How to teach social skills while homeschooling while not bei

How about role plays? Have him play the other kid and you play him first and then reverse?

Beth

Puppets are great- “they” can make mistakes and the kid still saves face. You could really get creative and combine art (making the puppet), writing (scripts), and still squeeze in some basic social lessons. Maybe he could be an earthling explaining the social graces to someone from another planet— let it get a little silly.
Paperbacks for Educators (www.anybookinprint.com) has some great “bibliotherapy” books— I use several different “problem solving” books where the kids can choose different answers (“if you think he should tell the teacher, turn to page 5, if you think he should ignore it…”) they cover a number of different social situations that elementary students face.

Go gently and don’t expect miracles over night. Some things take longer to learn than others.

do you have relatives who could help? You could prime those relatives to know when they come to deliberately, but pleasantly, greet your son and look forward to his greeting in return. Pleasant interactions like that can help to embed the skill when later meeting strangers who would be much more casual about it.

What kind of interests does your child have, sports, music, etc.? Scouting could be a big help to assist him in gaining social skills. Most cities or counties have recreation departments that offer programs for children after school hours and during the day in the summer. Sports could help him become more socialized. School districts in many parts of the country offer certain classes to home school children and offer music and sports opportunities to them also. The americanhomeschoolassociation.org could assist you and most states have home school associations. I did a general search under home school associations and came up with many groups. I hope one of them can help you.
Luann

To DA, the following are some tips that I read in an article written by Jacquelyn Mize and Ellen Abell on specific steps parents can take to enhance children’s social skills.1. Provide children with opportunities to play with peers. Children gain valuable experience playing with peers. 2. Play with children in a “peer-like” way, just for the sake of having fun. Your child will have more advanced social skills and get along better with peers. 3.Talk with children about social relationships and values. These conversations can take place on the way home from school or at the dinner table. 4.Take a problem-solving approach. Help the child consider different solutions. 5. Endorse positive, relevant strategies. Help children to react positively to peers by negotiation rather than tattling or aggression.6. Intervene when necessary, but let older children work out problems themselves when possible. A parent’s intervention may interfere with children’s development of social skills.
I hope these tips help you as you teach your child social skills.

I totally understand your problem. Actually I have a relative who is dealing with the same problem. She was worried that her daughters would not develop social skills because they were homeschooled and only around each other all day long. She found an organization in our area that specialized in social activity for children who are homeschooled. They have field days and take field trips. I know this would be too big of a step for your son right now but certainly in the future you may want to keep it in mind. Maybe you could start off by inviting over another homeschooled child for a fun day. I hope I have been of some help to you. Good Luck!