Socializing

Socializing. It's why parents send their children to daycare, preschool and then onto Kindergarten / the school system. When you mention to someone that you homeschool, one of the first things they bring up is "Well how will you socialize them?".  Homeschool moms and dads usually chuckle on the inside and then say their kids have plenty of chances to socialize.

I started home schooling less than 2 weeks ago, and honestly, I'm trying to find a break from being social! Between park meet ups, not back to school picnics, birthday parties, community events, choir and dance lessons to start up soon, plus the neighborhood kids that they play with almost daily, there are lots of opportunity to socialize your children if you homeschool.  I have also signed my daughter up for activities through my home school board - 2 afternoons of drama class, 1 trip to a fire hall and an afternoon at an indoor climbing wall over the next 2 months and monthly meet ups for connections and gym time. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all!

waiting for the fireworks at our friend's community league Party in the Park

How do adults socialize? They make small talk with the grocery store clerk, they interact with their co-workers (a tight knit group of people of different ages that need to work together, similar to a family), and they attend functions and gatherings (birthday parties or weddings and usually people of different ages in attendance). The same activities that my children are exposed to.  They are learning to say thank you after receiving their cookie in the bakery department of the grocery store or say hello to the store greeter. They are learning how to clean up after themselves and help out other members of the family by doing chores like emptying the dishwasher and feeding the pets. They are learning how to play with kids of different ages at birthday parties. They are socializing in so many ways.

How it all began!

Hello, and welcome to my first post, it's going to be a long one! I am a work from home mom of 2 girls, Chloe 5 and Kaiana 2.  I had Chloe enrolled in Public School for French Immersion Kindergarten last year, but after having her home over Christmas break and looking into the home shool options in our area, I decided this spring that I would try my hand at homeschooling her for Grade 1.  It's something that I had always considered but never thought I would have the opportunity to do. I began working from home while on maternity leave with Kai, and with that working out well and finding a great support group of home school parents in Edmonton, it started becoming a reality.

Breakfast while camping at Wasa Lake BC

First off, I was amazed to find out how many home school families there actually were around me.  Lots of local home school groups on social media for support and organizing activities and field trips. Then came the awesome moment when I discovered there was funding for it! What? I was going to get paid to teach my children? Well not paid really, but most expenses related to home schooling would be reimbursed.  Funding ranges from $820-$1500 or so in Alberta, depending on which method you choose. This is the money the government designates per child if they were enrolled in a brick and mortar school.  When you home school, the funding is delivered to your board and paid out after you submit your receipts.  Some boards also do purchase orders with stores like Staples and home school curriculum stores. I chose traditional (leaning a bit into the unschooling category, but I'll have another post about that in the future), with me being her teacher and choosing what she learns, so I'm on the lower end of the funding. But that's ok!  Still plenty of supplies and field trip admissions I can get with that! If you choose blended or teacher directed, you receive more funding (to cover the cost of textbooks, curriculum, online classes, etc.).  We are very lucky in Alberta to have this funding and home school regulations vary from province to province and state to state, so if you are looking into it, make sure you check with your Provincial or State Board of Education to see what their regulations are.  

homemade bird feeders- paper towel roll, peanut butter and birdseed

There's also plenty of choice when it comes to which home school board you register with. When many people hear the words home schooling, they think of Christian families that home school their children and teach the bible daily. Well, that is still a common occurrence, especially in Alberta and parts of the US, but it is more than that.  Some choose to home school because their children are being bullied, or due to learning disabilities that require more one on one time.  I chose to home school because I didn't like the way the Alberta curriculum is going (don't even get me started on "new" math") as well as Chloe's curiosity and love of learning. We are not a religious family but I chose to go with a faith based board due to the programs offered and their flexible nature.  There are plenty of faith based home school boards that do not push their religion on you, they just want parents to have the freedom to teach their children how they see fit.  There are also secular boards to choose from as well. Lots of options out there! Once you choose a board, you complete their registration process, submit a program plan and wait to hear back.  It usually only takes a few weeks and then you're approved and ready to go! 

Enjoying a snack when we visited Beaumaris Lake

I spent the summer making notes of things I wanted to teach and methods of doing so, field trips that we could take and crafts that we can make. Chloe seemed pretty excited from the start about staying home and learning lots.  She wondered about friends, but I assured her there were lots of chances to meet up with other home school kids and take part in activities and park days. Also, since the spring she has a new found independence and has been playing daily with the neighborhood kids.

First day of home schooling Grade 1!

The new school year started this week and with most moms getting their kids used to waking up early and packing lunches, our first day of home school began around 10:30am when Chloe woke up.  She had the chance to sleep in after a busy long weekend of camping in the mountains. I won't be stressed out this school year trying to sign forms on the way to the bus, I won't be waiting for the bus in -20 C with a bundled up toddler, I won't have to fund raise and bug my friends and family several times throughout the year.  The school year will be at our pace, if we want to sleep in or take a day off, we can! We will meet twice with a facilitator from our board who will review samples of Chloe's work, but over all it's pretty laid back if you want it to be.

Checking out a new playground

So thank you for taking the time to read about how I came to choose homeschooling!  I think it will a fun year and a positive change for our family!  Join me each week as I write about how we spent the week learning and living.  I'll try to post links to fun activities, crafts and recipes and share our field trip experiences.