Alan & Brenda Leonard

Cat,

I homeschool an only, and although we have far more neighbors than I'd like
(we live in an apartment building of 18 families with 26 more buildings
around!), my son still finds his friends mainly from our church and his
soccer team. He's looking forward to starting scouts this fall.

But friends is different than socializing, remember. Tim socializes with
lots of people. We chat with storekeepers who speak English (I'm in
Germany), people in line, on trains, etc. Volunteering is good, too.

I found that 10a.m. was the best time to hit the library or bookstores if
you're looking for other homeschoolers. It's before nap time for the
toddlers, but after morning rush. Obviously it's summer right now, but
maybe in the fall you'll run into some folks who could be friendly without a
statement of faith!

And finally, I can tell you that my son is a loner. He likes other kids and
socializes just fine, but he prefers the company of the bugs and birds.
Unless you have a child who's begging for more friends, it's possible she's
happy in your current situation!

brenda


> I have a huge question for the group which I'm sure is asked by every newbie.
> How will my daughter socialize with other kids? It seems the common answer is
> through homeschool groups. Well, as I posted earlier, I live basically in the
> middle of nowhere on a dead end road in southern Oklahoma. The closest town
> of 25,000 has one homeschool group & they require a Faith statement. But more
> than that, I know several people in it - they are very fundamental Christians
> which is their choice and I respect that. But every time I get near them,
> they try to convert me. I don't want that for my daughter. Also, my daughter
> is an only child, so she won't learn with brothers/sisters. I am VERY
> concerned about sending her to public school - but I don't want to isolate
> her, either. It's bad enough that, although we attend the most liberal church
> in the area, I spend every sunday "de-programming" her from Sunday School. On
> the plus side, she is learning at a very young age to question the facts we
> are spoon fed. I would love to hear from other homeschoolers of only
> children?!?
>
> Cat