MG writes of her 4-year old:
We looked at several elementary schools. After visiting one public kindergarten where the kids were learning what the letter B looked like, I asked the principal what they did with kids who could already read. His answer: “We’ve found that kids who are advanced in one area like reading or math are often behind their peers in other areas, like social skills. So we would focus on that.” Hmmm, smart kids are awkward geeks; one cannot TOLERATE that, not in California.
What most parents don’t realize is that the social skills of which the principal is speaking tend to revolve around the ability to properly bully and be bullied, to put condoms on bananas and perform oral sex on command. And yes, children whose parents care enough about them to teach them reading, writing and arithmetic usually don’t have highly refined development in those areas.
If you’re concerned about your homeschooled child having the social skills to survive and thrive in the midst of his public schooled peers, the answer is very simple. Start them in the martial arts at five; the ability to ruthlessly beat the living hell out of another child is universally respected in the public school jungle.