7yo ds cries to go to school

He gets out and with others more than my 7 year old does (really, with 3 things scheduled he can be ‘seeing’ other people every other day, more than enough in my opinion).

Where is he getting the idea of going to school? I would ignore it, to be honest.  Conversations can be had about why you choose homeschooling, of course.  Are his friends he’s seeing so often putting the idea of school in his head?  That could be one source.  I had a grandmother who constantly commented on it to my oldest when she was 5/6.  It was not helpful and we cut contact down until she was willing to respect our choice and not put our daughter in the position of having adults she loved telling her two different things.

Another thing to consider doing is simply comment on where he’s going, where he went yesterday/recently, who he played with/saw, what you’re looking forward to next time.  Help him SEE that he is out and about quite a lot.  Then make simple comments during the course of your days about the nice/fun/pleasant aspects of being homeschooled. For ex: Ah, it’s so nice we can go play outside this morning because we homeschool, we’re not stuck in a classroom.  Wow, I love reading with you.  I’m so glad we can work/cook/do things together.  I would miss all the fun we have if you were gone all day at school.

When our kids were younger, I made a point of commenting on how wonderful it was to be able to take our time at the zoo when it wasn’t crowded, etc., but I always made sure to not make such comments when we were at a playground with only a few toddlers around….somehow, a playground seemed lonely to them without at least a couple of kids close to their age!

I also think that he may be hearing how great school is from other kids in his groups that are not homeschooled.  I, too, would mostly ignore that, because, frankly, those kids are commenting on how great school–“the place” and school–“the kid-friendly community” is, not what we consider important as school.  All of those other things he is getting every time he goes to a nicely arranged and appealing library or Sunday School classroom, and those groups like Awana with all of the kids and kid-friendly activities.  What the other kids are not pointing out is that school is work and not all fun.

Although, I will say that there is a big emphasis on making learning fun, but we can (and do) try to accomplish that as well in the younger years. At his age, mostly all kids are learning through play at various points throughout the day, whether at home or in a school building.

I have a similar experience with my DS. Mine is an only, and also does Awana 1x/wk, BSF 1x/wk, and MOPS on alternate weeks.
He also does well with his school. He does not cry about school, but will often say he wants to go to public school like his friends. The friends he is referring to are the ones from church. He has several homeschooled friends. I don’t think he is really getting any pressure anywhere, he is simply aware that some of his friends have a different school experience and he is curious about it. I try to highlight the pros of homeschool, without speaking badly of the public school options.
We also seem to be the only homeschoolers in our neighbourhood, and my son is very aware the bus drops off at 4pm. He will go out and say hi to the kids next door as they walk by – not everyday. They are friendly to him and play with him in the summer.
Another friend has assured me this is a phase – her twin 7yo boys still mention public school, but her 10 yo son realizes homeschool is a better option and no longer mentions wanting to go to public school.