Today as I was piecing the quilt I am making my Father, it occurred to me that sometimes I feel we are living on Nim’s Island and that my daughter is Nim (this happens to be one of my daughter’s favorite books and movies).  She is an only child and we live on six acres in rural Upstate NY, and often during our homeschooling week she does not get to see any of her friends, as we don’t have any close neighbors with kids and her friends are busy with traditional school. Weekends are a different matter altogether, as she is involved in sports, dance, and plenty of play dates.

One of the reasons we waited until this year to homeschool is that we worried about “socialization” because she is an ONLY child.

This morning she is busying herself making a “Farmer’s Market” for the “fairies who live outside”.  Sticks, grass, and paper comprise the structure of the market and the detailed “wares” for sale inside are incredible! From tiny sewing needles (made from bits of toothpicks), mini journals and teenie tiny pencils, paintings and books (all fairy sized, of course), acorn caps, buttons, little fabric bundles, to small vases and even bite-sized food!

And the funny thing is, like Nim, she is happy and loves reading, using her imagination, and playing with her “animal” and “fairy” friends. She has named the fox across the road “Fern”, the opossum that frequents our garden “Emily”, a rascally raccoon “Jasper”, and a tiny mouse in our field “Amos”.  She loves to write stories and draw pictures of these critters.  But she is also very social and loves playing with her best friends on the weekends.  So why do I let it worry me so much?

One of the reasons we waited until this year to homeschool is that we worried about “socialization” because she is an ONLY child. To feel a bit more connected to our community during the school week, since the weather has turned warm, we have been driving into the Village to grab an ice cream from the scoop shop and walking through the Village admiring the houses and community garden.  Next year she will be playing sports (4^th grade) that actually practices during the week and we certainly look forward to that. We are also both looking forward to summer where she will spend her mornings at Theater Camp with her friends (and me walking with my friends in the Village!) and the afternoons where we will park ourselves at my best friend’s pool with her kids.

As homeschoolers or parents of an only child, what do you do to feel connected to your community and to keep your child(ren) involved with their friends?

This post was written by Colette D., a new-to-homeschooling Mom and a Lesson Pathways Blog contributing writer.  She and her Husband raise their daughter together in the rural countryside of Upstate New York where they like to spend as much time as possible being creative and enjoying nature.  She blogs about her adventures in sewing, crafting, and baking (among other things) at yearofhandmade.