Believe it or not, I have actually talked to people who wouldn’t consider homeschooling because they “knew their kids wouldn’t be able to play sports and do extracurricular stuff in high school.” Yes, really. True story.
I admit, this is one of those comments that usually results in me not even bothering to comment and walking away. It’s one thing to have questions and not know how to go about researching and getting answers. It’s another thing entirely to make broad assumptions and erroneous conclusions based on something (like extra curricular activities) that your child may not even be interested in years down the road.
“Um, you know they are *extra* curricular, as in EXTRA; like, beyond or more than what is usual or expected; or more than what is *necessary* or needed? You know, EXTRA, as in, not essential?”
Come to find out, the bit about being essential is actually a sticking point for some folks, who feel that without those things, school just isn’t worth it. Certainly, my own recollections of high school reflect that the only things that made that time tolerable for me was all the extra curricular stuff I was doing.
I’ve heard people say, “They are only kids once. They have their whole lives to work and be responsible and unhappy.”(yes, really!) “At least they can look back with fond memories of their time in school, when they played football/basketball/baseball or were cheerleaders. I loved high school. If I could go back in time and stay in once place, it would be high school.” “If I could do one time in my life over, knowing then what I know now, it would be high school. I’d have soooooo much fun!”
{blink} {blink}
Is that what’s wrong with us as a society? It makes me wonder. What if we could encourage our kids to find their natural paths; to pursue the kind of learning they are passionate about and interested in, instead of forcing them to focus on testing and taking subjects they won’t retain, just because some strangers somewhere decided “x,y, and z” would make Johnny a well-rounded individual?
What’s wrong with being focused and passionate about a few things? I was well-rounded and exposed to all kinds of things. As an adult, I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. What would have happened had I been allowed to pursue full-force the things that really interested me?
Some will argue that if kids aren’t exposed to all kinds of things that they will never know all the opportunities in the world available to them. I think we can hand the world (and all those opportunities) to our kids on a silver platter and they still might not find their niche. Why? Because if we don’t allow them to immerse themselves in their interests, and give them the space to pursue those things, they may not find out for themselves how far they want to take it. Who says we can only discover our interests (or do extra curricular activities) in a school setting?
And what on earth *does* that have to do with extra curricular activities? 
I believe that it’s never a good idea to think that we are the only ones who know what’s best for our kids. Maybe our kids know what is best. Maybe they don’t know it now, but if we give them the chance, they CAN figure it out, so long as we don’t stand in their way.
Believe it or not, just because a child is homeschooled, that may not preclude him/her from participating in public school extra curricular activities. I know that may be a shock, so I’ll say it again. Even if you homeschool, your child may be able to participate in extra curricular activities in the local public high school.
In fact, many states have regulations that are clearly defined allowing homeschooled students the option to participate in team sports and other extra curricular activities. Are you surprised? I know I was!
Depending on where you live, your kids may be able to legally participate in sports and other extra curricular activities, like band/orchestra.
State Laws Concerning Participation of Homeschool Students in Public School Activities is a good place to start. Of course, it goes without saying that you’ll need to contact your local school district if you choose to take advantage of the opportunities available to you. In many cases, the people who you come into contact within your local schools won’t know state regulations, particularly the newer ones. You’ll want to make sure you have information with statute numbers, so if it’s called into question, you are the one providing the (current) information and not the other way around.
It took me literally minutes, and I was able to find an update to my state’s law concerning homeschooling and extracurricular activities. Instead of only being eligible to participate in three athletic activities, homeschoolers are now able to participate in all public school activities governed by my state’s activities association. Nice, huh? 
Schools can (and usually do) have requirements for student participation in activities, particularly sports, so it’s important to know what those are as well, in addition to knowing your state regulations. Another point to consider is that many schools participate in athletic associations, which are usually free to make their own rules and regulations, and it may be *these* regulations (instead of school/district policy) that prohibit participation of those not enrolled full-time in public school.
