my run in with the homeschooled

I went to Target last week with the girls. Right after I picked out my cart and started pushing I found myself right next to a mom with her infant in the carrier carseat and her older son riding on the back of the cart. She complimented me on how cute the girls were and I reciprocated with a compliment on the adorable mop of dark hair her baby had. She asked me how old the kids were, and when I asked her she said the boy was six. Now, I knew Griswold didnt have a half day but maybe he went to a different school and he got out early. The kid was old enough for K or 1st grade. So I asked the boy, "did you get out of school early today?" Thats when mom said "We homeschool, we have school on Thurs, and Fridays." Thats when I couldnt get away from her fast enough. I was all "er, um OH look kids we gotta go um over there..bye! have a nice day!" I wanted to tell her to quit being a control freak and let your kid go to school and be normal. Plus, was she even a qualified teacher? I dont know...I didnt hang around to ask. I dont care how many social activities you have your kid in, a homeschooled kid will always fall to ridicule from other kids.  That is just a small part of the problem I have. Its the vital communications skills that will never full develop at home. Interacting with a childs peer group day in and day out makes the child well rounded and he learns to cope with good days as well as the bad. Life in not going to take you in its arms and give you a big hug when rejection or hard times hit. As adults we use the basic communication and human relation skills we learned growing up surrounded by our peers. Without that understanding, living and working in the real world is difficult. Yes a homeschooled kid may have tailored lesson plans but lifes lesson plans will not be so form fitting.