Most homeschooling families in Bali find their kids' friends through informal co-ops and learning pods rather than a single school building. Areas with a lot of expat and digital nomad families, like Canggu, Ubud, and Sanur, tend to have active homeschool groups that meet weekly for shared lessons or free play. Parents usually find these groups through word of mouth or local Facebook and WhatsApp groups organized by neighborhood or age. Joining two or three of these circles instead of just one gives a homeschooled child a wider, steadier set of peers to grow up alongside.
Structured activities double as social time and are often where the closest friendships actually form. Weekly sports sessions and surf coaching put kids in front of the same faces every week, which builds familiarity faster than one-off playdates. Group swimming lessons and water safety classes work well for this too, since most run in small groups that repeat over several weeks. For open-ended free play, public parks and playgrounds fill that role, and showing up at the same one on a regular schedule turns strangers into regulars a child recognizes and looks forward to seeing.
Birthday parties are another reliable way homeschooled kids expand their circle, since a party tends to pull in a whole friend group rather than just one or two guests. The harder part of Bali friendships is the churn: expat families move on constantly, and a child's closest friend can leave with little warning. It helps to talk openly about this rather than pretend it won't happen; the guide on what to do when a best friend leaves has practical ways to help a child process it. Spreading friendships across a few different groups, not just one best friend, makes it easier on a child when someone eventually moves away.
Have a follow-up about your own situation?
Ask the Knowmads family guide