And I believe there are studies that show that the more time provided for kids to be alone, the more creative they are.

We generally have a 1.5 to 2 hour rest period after school work is done, on a regular day. The girls listen to stories or soft music and just play creatively alone in their rooms. Or they draw. And ya know, if they don’t get this time during the day, the really FEEL it. They get all grumpy and tell me it’s because they didn’t get their rest time.

Down time is so important!

Anyway… I could go on and on about this. But it’s late and there’s laundry to fold.

Many thanks to BlogNosh for the feature and the link.

The whole reason we homeschool is to do what works for our family; our kids. If I get sucked into groups that don’t meet our needs, we defeat the purpose of homeschooling.

Some groups gather too far away geographically, others conflict with our world view. Some people just are who I want to spend my time with…same for my kids. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t hermits, but as you point out, there are constant opportunities to pack the social calendar when you’re homeschooling.

I also think there’s something to be said for purposeful socialization. I have a child with Asperger Syndrome. Social situations are taxing for him. This means that he will have a higher quality social interaction, with a more positive outcome, if the interactions are less frequent or shorter in duration.

This post brings up an issue which seems to go unaddressed often times in the homeschooling community. Seems we’re prone to working too hard to prove our kids are being socialized. I wonder if, as homeschooling continues to expand as an option, people will come to feel more comfortable with less-full social calendars?