Tuition for my son's school has just doubled.  He is in the second grade and next school year the cost will out of reach unless we take out a loan.  Yes, I said a loan.  Public school is not a viable alternative for a number of personal reasons.  Any members home schooling their children?  Has anyone been home schooled?  We have ample time to decide.  Any personal experiences would be appreciated.

Well I went to [url]http://www.laurelsprings.com/[/url]
I did it for three years of high school. It was so much better then "real" school, and I got to take college classes.

When I have children (In the far future) im doing the same thing.

It will get boring sitting at home so you will have to find some way to get them out to socialize.

[:)]

Yep, My wife and I have been homeschooling for 6 years.  There are lots of curriculums to choose from as well as many resources to draw from.  Give it a shot.

357mag

We are home schooling as well.  A worthwhile investment!

I am a teacher but I also am a huge proponent of home schooling.  Here is a good resource:

[url]www.free-market.net/directorybytopic/homeschooling/[/url]

Our children (ages 11 and 13) have been home schooled for the last couple of years. They are way ahead of most of the kids in the local school.
As mentioned above there are a lot of cirriculums out there from which to choose.
What has helped us alot is the fact that there is a large amount of kids out here being home schooled. Books, cd/roms, etc. get passed around, saving everybody some money. The home schoolers get together on Fridays at the school after hours and horse around. The parents also organize field trips to various places.
Getting a routine down at first is the hardest part.

Home schooling!  Please consider the excellent program led by Dr William Bennett, former Cabinet Member.  It is www.k12.com.  The program is all-encompassing, 'turn key,' and really helpful to the parent.  Lesson planning, record-keeping, and testing are all orchestrated by the program via the web.  All kinds of materials are sent at the beginning of the school year, to match all the lessons.  It's a great program.

What sort of time commitment (in hours/week) does home schooling require from the parents?

That is what I had hoped to hear.  Skammy, sounds like a very good school.  Thanks for the link.  Ratters, that link has just about everything one could hope for.  Chipster, I had also looked at that.  I like Bill Bennett and what he has to say.  Renamed, time involved will vary.  I have heard about 3 hrs of actual class or seat work and about 2 hrs of projects and self directed learning.  One of the really true benefits is its flexibility.  
From the little I know about home schooling, I lean more to the inculcation of the classics.  Skammy's link has a tool that determines the childs most appropriate learning method.  Most kids learn and process information differently.  With the findings of this tool, one is able to chose the best type of material and forum.  Thanks all for your help.  

Not flaming, but most of the home schooled kids I know or know of, are socially inept.  Perhaps things are better than they were 10-15 years ago, but those kids were shunned when I was growing up.  Social interaction is a large part of the working world, and unless your kid will be a researcher of some sort, he/she will have to be savvy to prosper.

I support the right to home school, but also believe it robs a kid of the ability to experience growing up with other children.  Don't let the kids get to the big league of the working world without going through the minor league first....

This being said, the home schooled that I have known have had crazy parents, so I wouldn't expect that apple to fall too far from the tree.  The kind that think short pants are the devils work....

DriftPunch, I disagree.  Our kids still have many friends in the neighborhood and play together on evenings and weekends.  They have plenty of social interaction.  I think a main problem these days is that schools are looked at as a daycare facility and not an institution of learning.  I don't want my kids learning their social skills from the kids that I see at public schools....they can get that from MTV.

Given the type of socialization that is taking place in the public schools I would disagree.  Who says that being stuck with 24 other kids your age for 7 hours a day for 5 days a week is optimal from a socialization standpoint anyway?  I don't see how public schooling prepares a kid for the work world from a socialization standpoint.

357mag

You may want to check and see if the public school district will allow your child to join the sports teams and clubs. It is a great way of interatcing with other students your childs age. Plus, they can find kids with similar interests.

I suggested checking first, because I know that some public school districts do not want to let home schooled kids on the sport teams/school clubs.

Good luck!

Av.

And in some areas they have to by law - provided you follow some guidelines.

Another great link to cover the legal aspect of things is the Home School Legal Defense Association:

[url]www.hslda.org[/url]

They can provide you with the info for what your state requires legally so you're not breaking the law.  And at $100/year membership is reasonable considering if you run into an over-zealous gov't worker they will help you get things straightened out for no charge.

As GWF said - the hardest part (once you've got your curriculum) is establising a routine and sticking with it.

DriftPunch, that is one of the biggest concerns for those considering homeschooling.  I think you're right in understanding that this form of educating and nurturing of children has come a long way.  Jesterdog, 357mag and Avalon01 understand, as I believe, most public schools do not share the same values as our homes.  No doubt you have seen, and will continue to see, less than ideal forms of home schooling.  I appreciate your thoughts and experience.  Yours was certainly not a flame.  Thanks

ooooh.  this issue gets me every time.  it's homeschooling's fault that a child grows up "socially inept."  it's how the parent(s) decide to raise the child in all aspects.  ever seen the movie "carrie"?  there's a publically schooled student who was pretty socially inept. why?  cuz she had a crazy mother. it's all about the home life, parental skills, and extra-curricular activites.  has absolutely nothing to do with where they get their education.

Home School is the only way to go.  It does take a great commitment on the parents part but hey no sweat, we made them and brought them into this world.  That makes it our responsibility not someone elses.

Most home schoolers go for 3 to 4 hours per day, every day.  An average public schooled child might get 2 hours of real education per day for only part of the year.  If you figure in your lunches, recess, potty breaks and instructional time.  Most home schoolers advance much more quicly and usually have much higher scores on their college entrance exams.

You control what your children learn, you decide when they are ready to advance or slow down, not some bueracratic state agency. You decide if you want your children to learn about questionable if not offensive subject matters.

We have four and the older two are the ones being home school.  The younger two are still a wee bit young.  We have catered the boys education to their learning pace.  The oldest is catching up after a pretty nasty head injury and younger one is learning normally.  So we choose how slow or fast to do and don't have to worry about the stigma of being tutored or special ed classes.  Plus, we put a great emphasis in learning and becoming grounded in the Christian faith.  Tell me what public school will allow that?

Social skills is easy.  Go to church or put them in scouts.  One young lady we know, home schooled all the way.  Has just returned from a internship in France for fashion.  She was in a rodeo club and she learned the socializtion by  being active in the rodeo club.  The socialization is the easy part.

Good luck, you will not be disappointed.



(edited, because I need to go back to school and work on English/Writing and grammer)

Thanks to all who have given input.  We just returned from a rather long and enthusiastic meeting with about fifty of the parent from the school.  Since this was an unoffical meeting, the official meeting with the school board is next week, we were able to prepare ourselves emotionally and mentally.  Many families have several children attending and believe the cost will prohibit them from returning.  More than a few are considering home schooling.  My wife and I seemed to be more resigned to this also.  We both have advanced degrees and feel not so helpless.  It will, because of our circumstances, fall upon me to be the instructor.  Will keep those who are interested posted as to the outcome.