For more information on the discussion of equal access, a good place to start is here. To learn more about the variables in this debate, read these articles:
Can Homeschoolers Participate In Public School Programs?
I fall firmly in the camp of believing in low regulation of homeschoolers, and I believe that regulating any aspect of homeschooling (like whether or not homeschoolers can participate in public school athletics, for example) opens the door for additional regulations. Without opening that can of worms, let me just say that I/we believe in freedom and that the government has gotten too involved in our lives in general. 
If you happen to live in a state where homeschoolers aren’t eligible to participate in any school activities, don’t despair! There are other options, even for team sports. At the younger (read: non high school) ages, opportunities are numerous for team sports. There are all kinds of community team activities people (including kids) of all ages can participate in, so don’t be afraid to do some digging while you think outside the box!
I have no opinion for or against home schooling and don’t want to influence you in any way on that overall point.
I do have a comment for you that relates to this post though…
All 3 of my girls have found friendships and camaraderie through “extracurricular” activities, many of which are *partly* managed by the school.
Soccer is something they don’t do, but is one that is entirely outside of the school.
However, Track and Band both include some class time as well as many hours out of school practising and competing/performing. There are some excellent life and college preparation benefits to being in Track or Band (or some other things, like Chorus or Orchestra or others). Being home schooled surely has many advantages but one specific disadvantage is that it’s harder to participate in some of the school-driven “extracurricular” activities.
Again, please don’t take this as a pro or con, it’s just one angle to consider along with others.
S, yes, of course.
The point being that school is not the only place for extracurricular activities, even sports and band. 
Where I live, homeschoolers can particpate in any kind of school sponsored extracurricular/athletic activities. It really will depend on where a person lives as to whether or not they can particpate. As to whether or not it’s an actual disadvantage if they can’t- well, I think that is personal opinion. 
I had 3 varsity letters in sports by the end of my sophomore year, and the following year (once I was old enough to drive) the sports totally went by the wayside once I was able to get a job. Sure, I had fun. Sure, I got experiences that I couldn’t get anywhere else, but those didn’t translate into real life skills that I can see, nor did any of those experiences enrich my life as an adult. Of course, some people carry things with them throughout their lives; I just was not one of them.
For example, here, we have several opportunities outside of school for band and orchestra. In fact, band in our schools is an elective that doesn’t require any kind of prerequisite to sign up. That means that seniors in high school can (and do, which is a concern of the band directors that I personally know) join band without prior knowledge or experience. When I went to school, you couldn’t join band in high school. If you wanted to be in high school band, you either had to transfer from another school or start in 6th/7th grade.
Here, though, kids with no experience can join in high school, and you can imagine some of the issues the band directors have to deal with as a result. Instead of focusing on the things I experienced in band (competing during concert and marching band, for example), they are teaching bare-bones minimum. Marching band is volunteer and is only for experienced players; practice is at 6:30 am before school, and it’s a completely extracurricular activity. The same goes for pep band, etc.
There is more than one way to skin a cat, as it were, but often times people are encouraged to think about school activities as being “the only way” for a student to get certain skills and experiences. Chances are, if we think about things in different ways, we can likely find other examples of activities that mirror or otherwise achieve the benefit of a school-sponsored activity.
We’ll talk about socialization next, which is a topic some folks seem to think can *only* happen in school; friends can only be made via school connections, etc.
Not saying, of course, that there is no benefit to school related activities; just that they don’t have the corner on the market of beneficial activities for kids that encourage friendships, experiences, and college preparation.
Given that in my state, more than one football team had sexual hazing going on (and was caught and dealt with), I don’t think we can paint all school activities as being great, if that makes sense.
And shoot, that posted before I had edited it!
Bottom line: we need to do our homework as parents. There are lots of opportunities out there where our kids are concerned, and there are a good many varieties of ways to get the same end result without falling into the trap of thinking there is only a single way to get a given experience….