Eclectic Parent

Not ours. But we have spent a fair amount of time at friend’s birthday parties. We just uploaded some photos from a while ago and realized that we’d been to several lately. One homeschool friend had a big party with whole families invited. Another friend we’ve known since moving here had a big party at the park. That was fun because we got to see a lot of kids we don’t get to see as often any more. And just this weekend, D had a party to go to for a friend for his homeschool enrichment class.

Birthdays aside, it’s just another example of how homeschool children sit home not socializing all day is a myth. In actuality, unlike school children that see the same kids five days a week, homeschooled children tend to have a wide variety of acquaintances. I especially notice the difference with ages. Many children are very aware of their place in the pecking order; 2nd graders only playing with 2nd graders, for instance. Without having the importance of grades, unschooled children - even more than most homeschooled children - tend to have friends of all ages. Personally, I’d have to say three birthday parties in a month is probably not a sign of child in desperate need of socializing.