Are you having trouble finding actual homeschoolers, especially at the high school level?

[busymama7]

I love that there are lots of options for families with different needs but it feels like all the online charter type programs have taken over the homeschool world 😂 I am having a hard time finding homeschoolers to do things with at the high school level as they are all enrolled in these other schools. Even those who homeschool the younger years, switch over when they get to high school. My teens and I are feeling a little bit alone and I'm just curious if other are seeing this. Or maybe it's always been this way? I have graduated 2 and have a senior next year so have been around awhile. It seems to be more recent.

 

My kids do have friends from other places but I have a strong desire to have a homeschool community and it is just so hard at the teen years. This might be just a vent 😢

 

Edit: obviously those teens have social needs that can be met with homeschool group even if they aren't actually legally homeschooling. But I am talking about co-op type situations. We really enjoy those but it's really hard.

Edited May 29, 2017 by busymama7

[HS Mom in NC]

Yes, I think high school is probably the least homeschooled age group.  By the time mine were in their mid teens they were at the community college.  Why not get credit for college when you're ready for that level school work?

Also, there's a lower percentage of philosophical homeschoolers in the community.  Higher percentages of people are here because their first choice and second choices (private and public institutional schools) worked for a while, but then didn't work out (AKA "refugees" in the homeschooling community.) If they found another non-homeschooling option that works for them, they're going to take it, especially at the more challenging high school levels.

Homeschooled highschoolers have more demanding academic and extra curricular schedules.  Their socializing is going to be more limited.

Don't forget that the economy is such that fewer stay at home parents are in the mix.  It would be more challenging to homeschool a high schooler part time. 

I would encourage you to start your own group for highschoolers. Co-ops are a whole lot of work, especially for teen level academics.  You could always start your own.

[wintermom]

My high school aged, still homeschooling dc do have a couple homeschool friends. They don't get to see them very often because everyone is so busy with activities and trying to squeeze in academics that take longer. The boys have been better about organizing gatherings in order to visit, such as going to movies. The girls are happy seeing each other very infrequently. 

 

One class that was a huge hit for many homeschool teens in our area was a Junior Achievers business entrepreneur class. It attracted a good number of boys and girls, meeting up once a week at a local library for 4 months. They started their own company, marketed, made and sold their product at various locations around the city. They loved it. Many of them still stay in touch a year later. 

[Ethel Mertz]

We have the same problem. Academics takes longer and then the extracurriculars... We homeschool year round and DS has a summer job for the first time. I'm hoping that when we move to WNC, we'll find more high school homeschoolers.

[Guest]

Short answer: yes.

[busymama7]

Yes, I think high school is probably the least homeschooled age group. By the time mine were in their mid teens they were at the community college. Why not get credit for college when you're ready for that level school work?

 

Also, there's a lower percentage of philosophical homeschoolers in the community. Higher percentages of people are here because their first choice and second choices (private and public institutional schools) worked for a while, but then didn't work out (AKA "refugees" in the homeschooling community.) If they found another non-homeschooling option that works for them, they're going to take it, especially at the more challenging high school levels.

 

Homeschooled highschoolers have more demanding academic and extra curricular schedules. Their socializing is going to be more limited.

 

Don't forget that the economy is such that fewer stay at home parents are in the mix. It would be more challenging to homeschool a high schooler part time.

 

I would encourage you to start your own group for highschoolers. Co-ops are a whole lot of work, especially for teen level academics. You could always start your own.

I've been running a coop for 10 years. It's very successful but we still lose most of the teens and so the kids for whom I'm really wanting to run the group for are all disappearing. At this point I'd rather meet at a park for a play date then run the co-op. Simply because I have never felt it was primarily for the elementary age. They are along for the ride. The idea behind it was for the teens but we can't retain them. We usually retain their families and younger siblings. 😉 Edited May 29, 2017 by busymama7

[Melissa B]

I know we still have two or three groups that get together with teens. My teens choose not to participate once they get to the middle/high school age. They prefer to spend time with others that have common interests. My runner spends time with other runners, my actress spends time with other actors, etc. Simply being homeschoolers together is no longer a draw for them at that point. Only my youngest is still a member of a homeschool co-op. And we are having a hard time pulling the co-op together this year. Each child has such different needs and desires by middle school. It is hard to make it fit for everyone.

