Fostering Friendships

Well, summer is finally here. Here in the Pacific Northwest summer arrives bluntly, and unannounced. All of a sudden one day, it just arrives. With summers’ arrival, one can also expect an occasional dose of what I call: Imboreditis. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Imboreditis, it is almost always brought on by unnecessary and invented boredom by children. There are many inventive and creative antidotes to ward off Imboreditis, but one sure cure-all will almost always involve getting together with friends.

Over the years, I have watched my children foster healthy and meaningful friendships. One thing I’ve observed about the majority of homeschoolers, is they are almost always very social creatures – very contrary to the old myth that homeschooled kids may have trouble socializing. An awful lot could be written on the subject, but we’ll save that for another post.

A great benefit to homeschooling is the fact that these kids are able to foster meaningful healthy relationships, as they begin to learn what kinds of relationships may or may not be good for them. They learn which friendships are reciprocal, and which ones are not. They learn to have compassion, patience, tolerance, and mercy, and they learn to forgive too – ‘cuz, hey no body’s perfect. All this is experienced and played out during creative, free, group play.

Our homeschool group meets weekly outdoors for this very type of group play, and the kids have come to eagerly look forward to it. It’s very interesting to watch this type of group play. There is a playground close by, but the kids prefer to stay in the grassy hills where many games are invented. Games of hide and seek, tag, soccer, and much imaginary play are carried out. Through these games, the kids are learning cooperation, how to be sensitive to others and are becoming keenly aware that not everyone may share their point of view. Through it all, I’ve noticed strong friendships and close bonds forming among these kids of varying ages and backgrounds.

As my children get older, I’m becoming keenly aware at just how much these friendships are becoming more relevant and meaningful to my children, as I witness the value of fostering friendships. My own childhood has left me with very fond memories of many summers spent in play with a few good childhood friends. Some of these friendships have carried over to adulthood and continue to warm my heart.

As you enjoy your summer with your children and family, I’d encourage you to consider creating opportunities for your own children for this very kind of group play. Give them opportunities to foster meaningful friendships. I pray that these experiences would warm their hearts as as my own childhood friendships have warmed mine.

Cheryl has been married to her ‘do all’ husband for 13 years. They live in British Columbia, Canada on beautiful Vancouver Island. Cheryl has been homeschooling their two daughters ages 8 & 10, for 5 years. Her approach to homeschooling is mostly Classical with a dash of Charlotte Mason. She used to be one of those parents who thought they could never homeschool – boy, was she wrong. She enjoys blogging to encourage others that they too can homeschool if the desire is upon their hearts. She homeschool simply because – her kids are worth it. Please visit Cheryl at HomeSchool Journey.