One of the many perks of home school (of any type) is being able to go and do things at different times than anyone else, especially being able to do it without worrying about needing a doctor’s note or other acceptable excuse note in fear of being reported for truancy. (Side note: Since we chose online public school option, we do have attendance rules to follow, but they are much more lenient.)
Our son has been going to a co-op that was set-up by his virtual academy for families with access to Tinker AFB, so it is for active duty, reservists, guard, Rretirees or civilians who work on base. If you have legal base access and you attend OKVA/OVCA then you are welcome to join this co-op group. There is also a group of non-virtual school families that home school in one form or another that join our little co–op for PE/recess time. This allows the kids to make some new friends and everyone gets some physical exercise!.
Recently, thanks to a Tinker Homeschool Support page on Facebook, we learned about a Gymnastic center that offers classes geared towards home school families. A new session start this week, so we loaded everyone up and went to check it out. Both of our own kids LOVED it! We even got permission for my daycare children (the ones old enough) to participate as well. So now not only do our own kids get to experience this opportunity but so do at least two of my daycare children. Their parents are thrilled!
Our son also started karate this week. For the last two plus years we have been participating in flag football, basketball, and soccer through the Upward Sports program at First Baptist Church of Moore, and basketball and cheer leading at St John’s Lutheran Church/school, also in Moore. Our kids are having a blast! They have made lots of new friends, gotten some exercise, and learned more about the sports that they have an interest in.
There are TONS of programs all over the metro to give your children these sort of activities. There are programs at the local YMCAs, churches, city leagues, and even some “private” leagues. There are even homeschool groups with their sports league and a band. Oklahoma City Community College has kids’ sports programs, swim lessons, and so much more, including classes during the summer for everything from robotics, science, cooking, history and art to various dance classes and creative writing. These programs are all over the place.
My point in telling everyone this is that these programs do exist! If you can’t find the hobby, sport, or subject that your child is interested in then go to a local store, club, or school and see if they have any interest in starting a group or class for that subject or hobby for homeschoolers. You may be pleasantly surprised how open to suggestions these businesses are. Like if your child wants to try out pottery, find one of those awesome pottery studios and see if they have any kids’ classes. If not, ask the owner/manager how many people they would need to make it worth their time to set up a class!
These activities not only teach your child about the sport, hobby or subject of interest but also give them a place to make new friends of all ages which helps with learning socialization skills, trying new things, and it shows them you care about something that they care about, For some kids that can make all the difference in the world for how their attitude is about homeschooling. Plus, the best part, it is so much FUN!
Have any information to share? Let’s hear it!