[FaithManor]

We know several homeschooling high schoolers, but the intensity of high school, dual enrollment, extracurricular, etc. leaves little time to see them unless our activities cross.

[iamonlyone]

We have a different experience. We are part of a homeschooling organization with 120+ families, geared toward older kids. We have phenomenal choirs that do well in regional and national competitions and lots of high school sports (girls and boys volleyball, cross country, girls and boys soccer, basketball, golf, and track, and reciprocal agreements with local private schools for baseball and football). We also have speech and debate classes, and our debate teams are very active in competitions around the country.

 

As for traditional classes, our organization doesn't offer classes (outside of choir and speech/debate), but we have current and past homeschooling moms who are well-qualified and teach art and lab sciences and upper-level math. Quite a few of our high schoolers who are dual enrolled for some classes at community colleges talk ahead of time and take the same classes so they can carpool.

 

We had 110 high schoolers at our spring formal and filled a church with guests when this year's 28 seniors graduated. I have a senior next year, and we have been busy planning next fall's senior trip this spring. We had our first class meeting last week to talk about reserving a venue for the graduation, senior T-shirts, etc.

 

Kids send informal group texts all the time and get together for ultimate frisbee, volleyball at Sonic, Bible studies, parties at people's houses, etc.

 

I do realize this is not the norm, and I have been thankful many times for the opportunities we have!

Edited May 29, 2017 by iamonlyone

[eternalsummer]

There seem to be a fair number of homeschooled highschoolers in our area (greater KC), judging by the variety of groups that exist and photos with older-looking kids in them, but I am not sure if they all get together very often.

[Loesje22000]

Middle School was the time dd transfered from 'homeschool activities' to 'standard activities' she just attend the same things as other children and is in less need for 'special' homeschoolcontacts.

Homeschool highschool is a rarity here, and looks different with our exit exams system.

We don't have charters and lots of online courses. So those we homeschool, homeschool by theirselves.

[busymama7]

Another reason why this is so hard for me is that we like to do things during the week when their traditionally schooled friends(and some of the online schooled ones) just aren't available. Things like hiking and camping and trips and such. We school year round to be able to enjoy the good fall and spring weather and lower crowds etc. yes my teens have a bigger work load but not so much as to completely eliminate flexibility.

 

We used to have a larger group to do these things with but things have changed recently and I'm really struggling with it.

[Amber in SJ]

Both of my HS graduates were doing concurrent enrollment with a local community college as soon as they could (around 16 here) and one of them tested out of HS and went to community college full time the last year of HS.  Some of our homeschooling friends have put their kids back into traditional brick and mortar schools for high school or into online charter schools because they have been loosely homeschooling or unschooling and have come to find that is a difficult row to hoe when it comes to getting into university.  Some homeschoolers change their minds about homeschooling high school because they don't feel qualified or comfortable teaching high school level courses.  We miss our homeschooling friends and this year it has added to dd's discontent with homeschooling.  

 

And BTW some of us in charter schools consider ourselves "actual homeschoolers."   :)  I choose the courses, I choose the curriculum, I assign, teach & grade the work.  Some courses I write the curriculum, schedule, scope & sequence.  Some courses we choose an online option.  It doesn't get more actual homeschooler than that.  

 

Amber in SJ 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Amber in SJ

[regentrude]

All  of the teens in our local homeschool group completed high school at home. But just because kids happens to be schooled in a particular manner does not mean they have anything in common.

My DD's friends were all college students she met during DE. My DS has a large circle of friends, some homeschooled, some not; he met some of the homeschooled friends years ago in playgroup, but their friendship is built on common interests and not on the fact that they are homeschooled. He met some other homeschooled friends in different context where the schooling aspect did not enter the equation at all.

 

I don't really understand the issue. It is important for me that my kids have friends - but why would it matter whether those friends are homeschooled or not? We school and work during the day and are not available for random socializing in the middle of the day anyway. 

ETA: We have never been lucky to find coops, classes, or any kind of community learning with other homeschoolers that served any of my kids' educational needs. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by regentrude

[Carrie12345]

I think we've got a pretty even mix around here, BUT a lot of the non-cyber high schoolers are actually enrolled in diploma programs, so we still get weird looks when we take a week off to focus on an extracurricular or go rogue on the science sequence.

 

We also have a subset of independent homeschoolers who are very school-at-home and don't get as involved because it messes with their schedule.

 

To be fair, we've actually "oversocialized" this year, and I'm tempted to pull back.  But my kids are so happy, engaged, and blossoming into awesome humans, so we'll probably keep truckin'.  Though our core group may be small, it's still an incredible group.

[DawnM]

We homeschooled our oldest all the way through.  Our main source of social stuff was our homeschool scout troop.  We got together with some of them even outside of scouts.

 

It worked well for most of the time, but it wasn't enough, and it was tough.

 

Middle son wanted to go to school in 10th grade and we let him.  This year everyone is in school.  It has gone really well and I really do get why families choose to send their kids to either dual enrollment programs or school.

 

I feel your pain.

[The Girls' Mom]

High school was much lonelier on the homeschool side for my girls.  Pretty much all of their friends from age 14 and up were from non-homeschool circles.  (church, volunteering, etc).  Around here groups were very hard to find because you have to be the "right" kind of Christian homeschooler.  They had a great co-op they attended for a while, but junior and senior year the friends became sparse as kids moved on to community college and work.  

[kewb]

Yes.  My oldest, who just completed his freshman year of college, complained often about the lack of social opportunities and friends who homeschooled high school.  My daughter has similar complaints.  I was a bit of a trailblazer in my area. Once high school hits a lot of kids go back to school for sports.  Or friends.  A lot of parents didn't feel up to the challenge and put their kids back in school.

 

Plus, as others have said, if you are on a college track the academic demands take more time.

[MedicMom]

I can't even find second grade age homeschoolers. But my son can't manage a co-op situation and we are philosophical homeschoolers that are rejecting a classroom lol. All I want is a park day....

[Carrie12345]

Obviously you should all come move by me!  It'll be great, I promise!

[regentrude]

Where did they find friends?  I would love some suggestions that maybe I haven't thought of. (my daughter is actually middle school age.....but every co-op i find is religious based and super conservative religious at that..not what we are looking for)

 

I'm nor Margaret, but this is where mine found friends:

 

homeschool playgroup (weekly park days, no academics); riding stable, choir, taekwondo, judo, online, at work, DE classes.

Other homeschooled teens I know found friends in orchestra, community theatre, life guarding at the pool, homeschool PE, at their jobs, through their parents' friends.

Edited May 29, 2017 by regentrude

[chiguirre]

Where did they find friends?  I would love some suggestions that maybe I haven't thought of. (my daughter is actually middle school age.....but every co-op i find is religious based and super conservative religious at that..not what we are looking for)

 

We're in the same boat. The local co-ops wouldn't accept Trinqueta because of the SOF but even if we waffled on that, their offerings are academically weak because most strong students DE when they hit junior year.

 

T's found friends at sports, scouts, choir and string ensemble. Some of these are homeschool activities, some are community based.

[G5052]

Same here. Many send theirs to the classroom or graduate them at 16 so they can attend the community college.

 

Mine found friends in activities not specific to homeschooling.

[Bambam]

I started a teen group here (subset of our support group). I try to schedule two (and only two during the traditional school year) events each month. I try to find cheap or free places/events. Usually one event is a lunch and the other mid-afternoon. I switch up days of the week because of all the different schedules - no one day is good for everyone. Sonic Happy Hours are good (plus we have one with a volleyball court). I strongly encourage only teens with parents - leave the youngers at home or with another mom while you bring her teens - mostly because I think teens *need* some time away from their younger siblings. 

 

Yes, definitely - I'd estimate probably 75% of homeschoolers return to a traditional setting at high school. Add that in with the fact high schoolers are *busy* - and that means they are hard to find. 

 

In our local newspaper, there have been a couple of articles about graduating seniors walking the halls of the local elementary schools. The purpose - to encourage the students that they can graduate, but a nice byproduct is that it encourages the teachers too.

So, I started thinking ... how could we do this with homeschoolers? In our part of the woods, probably 75%+ kids are put in a traditional school for high school. There are a variety of reasons, but sometimes the reason is fear on the mom's part.

So, I decided to get with several moms who have homeschooled their children through high school and get them to write a brief bio of their homeschool journey and the student's future plans. I think if new homeschoolers see this sort of story, they will realize that it isn't quite as scary as they think, and start to see some of the possibilities, and be able to make a rational decision about they want to do.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I gave up awhile ago.  There is a ton of stuff for preschoolers and early elementary.   Not so much as they get older. 

There seems to always be an ongoing effort to start teen or tween groups, but they don't get going or last.  I'm tired of setting my kids up for that disappointment so I just try to keep them busy with other stuff. 

 

This has been the hardest thing about homeschooling really.  Most activities are also tied to the schools and they don't allow homeschooler participation. 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Same here. Many send theirs to the classroom or graduate them at 16 so they can attend the community college.

 

Mine found friends in activities not specific to homeschooling.

 

This is yet another reason in a long list as to why my kid is graduating early (not the most important reason, but a reason).  I can't imagine the poor kid spinning his wheels for that many years.

[whitestavern]

I put my kids into school in 8th partly because so many HSers had already done so and numbers were dwindling. My poor ds was down to a couple of kids 3-4 years younger than him to hang with.

[Dmmetler]

Yes. The two day a week academic University model type programs seem to take over here starting at middle school (or kids go back to school) and take over the social side as well. These are a poor fit for DD because of SOF issues and because of academic issues. DD turned into a co-leader for the homeschool clubs that used to be her same age friend group because everyone either went back to school or went to these hybrid programs. Not a lot of fun to be a 12 yr old with a bunch of 8 yr olds. One reason why she started CC was to have other people around. We're trying a competitive cheer team, which hopefully will give her the same people and time to connect with them.

Edited May 29, 2017 by dmmetler

[Hilltopmom]

We have a handful ofhigh school homeschoolers we hang with (left from our early days) but we're all busy, doing school, DE, extracurriculars,& jobs.

 

No more meeting up mid day just to play at these ages ;)

 

I remember asking years agoA mom of teens why they never came to group stuff & she was like "we do school all day, they have jobs & hobbies & friends, we don't need homeschool activities" & being taken aback, but now I get it.

 

We do social stuff on weekends, go to plays together, host bbqs, or over school breaks with the kids who have enrolled in school.

I was setting up social stuff just for the teens for awhile- game night, disk golf, movie night,etc,but now we just wing it.

 

My kids found the rest of their tribe NOT in homeschool stuff, but through community extracurriculars like dance, robotics, gaming groups, etc

Edited May 29, 2017 by Hilltopmom

[ScoutTN]

Hkmeschooling is common here and while the numbers do drop off after elementary, there are a fair number of hs hight schoolers here and many good tutorials. Dd (a rising 7th grader) will certainly continue to have homeschooled friends all the way through and have some irl academic community. Very happy about that.

 

However, she has friends from church, scouts, our neighborhood, and volunteering too. I expect she will continue to find friends in a variety of places.

 

I expect Ds' experience to be similar. He is very outgoing and makes a wide cross section of friends wherever he goes.

[scrapbookbuzz]

We're one of the very few highschool hsers here, and the others are all rather anti-intellectual. So, dd (and my others) found friends in other places. I got tired of dd being told she was going to h*ll for 1) wanting the military and 2) wanting a university education. 

She was seriously told that? That's just rude.

 

As for high school level homeschooled students, we do have some great opportunities here - sometimes too many, I think.

If any of you live in or visit AZ, come visit me and we'll chat while the teens hang out!

 

But even here, many teens who were homeschooled wind up going to a virtual academy or public high school here. Don't know why, exactly.

[busymama7]

Both of my HS graduates were doing concurrent enrollment with a local community college as soon as they could (around 16 here) and one of them tested out of HS and went to community college full time the last year of HS.  Some of our homeschooling friends have put their kids back into traditional brick and mortar schools for high school or into online charter schools because they have been loosely homeschooling or unschooling and have come to find that is a difficult row to hoe when it comes to getting into university.  Some homeschoolers change their minds about homeschooling high school because they don't feel qualified or comfortable teaching high school level courses.  We miss our homeschooling friends and this year it has added to dd's discontent with homeschooling.  

 

And BTW some of us in charter schools consider ourselves "actual homeschoolers."   :)  I choose the courses, I choose the curriculum, I assign, teach & grade the work.  Some courses I write the curriculum, schedule, scope & sequence.  Some courses we choose an online option.  It doesn't get more actual homeschooler than that.  

 

Amber in SJ 

Sorry! I didnt mean to offend.  We have no programs like that here so I guess Im not familiar with that set up.  Our co-op welcomes any non brick and morter students who want to attend so its not like I have an issue with those choosing charter or online programs.  Im just feeling lonely and alone in this homeschooling thing.  and I was trying to describe the problem.  There are many who consider themselves homeschoolers who technically arent and dont there fore have the freedom to be flexible like us  and/or they have specific needs from a co-op that differ from those of us doing it the DIY way.  

[busymama7]

To be clear:

 

My kids do have friends from other activities and such, as do I.  We still miss having homeschool friends.  We just do.

 

It makes running a co-op really hard and I'm feeling on the edge of giving it up.  That is all.  

[regentrude]

It makes running a co-op really hard and I'm feeling on the edge of giving it up.  That is all.  

 

Is it a coop that serves the educational needs of the teens in your circle?

That was the sticking point for us. In high school, many families don't want to waste time on "classes" during the day that are only glorified socializing. Do your academic expectations for the coop match the academic expectations of the other parents of high schoolers? For us, the fundamental mismatch in that area was what rendered coop not viable.

Edited May 29, 2017 by regentrude

[Carrie12345]

Is it a coop that serves the educational needs of the teens in your circle?

That was the sticking point for us. In high school, many families don't want to waste time on "classes" during the day that are only glorified socializing. Do your academic expectations for the coop match the academic expectations of the other parents of high schoolers? For us, the fundamental mismatch in that area was what rendered coop not viable.

 

I agree with the above.

I'm co-founding a new co-op, and we're working hard to be a mix of academic, enrichment, leadership/community service, and socialization.  I don't want all my teens' classes coming from co-ops, but I don't want them farting around for a whole day, either.

[catz]

Grateful for our teen co-op and a local group that targets teens for social events.  My kids have friends through other activities too but it is nice to have a connection to the homeschool community.  My oldest will be doing dual enrollment at a CC next year which many kids start locally in 11th grade (it's free in our state).

 

The problem our older kid co-op has is getting a ton of age exception requests every year and we always say no.  And then we're seen as elitist.  If we said yes to everyone, our co-op would become 8-12 year old oriented and the teens would not want to be there.  The set up is at least as much social as it is academic.  And many of the older kids involved are also GT/2E.  We've had people thank us after the fact for leaving it as a community for the older kids.  Parents of younger kids are more likely to complain about behavior that is pretty typically teen too. 

[catz]

Is it a coop that serves the educational needs of the teens in your circle?

That was the sticking point for us. In high school, many families don't want to waste time on "classes" during the day that are only glorified socializing. Do your academic expectations for the coop match the academic expectations of the other parents of high schoolers? For us, the fundamental mismatch in that area was what rendered coop not viable.

