I started researching homeschooling before the pandemic began, but once school went virtual, it seemed like the perfect time to dip our collective family toe into the homeschooling world.
At the time, my kids were entering fifth and seventh grades, and I hoped it would give them happier lives with less homework, more travel, and minimized anxiety. Still, I worried that, especially in a post-pandemic world, teaching my kids at home would make them antisocial and cause them to have no friends.
This year, my high schoolers are in 10th and 12th grades, and I wish I could tell my 2020 self not to worry. As a public school graduate myself, my kids’ teenage years look very much like mine did: full of part-time jobs, nights out with friends, and extracurricular activities.
My kids are neither friendless nor antisocial, and if anything, homeschooling has only helped them develop deeper relationships with their peers.
Early on, I leaned heavily on other homeschooling parents
At the beginning of our homeschooling journey, I scoured Facebook for groups of parents in our area who also homeschooled. I attended park playdates with other homeschool families, signed my kids up for classes at our local zoos and museums, and kept in touch with some of our public school friends to schedule hang-outs.
It was a pleasant surprise to find so many other homeschooling families in our area. Another pleasant surprise was that my kids’ social schedules stayed just as robust as they had during our public school days.
As my kids developed their own interests, I found homeschool groups to connect with
Signing up for local classes and events helped my kids find their own interests, including a love they share of the performing arts, my son’s love of film, and my daughter’s passion for working with kids in a volunteer capacity.
Through theater troupes and other community events and activities, my homeschooler teenagers have been able to pursue their own interests and make friends along the way, some of whom are homeschooled, others who go to public and private schools in our area.
Today, they have typical teenage social lives
My 15- and 17-year-olds’ lives don’t look much different than mine and my husband’s did at their age, and he and I both graduated from public school.
They hold part-time jobs, volunteer in the community, hang out with their friends, have sleepovers, hit the mall with groups of teens, and do all the things I remember doing at their age. Sure, it took a bit of effort to find our homeschooling village, but now that we have, they’re always making plans with friends (and begging to borrow the car).
My teens seem well-adjusted socially, and I’d recommend homeschooling
Spending the last five school years teaching my kids at home has been incredibly rewarding, and, like any other time period with our kids, it’s gone so, so fast. Today, my teens seem just as well-adjusted socially as my friends’ public-schooled kids are, and I’m so thankful that I’ve spent the last few years giving them so much of my time and attention.
As a parent about to graduate her first homeschooled kid, I’d absolutely recommend homeschooling to any parent. If you’re concerned about the social impact being homeschooled will have on your kids, take a moment to scan Facebook for groups set up by parents in your area who also homeschool, or do an internet search of daytime programs (like art classes, sports, or theater troupes) in your community for homeschoolers. Chances are, there’s a whole homeschool community going on around you and you don’t even know it.
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