Last school year my two daughters switched from home school to traditional school. We entered grades 4th and 5th. For the fourth grader, she adapted well to every area. My fifth grader struggled and I had to home school her after school to help her keep up with her class work. We had to learn organizational skills, social skills, listening skills, study skills, we had to learn everything. I thank God for this particular school because they were very supportive and I had help and resources I couldn't seem to utilize while I was home schooling. This year in the 6th grade she is going better in every area. I'm glad I put her in regular school because I needed help seeing through the eyes of other professionals to help her. As for me, I am trying not to be a "helicopter mom" by not hovering. I am trying to get my own career back on track so I can teach my children to be independent by me being independent of them. It's working.

I was home-schooled until 9th grade. I would never do it to a person. The social isolation is maddening and the bullying upon entering public school is unbearable. I ended up more intelligent than many students - but far less interested in organization. Beurocracy is still a mystery to me and completely unacceptable to my mode of interacting with the world. I can't make friends still at 26, and I have trouble keeping any friends I do make. People don't want to hire me and I've delt with major depression my entire life. Homeschooling might be fine as long as you don't train your kid to be a religious zealot before entering school - if they are taught to be a religious zealot - they will be bullied and treated cruelly and overtaxed trying to save people for their church and constantly depressed that everyone around them is going to burn in hell until one day your freshly indoctrinated zealot wakes up and realizes that the religious zealotry is hell.

As a former home-schooler - I'm not certain it should be legal at all. I think my parents did it thinking they were doing well - but it has cost me everything but my life.

I homeschooled my children for several years after becoming disillusioned with the public school model. I participated on every committee, became room parent for each of my three children who were of school age, sat as co-chair of the PTO, chaired the Bus Safety Committee, and co-chaired the Hospitality Committee. As I participated and watched the progress creep along at less than a snail's pace, I realized that all the energy I was pouring into these committees and obligations could be turned into time better spent with the people that I cared most about---my own children. The decision to homeschool was also spurned on further by the actions of an atrocious fourth grade teacher in charge of my eldest child's entire day. A woman in her mid-sixties, she was the typical "school marm", giving a math "test" that consisted of just 4 problems. Not hard to see that most kids in her class were failing math miserably! She was making the children re-do papers that were 100% correct because they may have smudged the pencil margin she required them to make on all their assignments. My fury with this woman built throughout the year and it reached a peak just after February vacation. I came to find out that my daughter had not spent a single recess outside as she was being required to re-do most of her homework assignments. When I called this into question, I was told this was the way that things were done. That afternoon, I withdrew her. I took the rest of my kids out as well and we all began our lives as a homeschooling family. I was lucky to live near Cambridge and Boston, which had a very proactive homeschooling community. Never did I think that my kids would be social outcasts. They were always fun, inquisitive, smart....I enjoyed being with them! One of the nicest things was that we ate 3 meals together as a family, we went where we wanted to go, they learned about so many things because it fed into their natural curiousity. We never had a tv on, no need to. The kids read books, played outside, with each other, in groups, participated in science projects....the list goes on and on. When their father and I decided to end our marriage of 20 years, the decision to re-enter school was made. This was by far, more traumatic for me than it was for them! They did find it odd to have to line-up for everything, to have to ask permission to go to the bathroom, to have to raise your hand to speak. All the typical things that kids who have been in school all their lives are conditioned to accept. As for their general knowledge base, they were all fine....except for Pilgrims! We'd gone to Plimoth Plantation when they were all quite young and they hadn't remembered the Pilgrim Story! My daughter stomped in one afternoon, absolutely furious that I had been deficient in my teaching her about these folks. A quick 15 minute re-cap and she was all set. "Oh, is that it?" "Well, for third grade level, that'll about cover what you need, yes!" She was fine after that! As time went on, my four eldest kids decided that traditional schooling was stifling their creativity and moved out of the public school arena. Two got their GED's at 15 and went to Community College. One pursued gymnastics and is now out in San Francisco at the School of Performing Circus Art and being filmed in a reality tv show by the Oprah Winfrey Network! My eldest son just became a sous chef in San Francisco as well and is very happy with his life. I have a daughter in nursing school and another who works as a nail technician in a nice salon in town. My youngest are attending High School--one is a Junior taking 2 AP courses in a full honors program and the youngest is a freshman following in her sister's footsteps. Are the girls who are still in school happy? I would say that, yes, for the most part, they are. One of the things they still miss the most about homeschooling is "the amount of time I could spend in my head with my own thoughts". They are bombarded with information and homework, which prevents them from spending free time doing what they would like to be doing. They have asked to homeshool again. I understand why, I'm just not sure, at this stage in the game, if I could provide the curriculum that they are on track with now. So much of it would be independent learning and I think that they really do benefit from being in the high school learning environment, making new friends and being challenged in a different way. But looking back, I am grateful to have had the chance and the guts to homeschool my kids. I have a deep connection to each of them and I am probably one of the few mothers that looks forward to school vacations and summers off from school!! It means that I get to see my kids every day, and I miss that!

