Our two oldest are in a Christmas production put on by the local theatre in our home town. Here are two pictures of my experiments with the face paint. If you can't tell, our daughter is portraying a cow and our son is a sheep. Of course, with the costumes and ears on, they look a lot more convincing. Play practices have been demanding more and more of their time as opening night fast approaches.
That leads me to address the question I hear from so many people the instant they realize that we home school.... "Don't you think you are socially depriving them by keeping them at home?" To that, I always have to contain my laughter. If people only knew the difference between being social and being socialized they would think twice about ever asking that question. Let me clarify the difference. Being social simply means being around others. Being socialized means acting appropriately in any given social situation. So let me address these two terms.
If anyone were to observe our family, they would quickly realize that my children have plenty of opportunities to be in social situations. The children are involved in soccer, ballet, Girl Scouts, Faith Formation at our parish, attend daily Mass, go to the grocery store, library, museums, the zoo, Dad's office, and to visit relatives and friends' homes. Obviously these are in addition to all of the interactions each family member has with one another throughout the week. How busy do kids really need to be? I'd say mine are busy enough and are exposed to plenty of social situations!
The key question is: are my children acting appropriately when interacting with others? In other words are they socialized? The answer is: Yes, well, most of the time! Seriously, though, they are actually very good kids or at least they sure do get complimented by other nearly every time we go out. I have seen them act appropriately in nearly everyone of these social situations. I find that they are rather patient, kind, share well, speak respectfully to adults, and cooperate with others. They know how to wait their turn, help each other, walk in a line, and say please and thank you when the situation dictates that you be polite. Isn't this being socialized? Of course it is! Where did they learn all this? Well, not from kids their own age! Kids don't innately know how to behave. They must be taught by an older child or adult how to act in any given situation. A 'traditional school' does not afford for much interaction with older children who would model the good behavior and teacher to student ratios are not ideal for this either. However, in a home school situation, the parent is able to be the role model and instruct the child. I feel this is actually one of the main reasons to home school! Who wants their child learning manners from a fellow six-year-old? Not me! So, as for me and my house we will home school! God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment