by Sara Mcgrath

Created on: April 11, 2008

1. HOMESCHOOLERS GET TO SOCIALIZE! I always laugh whenever I encounter an argument against homeschooling based on children's need to socialize - As if you get to do that in school?! As a formerly schooled child, I distinctly remember my teacher saying, "You're not here to socialize!" While most kids are in school and their parents are at work, my children and I get to socialize. We socialize with one another - my favorite - and we get to interact with the community. My kids know the folks at the post office, grocery store, hardware store, and library. We run errands together every day.

2. HOMESCHOOLERS GET TO GO OUTSIDE. My kids and I love to get outside and enjoy a beautiful day. When the sun beckons through the windows, we head out our back door, walk through the woods, and come out at the playground where we find other happy homeschoolers with the same idea. If we time it right, my daughters get to play with the private school kids during their daily 20-minute recess. It comes and goes so quick!

3. HOMESCHOOLERS GET TO FOLLOW THEIR INTERESTS. My kids get to learn what they want to learn when they want to learn it. My daughters and I attended a rock and gem show and the girls got interested in rocks. We found ourselves digging for quartz at a local park. When we got home, we dug into resources on quartz and learned a ton. Then we put together some snazzy lap books showcasing what we learned. We had fun with glue, scissors, and markers, and the whole time we talked together, sharing thoughts and ideas and posing questions and thinking up ways to find the answers.

4. HOMESCHOOLERS GET TO LEARN DOMESTIC SKILLS. Most parents no longer have time for domestic skills such as sewing, gardening, canning, or even cooking meals. My 3-year-old is a blossoming chef. She has become my dedicated kitchen partner. She helps with harvesting from the garden, cooking, baking, canning, and making sauerkraut and pickles. My 5-year-old helps with sewing. She has begun making clothing for her dolls and hopes to get her own sewing machine. She sorts through the fabric my grandmother gave us and thinks up ideas for new sewing projects.

5. HOMESCHOOLERS GET TO ATTEND COMMUNITY CLASSES. After library story time on Tuesdays, I drop my 5-year-old daughter off at ballet class. She's preparing for a recital. While she's in class, my 3-year-old and I walk down to the river beach and bury our feet in the sand. On Wednesdays, my 5-year-old goes to art class. We keep the rest of the week free of

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