We were pretty isolated from our home school community - long story short, we didn't "fit in" very well. However, we made acquaintances who share our same interests and still have friends of all ages at church. We talk to people in the parks, we talk to store clerks, nursing home residents and workers, and we know how to ask questions of those who are instructing us in something. For many different reasons this year, we pretty much stopped home schooling except for a geometry class. My special needs child attended junior high public school ILC (individualized learning center) with ten kids who are hugely diverse in ability, disability, race and culture. "She adjusted so quickly and so well!" was something I heard often from the teacher and para-educators - not bad for someone with autism (social interactions are difficult for those who have autism). My gifted child jumped into community college for her junior year of high school. Students of all ages, races, and cultures attend - it's a mind-bogglingly diverse campus. "You're only 16?!?" is something she heard a lot from instructors and fellow students. Isolated as we were, maybe we did something right after all.