homeschooling but...what about friends?

[Ekatherina]

we are very happy about homeschooling, ds and me are enjoying but i become so sad when he asks me about why there are no kids to play with? ...we have no homeschool group (there is no single family homeschooling in Lebanon) and no relatives living near by, all the children in the village go to school in the morning and have homeworks afternoon, no clubs or whatsoever in this dead village. sometimes i can get them their friend on saturdays whom they enjoy so much but that is all! rest of the time they are with me or their dad planting. any suggestions? how do you make your kids' life more sociable?
btw they do see grown ups almost everyday but they want kids!

[Naturallove]

Well, I don't know how much this applies as we are homeschooling in the states, but both of my boys are in soccer and my oldest is also in a dance class. We are also members at a children's museum here where they can go and play with other children. I would look for organized activities that they could be apart of and maybe try and make some mommy friends yourself so, they can have contact with other LOs.

Good luck to you. It sounds like a bit of a difficult situation.

[Ekatherina]

thank you for yourreply, the problem is that like I said we live in the village, I would like to go to the city for couple of days we have a place to stay there but apperantly dh doesnt like that....and this village, nothing here, no clubs nothing...i am wondering isnt it a little lonely for my kids? i mean if I am bored here why wouldnt they be? they like to go to the city (couple of hours ride by bus) and we are registered in a library etc....but as I said the problem is dh ...

[Nazsmum]

Ask one of the "Sat friends" to come over one day. Like make it Monday friend day? May you could start a little group? Do a "story time" or "Art club"?

[bass chick]

I am in Canada, but socially I am in a similar situation.
I work from home Monday-Friday 7:30am-6:30pm, so we cannot be a part of any homeschooling groups or programs. We sometimes go to the museum, science center, library, etc...but again it is just with me or dh.
My son is 6 and has said that he wishes he could play with kids his own age. My heart breaks when he says that. I don't even really know any other kids that are his age!
I'm not sure how old your son is, but what I have found is that my son is happy when I play with him as a friend. It really tires me out though!!

The only other suggestion I have would be what has already been suggested. If you have the time and energy, you could organize your own little club. Make it something that the kids are interested in...like a soccer club or a story club at a specific time. I'm sure the other kids are wanting to PLAY with other kids and are sick of school and homework.

I know it is a lonely road to homeschool without a social network. Hugs to you.

[kittywitty]

We are in the same boat. We have one family we play with sometimes, but they have a little baby and are busy a lot and it's hard to get together. Plus my oldest dd does not have a kid her age to play with. In the summer, the neighbor kids come out to play, but otherwise it's very clique-y around here and we have no homeschool group, so it's impossible to find friends. My oldest kids are getting lonely and depressed about it. It makes me want to move ASAP (pending job & housing issues) so that we can find some community.

[Ekatherina]

thank you so much for your suggestions! actually that was i ve been thinking about lately...i want to open clubs for our village and the ones arround us, they have actually NOTHING for the kids (nor for grown ups btw ) but i'd like some suggestions....ive been thinking: story-telling, music class (i teach piano), drawing class ( i have a painter friend, hope can talk her into this)...what else i mean something fun and doesnt require much of the technical profession....hugs to all moms struggling like us! s: maybe we can all try the same thing and keep incouraging each other...

[momo7]

Originally Posted by Ekatherina

thank you so much for your suggestions! actually that was i ve been thinking about lately...i want to open clubs for our village and the ones arround us, they have actually NOTHING for the kids (nor for grown ups btw ) but i'd like some suggestions....ive been thinking: story-telling, music class (i teach piano), drawing class ( i have a painter friend, hope can talk her into this)...what else i mean something fun and doesnt require much of the technical profession....hugs to all moms struggling like us! s: maybe we can all try the same thing and keep incouraging each other...

You'll probably have to be the first person in your village to solve a problem that exists for other parents who have the same concerns that you do about socialization for your children. That can be a really good thing. Someone should do it, so why SHOULDN'T it be you? You've brought up ideas that other parents may very well be interested in and getting together with them is a way to make sure that ALL the children (and their parents) in the village benefit. Good luck...I would love to see what you can do.

[Ekatherina]

thank you momo7! but the problem that here i fear most moms are not concerned at all about their kids... all that they can see is how the house is clean or where to go and have a chit chat...I was even thinking about making a moms' group where every mom in the group will take a turn to make something for the group kids once per week....i think it will be great to have all the moms involved. but i am afraid i will have "what are you talking about?!?! what about cleaning, homeworks, cooking, dish washing etc..." kind of look..

[Nazsmum]

Please try....May just something for a half an hour. Like you play the panio and sing a few song then read a book or two. It does not have to be long. The point is to get together.(just thinking off the top of my head)You know what would work.

You can always expand on the idea. BUT you will never know unless you try

[momo7]

Trust me when I tell you that your problem is not limited just to your village. It's prevalent here where I live in the U.S. I am ashamed to say that I have given an excuse myself a time or two. Actually, just reading about your struggle has helped me to understand, in a better light, why so many groups like your fail. I will try to do a better job on my end so that in some way it shows appreciation for what you do on your end.

[Ekatherina]

thank you so much for all your encouragement! some news I organized a sunday play club where we are practicing for a x-mas play, surprisingly i could talk some parents into sending their kids to my place instead of locking them indoors for their homeworks......so it was our second sunday and we are having more kids each time......they are talking each others and their parents into it. also today is friday and I remembered that we have some muslim friends whose schools are on saturdays so fridays they are off ! I went to their home and brought them here...
about story telling club and music I still didnt do anything, hopefully can organize that soon too....the problem is that moms are not only not cooperating, they are terrified of you mentioning something to them in the middle of the week, since after noon their poor school kids should concentrate on doing homeworks! ....isn't it out of any logic? and please, we are talking about 5-12 years olds!!!

[momo7]

I think that because we homechool, we sometimes take for granted the quality time we are able to spend with our kids because they aren't wrapped up in so much homework they would get from "public" school. For parents who send their kids to "real" school their lives revolve around a set schedule centered on school work. If homework doesn't get done, it literally is a huge issue and no parent wants to deal with the fall out of leaving school work undone.

The parents you are dealing with have two lives with their children. Their child has a life revolving around school, the other life is the one outside of school. It's hard to juggle. I did it myself when I didn't homeschool...so I do kind of understand where they are coming from.

At least the parents are TRYING to get involved with a non-school activity. That is a huge plus. Work with that, it's very encouraging. You will be surprised, I think, about the involvement. Don't give up.