beyond these four walls

Getting out there…

Today we are talking about extracurricular activities. I appear to be one of the few not involved in a homeschool support group. LOL This is the first year since we started homeschooling that I’ve not been pregnant or had a napping toddler, so I think we will be joining one this year. I am a major homebody, but my kids are social butterflies and would love all the new friends.

I’m sure there will be plenty of posts today on the whole “Socialization” thing, so I might as well throw my two cents in. I have no scientific study to back this up, just my observation, but I think my two older girls are MORE social than if they were public schooled. They have never had to deal with peer pressure and cliques, with having to choose between friends or being made fun of because of their friends. Therefore, they see every child as a potential new friend. They search out little girls at the park to meet and introduce themselves to, and they are all best buddies by the time we leave. Here’s the most popular response to that:”But what’s going to happen when they get out into the real world one day and are thrown into the middle of all that in college?” Guess what, they already are in the middle of it. They have many public school friends and have seen & heard it all. The difference is, they think that kind of behavior is childish and ridiculous. It is rather amusing to watch their reactions to it all, and it stimulates some great conversations about being a follower of Christ. Just to clarify – my girls are not little angels who never say an unkind word to others or get their feelings hurt, but they are able to be objective about it all. Ok, I’ll get down off my soapbox now.

One thing they have been involved in for the past two years is music class. I can’t say enough good things about that experience. They did the typical elementary music class things like folk songs and dances, Dancerella learned to use rhythm sticks, and Funny Girl was old enough to start beginner recorder. The fantastic thing about this class was the voice training. The Fall semester was spent learning songs for a Christmas program, and in January they started training for regional contest. That was a lot of fun! Our little homeschool group was out there with all these huge public school groups, and they did great – they got a 2 at contest! Performing really built up my girls’ self confidence, although they were terrified at the thought of it at first. Funny Girl is old enough to start Beginner Band this year, but we are going to take the year off to ease our way into support group activities. If you are in the Dallas area, please check out J & L School of Music . She offer classes in Sachse, Sunnyvale, Allen, Rockwall & Richardson.

Well, if you are still here after all that rambling, thanks for coming by. Visit Back to Homeschool Week, hosted by Randi, to read more or play along.