the socializing bit......i'm stuck for idea's!!!

[twisha]

hi all, right here we go... we live in a very rural area with only 8 houses (all oap's) the nearest town is 10 mls away where theres stuff going on eg youth clubs etc, prob is kids would have to mix with the other kids that caused them so much hassle when they were at school! so not an option.
the next town is 13 mls away, but they dont want to do martial arts/ tennis/football ect
so im stuck for ideas now. they are 12/14 we go shopping/park/limited outings (as on benifits,) but they dont actually meet anyone theyre ages on a regular basis.any ideas would be great.

what do they like doing/are they into?

at the moment they havent any idea what they'd like!!!! pleanty of what they dont want,they dont really like sports, swimming, they really like "just hanging around" chatting, playing music and phoning people!
they enjoy watching films, computors, xbox, i suppose usual teenage things.

Could you link up with other home educators with children of similar ages and they could email, MSN each other ?

they do a lot of msn,text ect. but it the meeting bit that the lea are more focused on

If you join Education Otherwise (£20 per year, roughly) which you can do online, they'll send regular Newsletters, including one for kids which has pages where kids ask for other kids to get in touch. PenPal type of thing, iyswim. It may start out as just emailing/messaging etc; but if they click with someone, and they're within visiting distance well Bob's your uncle! They also have a kids forum online but you'd have to be a member to access it. I know there are other H.E teens on there fairly regularly.
It will also give you an idea of who's near you and HomeEdding as it includes lists of those of us who don't mind being contacted by other H.E-ers
If you're out in the stix then it could help you not to feel so isolated yourself.
(That's if you do, lol)
hth

If you are on benefits, membership of EO is reduced.

Do you do camping?
Some of the home ed camps are very cheap and lots of the teens go.
My children have friends locally as we are lucky enough to have an active group locally, but they also have lots of friends they meet at camps and gatherings.
Then they started to have friends from all over come to stay with us-and they go to stay with them.
My experience of having them stay has been a delight, they are well behaved people whose company I enjoy.
It has widened my children's horizons, they have stayed with families all over the country, from homes in London to remote places in Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

If you do fancy joining in with the camps, you can find info in the EO newsletter and also on the main HE support lists.

We'll start with a local home ed camp in May and go through to September with something every month.
My teens now go to other festivals as well and attended other home ed camps with other parents they have got to know well. So even if I can't attend (hubby doesn't do camping) it doesn't mean they can't necessarily go.
These camps have become our main family holidays, we have gathered the camping equipment over time, so it wasn't a big expensive purchase altogether, in fact I borrowed a tent and cooker the first time!

julienoshoes - very interested to hear more about these camps - are they nationwide?

some of the camps are nation wide nomoreamover and some are more local.

Nowadays, we start with a holiday/camp with our local home educators. We hire a youth centre in the Wye Valley and spend the week walking/cycling/kayaking. The preteens spend hours in the woods creating dens and having old fashioned fun.
There are lots of team games played.

Last year we had a fabulous evening, when the teens decided to cook dinner for anyone who wanted to join in.

Having counted up the numbers (about 50 people took part) they went off and sourced the food and worked out the budget and what they would offer. They prepared and cooked with out any adult guidance interference
They charged £2.50 a head and we had a choice of three main courses and a sweet.
They catered for vegan/veggies and gluten free diets. The food was great.
The preteens decided to be the waiters for the evening and the adults did the washing up.
They asked that everyone would dress formally-which was the cue for some very inventive dressing as most people had camping gear!
Afterwards those with musical talents turned the balcony into a minstrels gallery, the tables were pulled back and we danced and sang until the generator had to be turned off.
It wasn't until a family new to home ed commented on how unusual this was, that we even gave thought to it. We never doubted for a second that the teens would pull this off.

Anyway I digress, then we move onto national camps. Peak Camp and HESFES are our favourites. Feelings on mumsnet run high about HesFes-some love it some don't. We are awaiting the new venue to be announced soon.
These and other home ed camps are advertised in EO's newsletter. but you can also find out about them usually on the main HE support lists.
Our family also goes along to one or two none HE festivals, along with HE friends. We have done more of this as ours have got older.
Then we finish the year in Sept going along to another camp organised by local home edders.