 

Our co-op mixes academic and fun classes.  I select carefully for my kids and often pick stuff that would be hard for me to do at home (hands on science, discussion based social studies, hands on art, etc).  I also round out stuff we pick there with stuff we do at home.  I think it is difficult to replace a full credit class with a co-op class that meets once a week and not every teacher we have is giving enough work during the week to justify that. 

 

I teach at co-op too and we have kids that are just dabbling and showing up and doing nothing in between classes to kids that should about get college credit for their level of engagement and work at the end.  As a teacher, I present information at a high level and keep plowing through and have no expectations about what kids will produce in class.  I give homework that is open ended enough to engage kids at many levels, often with options.  I refer resources to round out my class.  I do send out e-mails to parents every week about what was covered and what homework is.  Co-op teachers that do not keep parents in the loop are one of my hugest pet peeves. 

[busymama7]

Is it a coop that serves the educational needs of the teens in your circle?

That was the sticking point for us. In high school, many families don't want to waste time on "classes" during the day that are only glorified socializing. Do your academic expectations for the coop match the academic expectations of the other parents of high schoolers? For us, the fundamental mismatch in that area was what rendered coop not viable.

 

 

yes this, exactly.  trying to find the balance because we do still want to get our kids together regularly.  because a large portion of our group is online schooling, we can't offer exclusively academic classes.  But because we tend towards more enrichment type classes (including music classes like band, orchestra and choir) we don't tend to attract those who are homeschooling themselves as they don't want to "waste" time during the day.    I am tempted to offer up clear, strong classical type classes to try to draw in more families who desire that but honestly we can't seem to find those people either ;)

 

My kids and I are what I would call social introverts.  I made that up and it sounds totally contradictory but its as close as I can get.  We really need social connections but are introverted enough that they don't happen easily.  We need lots of time spent with people to build friendships and co-op has filled those needs until recently.   

 

I really need moms who are on this journey with me.  I have one very close friend but the rest of them have all moved to some other schooling option.

 

My kids do do DE but friendships have not come from there.  at all.  community orchestra and church and scouts to some degree.  

 

But we still want homeschoolers to hang with and we want our co-op to flourish.  Its just really hard.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We are very lucky to have found 1 family with 2 teen girls who aren't uber-religious and homeschool.  We only see them 1X per week since the live almost 2 hours away.

[regentrude]

I really need moms who are on this journey with me.  I have one very close friend but the rest of them have all moved to some other schooling option.

 

It is very difficult to find homeschooling parents who have the same expectations and philosophies so that you could actually school together, which sounds like what you want.

I have very good friends who happen to be homeschooling moms as well - but we do not homeschool together, because our expectations and our children's educational needs are so vastly different. We can still be friends, though. (Not trying to school together is probably why we're still friends, LOL. In fact, we don't talk about schooling at.all.)

 

I have never found any IRL community for the actual homeschooling part, only on this forum. Nobody I know IRL is remotely interested in the same curricula, in the same educational path, had similar expectations for a coop. Not in the middle grades, not in highschool.

The situation was similar for my kids; they do have friends who happen to be homeschooled, but they did not participate in any schooling activities together; there would not have been a match, academically.

 

If you have enought critical mass for a classical coop, more power to you. I would not have been able to find one single person for an endeavor like this. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by regentrude

[busymama7]

It is very difficult to find homeschooling parents who have the same expectations and philosophies so that you could actually school together, which sounds like what you want.

I have very good friends who happen to be homeschooling moms as well - but we do not homeschool together, because our expectations and our children's educational needs are so vastly different. We can still be friends, though. (Not trying to school together is probably why we're still friends, LOL. In fact, we don't talk about schooling at.all.)

 

I have never found any IRL community for the actual homeschooling part, only on this forum. Nobody is remotely interested in the same curricula, in the same educational path, had similar expectations for a coop. Not in middle grades, not in highschool.

The situation was similar for my kids; they do have friends who happen to be homeschooled, but they did not participate in any schooling activities together; there would not have been a match, academically.

