Social Sadie

The most difficult part of homeschooling Sadie has been her social transition.  She is a very social creature. She is in her element when she is leading other, including others, meeting new people.  Rarely does she not make friends immediately with other kids.  At the same time, her propensity for jealousy often leads to behavior that can be an aversion. 

Homeschool has taken a bit of that away from her.  She sees her friends from last year at school and knows she has not been included in playdates or parties.  Changes at her swim site also left a little void in her heart.  She has been lonely and lost, often feeling friend-less. 

My attempts at helping the situation haven't been met with much success.  Her enrollment at Faith Academy on Tuesdays has allowed her to be around other kids, but many of them are older and almost all live in Greensboro making social interaction outside of the Academy quite difficult.  Swimming has also had its issues when she was excluded from a clique that was briefly formed with some of the older girls.

At the same time, all of this has provided invaluable teaching opportunities.  What defines a good friend?  Is there anything as a "perfect friend."  How is your behavior attracting or repelling friends?  On a circumstantial level, I have enrolled her in another homeschool group, in addition to Faith Academy, that is in our town to allow more social opportunities.  I noticed that she seemed to have a better time, socially, at our latest swim meet.

However, nothing quite ever prepares you or numbs you to your child being hurt.  Those feelings of rejection are tough to console and no matter what I do on the circumstantial level, the pain is there. Life lessons that never seem to have an end.