Robin Norell

Nicoletta -
 
Welcome to the group!  I have a 10yo daughter and 6yo son.  We decided to homeschool when my daughter was in second grade - she was in public school and we took her out halfway through the year. She had a number of friends, but kept in contact with them.  Over time, however, she has lost interest in those friends.  She feels most of them are "sheep," following along with others to stay popular.  Just last night we had a conversation about her one remaining friend from school, who had always "marched to her own drum" like my daughter. My daughter had a conversation with her yesterday on Instant Messaging, and said even that friend has become too much like a sheep.
 
She enjoys her new friends more - the ones she has met at church, the other homeschoolers she meets... she wishes she had more friends that live closer to us (our homeschool group is on the other side of town), but I do try and make sure she sees friends often. She also calls and instant messages them as well.  We are fortunate that we found some other unschoolers that live close by, as well.
 
I also have explained to my daughter that, in school, you may attend classes with your friends, but you don't really "talk" or "play" in the middle of class.  There's lunch and recess, but that's about it.  We can spend all day with friends if they want to... and our friends don't have to worry about staying home in the evenings to do homework, either.
 
So, I guess my message is, yes your daughters may feel sad that they won't be spending as much time with their friends at school... but hopefully they will soon find friends that they have more in common with, and can actually spend more time with, in their "new lifestyle," should you decide to homeschool them.
 
Robin
Orlando, FL
  :-)

Anita Bower

>She enjoys her new friends more - the ones she has met at church, the
other homeschoolers she meets... she wishes she had more friends that live
closer to us (our homeschool group is on the other side of town), but I do
try and make sure she sees friends often. She also calls and instant
messages them as well. We are fortunate that we found some other
unschoolers that live close by, as well.
>

My son's homeschool buddies live 25 miles away. We knew we would have to
drive the distance when we moved out here to the country, but it has been
worth it. He sees one every week for several hours, and the other every
other week for most of a day.

These are wonderful friends to him, and I like the way they can resolve
their differences. They have been friends for over 5 years now.

Anita
Homeschooling Mom
Nottingham, PA

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