[Teacher317]

Thank you, that's very heart-warming. YES, fence-sitters, get off that thing! It's pointy and it hurts. =^)

Doing the best thing for your children has never been tough, and has always involved time, sacrifice, hard work, and some great rewards at the end. If you are considering home-schooling, do the research, learn the rules for your state, rearrange your financial situation (it may even include a different state or home to school in), and do it ASAP. The most common drawback I hear is the 'socializing' factor. Trust me, a moderate percentage of the students I have would not be in your top 1000 choices for people to be socializing with your child. Take them out into public pretty often, and make sure that they appropriately engage others in conversation from time to time. Socialization mission accomplished.

[mountaineer]

You are absolutely correct, especially on the socialization issue. My sister's little girl has plenty of "socialization" opportunities while she's being homeschooled. As it turns out, several other families in their church homeschool, so they have regular get-togethers of children of the same approximate age, where they do something educational. For example, my sister might have them over to her 200-year-old log house and the girls will don colonial-style hats, have a history lesson and do some craft related to the period, e.g., make the kind of toy children their age played with in 18th-century Pennsylvania. Succeeding at homeschooling takes effort, creativity and commitment, but it's worth it.