There is a natural order to things. Children are supposed to leave the nest. From the time they can crawl, they are working their way toward doing just that. They crawl, walk, run, and then drive away from us exploring, interacting with their world, socializing with others, trying and failing, but ultimately growing and learning. Going to a school that is not your dining room table is part of that process. I would no more keep a child home to be schooled then I would keep a crawling eight month old strapped to my back all day or a three year old confined to a playpen.

I home-schooled my two boys from pre-school until they transitioned to traditional public school two years ago. When they started school, they were 8th and 9th grade. My children had absolutely no problem transitioning. They were always a part of organizations in which they had regular contact with other children. We were a part of a home-school support group that met monthly for the first three or four years. They attended Bible study on Wednesday mornings and nights during the school year. During their middle school years, they participated in a home-school band and classes with other home-schooled students twice a week. My children, from birth on, have never had a hard time making friends, it's just their personality. They were around adults a lot, so they can relate well to all age groups with ease. They told me that they prefer school because I was a harder teacher. They have both been honor roll students each year and one is a straight a student.

I think home-schooling is not for everyone, but it worked well for my family for a season in our lives.

My children are in 7th and 8th grade and have never been to a "traditional" school. My children have a ton of friends and are very active in sports. I have enjoyed every minute and have not missed one thing with my boys. I have them tested every year and they always test one to two grades higher. I have never been opposed to school, this just worked better for our family. I don't judge people for sending their children to school, I don't like to be judged for homeschooling. Homeschooling is not for everybody, I realize that. I can imagine going from homeschooling to a tradtional school would be hard. But I think children adapt better than we think. One of my boys learns better hands on and the other can go with whatever. I have taught them each differently, basically the way they learn. I know that is hard in a classroom with 30 other children. Either way we just need to be supportive parents and help them grow into responsible adults the best way we can. I want raise my children, not somebody else.

I home schooled my two sons after the private school they were in began to have trouble keeping excellent teachers. I did this mainly for my youngest son, but the older wanted to try and I didn't care for the public middle school so he came along for the ride. It was quite a transitional year but after that it was smooth running. (I had taught all three of my children to read prior to, or during Kindergarten). With a public school charter and online school it wasn't too difficult. We enjoyed the flexibility of our day to day learning. The only rule was to complete all classes assigned for the day. If you finished at 10:00 a.m., you were done for the day and could pursue other interests. If the material was harder, then they had homework after sports practice/scouts and dinner. I chose not to home school after 8th grade, I felt they needed to step up to others expectations and start living in the "real" world. Thankfully both boys have adjusted well. Both are quiet types with the younger being extremely shy. I worried most about him, but after two months of high school he is doing well and always comes out of school with a smile on his face. I think parents have to follow their gut instincts on what is best for their child. I don't believe there is one right way, sometimes you have to figure it out as you go along.

I homeschooled my children all the way through to 12th grade. They all went away to College and that was their first experience with classroom learning and tests. My first one struggled with dorm life. The girls she met were not very studious and silly. Her second semester was much better. After graduation she married and has kids of her own. My two sons transitioned very quickly with no problems, socially or academically. My second child is also married and all three are professionals. I don't guess anyone really knew that they had been homeschooled...they were just college students.

We home schooled our son for grades 6-8 simply because the middle school he was to attend was too dangerous, and we could not afford to move. He excelled at the curriculum and managed to complete 3 grade levels in two years. When we finally did move, we ran into trouble re-integrating him into the public system. The school district claimed he did not have the pre-requisites required to take the level of math class he was at. The result was he repeated Algebra 1 in his first year of public school and is now a year behind where he wants to be. Home schooling worked great for us at that time, but we're glad we switched back. There is simply more things and more opportunities to learn with the public system than the bare bones approach to the home school model.

I always find it interesting to hear other opinions about this subject. I find that many people who have a negative opinion, have either only met homeschool "failures", as some public school teachers call them, or just have never met most of the families that were successful at it. I taught 2 children, one from 3rd grade to finish, and the other from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She transitioned very well to High School where she was a grade ahead, and takes honors and AP courses. This year, as a senior, she is on the college hunt. I probably had the hardest time "retiring" from being their teacher, but am now employed as a substitute teacher for the local school system. I was in the kindergarten class for 2 days last week and could not believe that these little folks have so much structure in their day. They must hold their hands behind their backs as they walk through the hallways and wait until 1:00 for lunch. I felt sorry for them. It reinforced my belief that I had made the right decision. I have no problem letting my children develop and learn independence, in fact the teachers at the public school have commented on how my daughter is much more prepared for college and adult life than most other students her age. I look back on those days as the best years of my life.

I only know personally one person who was home-schooled and I don't know how her parents can look at themselves in the mirror. Neither of the girl's parents finished high school and only one of them had a GED. No college between them and they lived in low-income housing and neither parent had ever worked (still have never worked). They home-schooled because they said their daughter would get migraines if she woke up too early in the morning. Their daughter is now 28, and can barely read or write, she can't type, she can't find work, she's never done more than work at fast food places because she can't read or write very well. Home-schooling is fine, but I think the parents should have to be tested or something to make sure they are qualified to be a home-schooler.