 

 

well yes and no.  mostly no.  I want to have our kids getting together but it doesn't necessarily need to be for academic things.  Clubs and enrichments are fine.  

 

for me, I feel I can learn and get support from moms who are doing this regardless of HOW they are doing it.  I love to chat and bounce ideas off each other and always come away having learned something.  Even if its just the latest book they've read to their kids.  :)

 

for the first 5 or so years of homeschooling i attended weekly park days and those made all the difference to me and my kids.  from that core group of moms we eventually built a co-op.  but it is now wavering due to there only being 2 of us originals left.  and we are really struggling to build it up and find other moms who are looking for similar things.

 

Social would be the priority here.  But its hard to have park days for teens.  I also have younger ones all the ways down to 2.   its just tough.

[regentrude]

Social would be the priority here.  But its hard to have park days for teens.  I also have younger ones all the ways down to 2.   its just tough.

 

What about socializing at teen's houses doing a common interest thing?

 

When DS was 14, he had a group of up to ten, mostly homeschooled, kids over twice a week to practice martial arts in our basement, while the instructor was on military duty for half a year.

Other hs teens I know are getting together to play games.

Parents are only peripherally involved, mainly until the kids drive. It is important for them to socialize. I found, however, that at this age parents being friends and kids being friends are two very different things. I barely know some of my kids' friends' parents, and my kids are not friends with most of my friends' kids.

 

Maybe separate the teen friendships from the adult friendships and look for two distinct circles? That's hard enough; expecting them to overlap may be asking too much.

Edited May 29, 2017 by regentrude

[busymama7]

[quote name="regentrude" post="7617063" timestamp="1496083232

 

Maybe separate the teen friendships from the adult friendships and look for two distinct circles? That's hard enough; expecting them to overlap may be asking too much.

 

I know you speak truth. I'm still having a hard time accepting it. 😢

 

Homeschooling has always been a family centric endeavor for me. My kids have friends whom they do things with that don't involve me or the other parents all the time. But things like mid week camping trips and such just naturally involve the whole family. And I miss my friends. Thankfully I still have one amazing one but I'm just really struggling with the loss of what we had.

 

And since I still have young kids, it isn't only a teen thing. I really appreciate having family friends for the whole family to socialize with.

[Shellydon]

Our homeschool group/co-op has over 150 families.  At least 1/3 of these are high schoolers.  My oldest has a class size of roughly 25 and my second has a class size of nearly 30.  Our group has various co-op classes offered twice a week (both academic and fun classes) that parents can pick and choose from, so my kids see their friend frequently.  Our group also offers dances, athletics etc.  So, no, we have a ton of high school opportunities with homeschoolers here

[FaithManor]

We're one of the very few highschool hsers here, and the others are all rather anti-intellectual. So, dd (and my others) found friends in other places. I got tired of dd being told she was going to h*ll for 1) wanting the military and 2) wanting a university education.

Same here. It was far better for my kids to have friends among the publicly schooled 4H kids than other homeschooling. We are the rare homeschooling who are very academically minded. Most of the others belong to fundamentalists who do not believe in good education for girls.

 

 

I wish we had not moved to this area. We used to live in an area with a LOT more diversity and much less judgment.

[Murphy101]

I used to. Then I stopped looking and decided we'd just go about our lives. Now we don't look for them and it's a non-issue.

 

Eta: for clarity. It's a non issue because they followed their interests and met friends along the way. Whether they were home schooled or not didn't matter.

Edited May 29, 2017 by Murphy101

[leeannpal]

My daughter will start high school this summer. For several reasons we may use the full-time virtual school here in Florids. Many will claim that is just "school at home." I guess it is, but we are involved in several homeschool groups for teens that have both traditional homeschoolers and virtual schoolers. It is a great mix for us. My daughter's best friend is a virtual school student, but she attends the homeschooling field trips, dances and social gatherings. We haven't found the virtual school restricting in the homeschool events