Got a New Play Date?
Here are some quick and simple tips to help you and your homeschoolers make friends that will last.
- Choose a fun and neutral setting for your meeting. The park is perfect because children are already used to sharing the playground equipment and nothing belongs to anyone. This will help to curb any sharing issues.
- Keep things simple and forget any plans or schedules you had in mind. Just meeting with no real plans but to have fun will keep you more relaxed, flexible, and open minded. There is nothing worse than carefully laid plans going to ruins.
- Shorter is better for the first couple of times children are together. Try to stick to about an hour and no longer than 90 minutes. This will help to stop over-exhausted homeschoolers from throwing tantrums or getting rude.
- Give a couple of warnings before it’s time to leave. As a rule, I give a fifteen-minute warning before it’s time to leave and then another five-minute warning. This is a tip I got from a preschool teacher and it really helps my homeschoolers from having a meltdown when it’s time to leave.
- Help your child to be polite by being a good example! I know we all try, but just adding please and thank you to your sentences can really help encourage your child to follow suit.
- Take care of the basic needs! Don’t set yourself up for disaster by going to a play date with a tired, hungry, or already frustrated homeschooler! Before you leave the house eat and use the restroom. Bring along water - just in case - and time your dates wisely. I normally schedule the play time at nine or ten a.m. When we leave the park at about 11:30a.m., it’s just in time to eat when we get home.
- Toys that encourage sharing. If you want to bring toys along to play with choose something that the kids can do together.
- Blocks
- Balls
- Frisbees
- Jump rope (if there are more than 2 kids)
- Softball and a couple of mitts
- Shovels and a couple of pails – if you’re at the beach or if there is sand at the playground.
- Otherwise you could bring a cheap bag of rice for them to play with.
Snowy Alternatives!
Ready to schedule that play date but the cold putting a damper on things? How about one of these great places:
- Get a schedule of plays from your local Play House. There are tons of plays going on all year long. It’s a great place to take the kids while it’s cold and what a great experience for everyone! Talk with the other mothers in your homeschool group and see if you all can’t split a couple of season passes. You get a better deal with the passes and you can look at the schedule and spilt up the tickets.
- Look to your local children’s museum. If your city has a local children’s museum then a family pass can really help you to supplement your curriculum and provide you with a great spot for play dates!
- Your local library may have different reading hours and activities. Give them a call and find out what’s available.
- Honestly sometimes a simple trip to the indoor McDonalds play land will work. Honestly we hardly eat McDonalds, but on a cold day when I’m exhausted and need a break that doesn’t cost me an entrance fee it’s a great place to stop. A lot of the time I would feed the kids before we left and tell them before hand that we weren’t getting happy meals. Instead, I would grab a too hot cup of coffee and (if they were good) ice cream cones when we got there. You can either use the ice cream to get them out the door without a fuss or give it to them in the beginning and let them burn off the sugar before you get back into the car. Your choice - you’ll figure out what works best!
- Your local YMCA is a fun and inexpensive place to spend time. An annual family pass is affordable and there are enough activities to keep the kids on their toes…oh and a pool!
- Don’t let your annual Zoo pass get cold over the winter…not all the animals will be hibernating! There are tons of cold weather activities waiting at the zoo. Call their office or check out their websites for a list of fun happenings.
- Take a tour! Your local fire department, police station, manufacturing plant, or capital building can be both educational and fun. Give them a call to see if they do tours and if they’re surprised by your request just tell them your homeschoolers would really love to learn more about them! You could be really surprised how fast doors open when a child’s education is the subject.
- The Movies are always an option. The matinees are reasonable and if you have a dollar theater close then even better!
Is your child Homeschooler Super Shy?
Here is a great article that could help your homeschoolers overcome their social hurtle:
"To help shy kids out of their shells, says Dr. Ruth Peters, you need to demonstrate — gradually — that their fears are unfounded." Read more of this MSNBC article.
Happy Homeschooling!
Kristi