Our son and daughter attended public school until 4th and 5th grade when my wife and I determined that homeschooling was our best choice for education. We had a great experience.

Our son and daughter are now young adults and are healthy, happy, and whole. At age 21, my daughter is a college graduate and is currently on a religious mission trip. At 19, my son is also a college graduate, works full time, owns his own business, and is working on his doctorate. Both are successful in many aspects of their lives and are making great life choices.

Homeschooling is not for everyone and not every homeschool story is a success. For our family it has been amazing. :)

I have homeschooled my two daughters from kindergarten on - one is currently in 6th grade, the other a junior in high school. I've always said that there are pros and cons to both homeschooling and public school. Because of my oldest daughter's personality (very much a follower and would allow kids to do whatever they wanted to her), I decided to homeschool her and build her up, instead of allowing the kids at school to boss her around and bring her down. I always thought I would only homeschool until Grade 4, but she loved it and excelled. She now has the advantage of taking one class per semester at the high school, which she has done since her sophomore year. Her teachers love her and she has received A's in every class so far. Matter of fact, they have recommended she take the AP classes. It has been a wonderful learning experience for her to have to deal with other "personalities", expectations from teachers, different teaching methods, etc. The sixth grader decided she wanted to go to public school last year but came home after six weeks - she didn't like all the time spent doing nothing, it was boring, and she didn't like how disrespectful the other kids were to the teacher and to each other. I truly feel you have to see if homeschool is a good fit for your child's personality - not all children should be homeschooled. It just so happens it has been a good fit for our family so far.

Back in the early 1980s I undertook first grade with my son. We lived in a very rural area where kindergarten through grade 12 of the public school were in the same building. The superintendent gave us "permission" to home school. Back then there were very few materials, so I bought an old-fashioned elementary curriculum in a box. The box was never fully explored. My son was too busy wearing his bath-towel Superman cape and jumping off the front porch. At the end of what would have been his first grade year, he threw a fit to go to regular school. The superintendent said okay, but he must be tested to see whether he should be started in first or second grade. We made the 3-hr. drive to the testing center and then waited for the results. He began public school in the second grade. The first six weeks were a little rocky as he caught up in reading. So much for first grade being fundamental! He went on to be a very good athlete and made grades high enough to be in the National Honor Society. Now my son is 36 years old. He has a degree in business/finance and has a great career working on government contracts for a huge corporation. He makes more money than I've ever made in my life. He has many good friends. He still plays racketball, golf and volleyball. He just bought a brand new house. That extra year being Superman was just what he needed.

We homeschooled for 8 years. From preschool through 7th grade. Two of my children attended a Chrisitan school, my oldest for 3 years (k-2 and 6th grade), my younger, only k5. My third always until last year attended public in 4th grade. Last year, we moved from Texas to Washington state. Due to my husband's layoff that left us unemployed for two years, cleaning and selling two homes, still one of three on the market, packing and moving was more that I could bear in between the schooling. My children at that point had become so self-starting, knew how to handle schedules, followed the curriculum, and I graded, corrected, etc. Little time for instruction from me, they relied on DVDs. After taking the SATs, they all were anywhere from 1.5-3.5 years ahead of an equal comparison. Discipline and routine. Stress killed it for me, almost killing me. My children were my heros. The next year, entered 8th, 6th, and 4th grades, the two younger at public, the older at a Christian school. My 6th grader fell behind in math - district cramming "new" information faster than the kids could catch it because the school had fell below standard 3 years in a row, trying to 'fix' a problem, created at least one child who 'fell through the cracks' and attended Sylvan all summer to catch up, but otherwise, loved school, fit right in, received an award the first month for adjusting to move, new school, etc. My 4th grader was bored all year. She was doing much less that what she had done before: only reading, math, science. Little to no writing, grammer, spelling, history. Her scores came back "advanced" on the MSP testing. She was a leader in class, took initiative, made lots of friends. Bold. My oldest slid right into the good group of kids, made the best friends he's ever had, won achievements in academics and character, leadership, and sports. They are well-balanced, mature, don't like being late, like schedules, timers, and desire good grades. They have good character, love others, are kind, respectful, have manners, and I believe it's all because our influence was their main influence above peers for their early years. It was worth the sweat and sleepless nights...I do love my children. They're way beyond me in maturity when I was their age. Homeschooling is not for everyone and especially if you're doing it alone or with no support. It's tough, but love is what gets you through. Not to mention, I believed God called me to that higher purpose after 5 years of praying about it, I chose to do it. He carried me through and blessed my children and our home. Not perfect, but pretty great!

After 3 years of homeschooling , my daughter is back to school,5th grade. She cries every morning. This little girl who always had a great self esteem tells me now she feels dumb, she got reprimanded by the teacher because she forgot to had in a permission slip (although she had it with her, her nerves took over)...I feel so lost, did i do right putting her back in school?

I'm very worried about my 10 year old daughter. After 3 years of homeschooling she just started 5th grade. She was usually a pretty happy child with great self esteem. Now she cries every night, says she feels dumb, just very insecure. Things i know she knows she "forgets" because she is so nervous. I feel so lost, don't know if i'm doing the right thing in putting her back in school. Any advice??