A week in the life of a homeschooler

So when we were considering homeschooling, I remember feeling overwhelmed at the thought that we might be home together all day, every day, ALONE! I laugh at this notion now, but at the time it was a HUGE concern. And if I didn't find other homeschoolers or activities, I probably would have decided against homeschooling. Now granted, here in the Hudson Valley of New York, we are blessed with a large group of local homeschoolers. We are even more blessed that many of them are quite active and social. However, in this day and age of internet and social media, no matter where you live, I am sure you can find at least one family to get together with.

For those who are interested in how to get started, here is what I did. I started on facebook and found local homeschool groups. I then tried Yahoo groups. I had more success there actually. I joined and started going to activities BEFORE we were homeschooling (I pulled my kids out of school) because I needed to know if this was something that fit our lifestyle. From there it just snowballed. Now we have so many activities, we couldn't fit school in if we tried!

So if you are hesitant to homeschool because you feel like you will have to go it alone, let me give you some insight into a week in our lives:

Mondays: kids do morning work, we have a homeschooler archery program at our local park at 11:30 & then J has dance class from 4-6.

Tuesdays: we are a part of a co-op that meets every Tuesday from 10-3. There are about 17 FAMILIES in the co-op. Game club at local school 3:30-4:30, J has cheer practice 6-7:30

Wednesdays: morning work, possibly playdates or a homeschool girl scout trip or library program, baseball 5:30-7 for C, cheer 6-7:30 for J.

Thursdays: library in the am, art group in the pm, girl scouts 3:30-5 every other week.

Fridays: morning work, group trips or playdates, or maybe some down time at home

Saturdays: baseball games, play with neighborhood friends or school friends

Sundays: cheerleading usually in the am, church when cheer is over & down time with family

Clearly, we are RARELY sitting home doing nothing. And my kids have never been more social or had more quality social interactions and friendships. Now if this schedule stresses you out, you do not have to participate in all of these things. This works for our family. The moral of the story is: if you are hesitant to homeschool for lack of socialization, DON'T BE! There is so much out there for homeschoolers! Get on the web and find something near you!