Michael Jackson's mother says the late U.S. pop star's children will go to a private elementary school next fall for the first time.

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Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8, have been home-schooled most of their lives.

Their father died last June 25 leaving them to be cared for by his mother, Katherine, who is 80.

"They don't have any friends. They don't go to school, they have private lessons at home -- but that will change in September, when they are due to enroll at private (school.) But they have their cousins and aunts and uncles around them constantly, and that's helped them immensely," Katherine Jackson told Britain's Mirror newspaper.

"To them, it's normal, it's the life they have known. They have a certain time to go to bed, then they get up and get dressed for lessons. They practice karate and swim, which they love."