Overcoming Shyness?

Homeschooling is different from what I envisioned when my daughter was a preschooler and I was making the agonizing choice of whether to put her in preschool or keep her at home.

She was in a Mother’s Morning Out program when she was 2.  I had just had my son and thought that if she was in MMO a few days a week, it would give her good “socialization time” and give me some alone time with my baby.  Of course, it didn’t work out that way.

I was hoping the MMO program would help bring my daughter out of her shell.  She would have been considered shy if we had been looking for labels.  She kind of takes after me in my younger years in that respect, so I felt that I understood what she was going through. But I didn’t know how to help her feel more comfortable around people.  Getting her around other kids seemed go along with conventional wisdom.

But instead of becoming more outgoing, she was becoming more introverted.  Even when I picked her up, I would ask her what happened in class and maybe I got “I’ll tell Daddy.” – which she never did. I think instead of helping her rise to meet some sort of social challenge, the whole situation was just overwhelming to her.

As for my baby boy…he would sleep in the back of the car while I ran errands. So much for one-on-one time.

Needless to say, I didn’t put her in preschool. She has been home with me ever since – and at church and Girl Scouts and YMCA Adventure Guides and martial arts and swim team and enrichment classes and, and, and.

Now, at 11, she is very outgoing with kids her own age and younger.  When we go camping, it is very likely that she will come back to the campsite with at least one new friend.

She is still warming up to adults.

I guess I’ll go into my expectations of homeschooling in another post.