This is only my first "official" year. Last year I started K with my daughter who was too young to be under required attendance laws, so this was the first year to send in The Form to our district. My reasons for homeschooling are very complex, but mostly it comes down to: wanting to make my kids' education specific to them, and not "the average student", and my belief that my kids are my responsibilty,

I started researching homeschooling back when my oldest daughter was a nursing infant. I always thought it was a CRAZY hippie thing to do, until I became a mom and all the ideas I had about parenting went right out the window. My baby daughter never wanted to be put down, which started me on a long line of parenting choices that turned me into a mom that greatly differed from what I had expected I'd be like.  

I don't always enjoy being with my kids and I'd really like the time afforded by sending my kids into school, but as my kids grow I just can't imagine sending them off for 8 hours a day to be raised by someone else, with grossly different morals and values. My kids are my God-given responsibility, and I won't give up that responsibility for the sake of my personal free time.

I hear all the time, "my kids drive me crazy -- I would never be able to sit and teach them all day". I think, well, now or later! My kids do drive me batty sometimes, but I'm raising them also for the future. I want to have teenagers that still like to be around each other and their parents, and not overly influenced by the anti-parent culture of the world. When I see a veteran homeschool mom at church, and her two teen boys are helping and even HUGGING each other, I know something is different with that family.

I want my kids to be socialized to be with all ages of people, which is how the Real World really is, and not just their grade level peers.

So that's just a few reasons. I find more reasons all the time!

Throughout elementary school I was an A student. However because of the "watered down" work and the emphasis on state test's I was never really challenged. I am a self proclamed bookworm and would read several novel's every day DURING class. I was far from being popular and was bullied quite a bit. Dispite the reasons I have listed when my parents decided to start homeschooling in the sixth grade I was adamantly opposed. They say that hindsight is twenty-twenty. The first year was hard but I am so glad that we made it through. I still make A's but now,as I enter my Sr. year,  I have several college classes under my belt, tons of friends, and a lot more confidence. The moral of this story? Keep it up homeschooling moms! It was VERY difficult at times but I don't think my mom knows what a difference she made. 

Thanks for that, Sarah C. ! As someone who is really just getting started on this endeavor, it is really good to hear from someone like you.

I was just like you in school. I got almost straight A's but I never felt like I LEARNED anything. I remember it was my third year of college, at Ohio State, when I took a class on the history of the English language. (REALLY fascinating, BTW!) This class REALLY made me THINK, (not just pointlessly hard,  but it made me actually use my brain and not just memorization and busy work). I realized during that class, that I was actually FEELING my brain waking up for the first time.  That's when I realized that I hadn't really been thinking before - even three years into college.

And that's exactly what I DON'T want my kids to experience.

The school my dd went to was great for K-1st grade.  She had a wonderful 1st grade teacher that she adored.  But her second grade teacher was a whole different story.  She liked to single kids out and call them names in front of the class.  My daughter went from loving school to begging not to go.  She was crying every day that I went to pick her up and was completely miserable.  And we were only two weeks into the school year.  When I went to talk to the principal about it, she took the teachers side and refused to put dd in a different classroom.   I was literally crying in the principals office because I was so upset that it was happening to my daughter.  I mulled over it over the weekend and Monday morning and went and picked her up not even an hour after I dropped her off.  That's when I withdrew her from the public school and started homeschooling her.  She's been much happier since.  It's been difficult at times, but at least I now she isn't being humiliated by someone who is supposed to be teaching her.  And I know what she's being taught.

Two things were the toppers for me.  When my friends son was in high school my friend was driving in town with a friend.  She saw a car go by with kids in it (school day), looked and saw her boy.  It turned out the kids were sent on a "donut run" by the teacher.

When my son entered highschool I drove him to school.  A bunch of kids were smoking right in plain view of everyone in front of the school entrance.  Later my son said they smoke dope there too. 

When I phoned the principle about it he denied it was happening!  I told him to go out there and look!

Sheesh...I should print off all of this and give it to that "friend" of mine who keeps trying to convince me to enroll my kids in school!

My son went to public school for part of kindergarten.  We moved from Alaska to Georgia the middle of that year and since we were going to take a few weeks to see family and friends along the way, we decided to homeschool the rest of that year. 

Upon reaching Georgia, we found out that the "good school district" that we had moved into was a nightmare.  We then changed our thinking and wrapped our brains around homeschooling until it didn't work for us anymore.

Derek is now entering 5th grade and has been homeschooled since kindergarten.  We plan to continue as long as possible, especially given that the Air Force doesn't usually move us places that have great school systems.  LOL!