My own kids aren't school age yet, so the socialisation question is one I've only ever thought about in theory. My co-founder Marit has been homeschooling for over ten years, runs camps for well over a hundred families twice a year, and her kids have never had anything less than a full, busy social calendar. So instead of writing this one as a list, I sat down and asked her everything I actually wanted to know. Here's how it went.
Marnina: Let's start with the big one, because it's the question every new homeschool parent asks. How will my child actually make friends?
Marit: Honestly, it's such a fair question, and I asked it myself ten years ago. The short answer is that it happens, just differently to school. You're not relying on a classroom to do the work for you, which feels scarier at first, but it actually means friendships form around who your kid genuinely is rather than just who they happened to be seated near for a year. The trick is you can't just wish for homeschool friends to appear. You have to build regular chances for connection into your week.
Marnina: Okay, so where do I actually start?
Marit: Regular meet-ups, and I mean regular. A one-off event is fun for an afternoon, but real friendships grow out of seeing the same faces again and again. A weekly or fortnightly park meet-up, a beach day, a bushwalk, a board game afternoon, whatever suits your family, just keep showing up to the same thing. You don't need a huge group either, two or three families is genuinely enough to start. Familiarity is what turns "that kid from the park" into "my friend," and that only happens with repetition.
Funnily enough, when we surveyed our own waitlist families for Homeschool Central, this was the thing they said they wanted most, more than finding classes even. Being able to discover regular local meet-ups, not just one-off events. So we're building that into the platform properly.
Marnina: What if we're brand new and don't know a single other homeschool family yet?
Marit: Activities are your easiest way in. Soccer, swimming, gymnastics, dance, art, coding, chess, whatever your kid's into, a shared activity gives them something to actually do together instead of just standing around trying to make conversation. And it doesn't need to be labelled "homeschool" either. A lot of daytime classes end up full of homeschoolers simply because that's when we're free, so they're a sneaky good place to meet other families even when that's not the class's stated purpose.
Marnina: My daughter has really been loving dance lately. Is there a way to use that?
Marit: That's honestly one of the best things about homeschooling, friendships can form around personality and interest rather than just age. If she loves dance, or it's dinosaurs, or gaming, or whatever it turns out to be next month, that shared interest is often the fastest route to a real friend. Sometimes the group already exists and just needs finding, there might be other homeschool families at her dance class already. Sometimes it's as simple as posting "any homeschool kids who love dance, want to meet up for a class together?" and seeing who shows up. You'd be amazed how quickly the right kids find each other once you give them a reason to.
Marnina: What about something a bit more structured, for kids who like routine?
Marit: A book club works really well for that. Pick something the group will enjoy, meet every few weeks, and you can make it more than just talking about the book, acting out a scene, drawing a favourite moment, a themed afternoon tea around the story. For younger kids, even just reading a picture book together as a group works. It gets more discussion-heavy naturally as they get older.
Marnina: Do camps actually make a difference, or is that overrated?
Marit: Camps are honestly where I've seen the biggest transformations, and I say that having run them for years now. There's something about being away together, even just overnight, that speeds up friendship in a way a single afternoon at the park just can't. Campfire nights, bushwalking, team challenges, cooking together. I've watched kids who were hovering shyly on the edge of the group on day one end up running around with a whole pack of new friends by pack-up time. It's especially good for older kids and teens who benefit from a bit more independence away from their parents.
Marnina: What about online friendships? I feel a bit conflicted about that one.
Marit: I get that, and I think a bit of healthy caution is sensible. But handled thoughtfully, with you staying involved, online friendships can be genuinely meaningful. Collaborative projects, online book clubs, gaming groups, virtual study groups, they let kids connect with others who share a very specific interest that might not exist anywhere near you locally. For younger kids I'd stay closely involved in facilitating it. Older kids can usually manage a bit more independently, but it's still worth knowing who they're talking to.
Marnina: I've heard you mention pen pals before. That feels very old-school.
Marit: It is, and that's exactly why it still works so well. Exchanging real letters with a kid interstate, overseas, or from another homeschool family gives them a reason to actually write about their day, their favourite books, local wildlife, family traditions, all the small stuff that makes for a surprisingly good letter. It sneaks in writing, geography and a bit of cultural awareness without anyone calling it a lesson. We've actually written a whole separate piece on this, including a lovely free pen pal community worth joining, over in our Community and Culture post if you want to go deeper.
Marnina: What about volunteering as a way to build friendships, rather than just for the sake of giving back?
Marit: It creates a different kind of connection, honestly. Kids working towards something meaningful together, a community garden, a beach clean-up, a food drive, bonds them in a way that just playing together doesn't always manage. There's a shared purpose behind it. We've actually put together a full list of fifteen volunteering ideas with real Australian groups attached in our 15 Volunteer Ideas to Do With Kids post if you want to try it.
Marnina: Does my child need friends exactly their own age? That's the bit I worry about most.
Marit: Honestly, no, and this is one of the things homeschooling does really well. A 9-year-old might genuinely love spending time with an 11-year-old. A 13-year-old might click with a 15-year-old over a shared obsession with chess. Mixed-age friendships often feel far more natural than an artificially grouped classroom, and the kids tend to learn a surprising amount from each other across that gap.
Marnina: Say we've hit it off with a family at a meet-up. What then?
Marit: Don't wait for some formal invitation, just ask. "Would you like to come over for a play?" is genuinely all it takes. It doesn't need to be elaborate either, LEGO, Minecraft, baking, riding bikes, just playing outside. Some of the strongest friendships come out of the simplest, most unplanned afternoons.
Marnina: And if it just... doesn't happen quickly? I think that's my biggest fear.
Marit: That's probably the most important thing I can tell a new homeschool parent. Your child doesn't need twenty friends, they need chances to meet people and the time to find their people. Some kids click with a group almost straight away. Others take longer, and some genuinely prefer one close friend over a big circle, which is completely fine too. Ten years in, my own kids have never had a shortage of friends, but it didn't happen because we found the perfect group in the first term. It happened because we kept showing up to meet-ups, kept saying yes to camps, and gave it time. If you're a few months in and still waiting for the social side to click, that's normal. It's not a sign you're doing something wrong.
Marnina: Last one. What if there's genuinely no homeschool group near us at all?
Marit: Then you start one. Invite a few families to the park, pick a regular day, keep the activity simple, let the kids play, and do it again the following week. That's it. A small, unglamorous gathering like that can genuinely grow into a real community over time. Honestly, that's one of the quietly wonderful things about homeschooling. You don't have to fit into someone else's community. You get to help build your own.
Find Your Homeschool Community
Homeschool Central is designed to make exactly this easier, bringing families, activities, classes, excursions and community opportunities together in one place, so you're not stitching it all together across a dozen different Facebook groups. Because homeschooling was never meant to be done alone. It's about finding your people.
Homeschool Central is Australia's dedicated platform connecting homeschool, unschool and world school families with local classes, camps, events and providers.