed. He was telling me about what he had been doing at our local Park Day. He said "It might look like we are just playing, but I am learning about life".
I started writing this blog entry at the beginning of the year. We got pretty busy with baseball and ballet after that. They were great experiences for both kids, but I am really enjoying not having someplace we have to be now that it is all over. I've realized that just being involved in activities with other kids isn't what they really needed Most organized activities don't give kids the chance to just be kids. I got so frustrated with the Team Mom for our baseball team shushing the kids and telling them they couldn't talk in the dugout during the games. My kid wasn't there to be a baseball star, he was there to be with the other kids! My prima ballerina was outraged that one of the other backstage moms "Wouldn't even let me talk to anyone that wasn't in my dance!" (Granted, both my kids can talk enough for the entire ball team or dance troupe, so I can sympathize with the other adults. It's just that if my reason for getting them invloved in community activities was for "socialization", then it is ironic that the little sweeties were in trouble for doing just that :) )
We are getting more than enough socialization right now, thank you very much. The neighbor kids are all out of school, so the doorbell rings frequently. They are all good kids, and I am so thankful for them all. After years of worrying about where to find friends for MBB and MRB, I am realizing we didn't really need to look that far. I made a choice not to sign up for a single activity this summer. (Which worked out great since we are down to just the van for awhile...) They don't need to be organized or told what or how to play, they just need the time to play! I like watching them all play and chase and pretend, and sometimes even be bored...knowing that yes, they are indeed "learning about life"
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