1. a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.

As homeschool parents, we all kind of dread the socialization question, don’t we?

I get this question all the time- at the farm stand, the grocery store, the bank, the gas station, you name it.

When out in the world with my children (and now our pup), we are often asked, “No school today?”

And as soon as we answer, we know what is coming next:

“But what about socialization?”

The thing is, those folks are getting socialization all wrong.

Socialization is not dependent upon being in brick and mortar school building from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday through Friday. It is not something limited to the classroom, recess, or a hot lunch with thirty other children who share a birth year.

Socialization is an ongoing process through which a person learns the norms, customs, values, social skills, etc., that help that person to become a functioning member of our society- of our community. 

Socialization happens all the time.

We constantly have new experiences, whether that is a volunteer opportunity, a field trip, or an excursion with other homeschoolers. We spend days out in the community, interacting with people of all ages and walks of life.

The world is our classroom and no two days are the same.

Yes, my children are involved in activities with same-age peers, but they are also involved in a host of multi-age activities. My kids have a much broader peer group than I had when I was their age and was attending public school. 

Those folks who ask us about the s-word when we are in line at the farm stand? They are confusing socialization and social skills. 

Social skills are those skills we need to communicate and interact with one another, both verbally and nonverbally. Social skills involve communication, listening, empathy, conflict resolution. These skills help us to build and maintain important relationships, both personal and professional. 

Do you want to know a fantastic way to work on social skills? Do you want to help your child to be an effective communicator? Would you like your child to learn conflict resolution skills? Do you want your child to flex those empathy muscles?

Guess what? Gameschooling is a wonderful way to practice those all-important social skills.

I’ve shared heaps of delicious games above, but if you are looking for a few more, consider cooperative games. I love cooperative games because they tap into all those social skills. They help children to cooperate, communicate, and work on a team. Cooperative games helped my competition-shy daughter to grow in confidence. They also helped my ultra-competitive son learn to collaborate and also how to win and lose with grace.

Favorite cooperative games: