I believe that parents who have the desire to teach their children at home can create a wonderful learning environment.

For us, home education was a choice based primarily on a love of learning and wanting to forge strong family bonds. Although I do also feel that American public schools are failing when it comes to developing knowledgeable and empathetic adults.

Homeschooling is a terrific option, but it does require dedication and patience – more so with the passage of time, as lessons become more involved and children develop a wider range of interests. Additionally, individual states will have varying degrees of involvement that must be addressed.

You may find that family, friends & neighbors are confused, turned off, or downright threatened by the choice to homeschool. It can take time to become comfortable with the curiosity of those who do not understand why you want to teach at home. It can also take some time to learn to handle those with a decidedly negative (and sometimes vocal) opinion on homeschooling.

Many people question the ability of homeschooled children to receive adequate socialization. It is such a common question that it has been dubbed the “s-word” by many homeschooling families. It is important to remember that home educated children are not cloistered away from society. They are also not artificially forced to interact with large groups of children all of the same age and level of maturity.

With a little looking, most communities have homeschooling groups that plan get-togethers in parks, at zoos and museums. These groups may also join into other activities together to receive lower rates. For example language lessons, swimming classes, martial arts, etc… My children (4 & 8) are making great friends with other local homeschoolers and are able to participate in activities they would miss out on, were they in public school all day.

I hope you will review the links provided for homeschooling resources. Some are focused on homeschooling laws, some are educational philosophies. Use what works for you!

Due to your circumstances I would recommend you homeschool this year. I glanced at the Virginia laws and it looks like your parents need to have at least a high school diploma, provide a curriculum to prove what you will be doing, notify the superintendent of your intention to homeschool within 30 days, and to provide some type of assessment at the end of the year. Your parents could purchase a curriculum for you or pay for online schooling for you. If they want supervision you could do this at your neighbors house. I understand how difficult it can be to catch up when your so far behind. I agree that it’s near impossible to do make up work with the current work you have. I hope you get to feeling better. Good Luck

If your child is having learning or disipline problems in public school. I would say it is an excellent option.

My daughter was having both of these problems. She was on a 2nd grade reading level after 7 years of school. Now after 1 year of home schooling she is on a 5th grade reading level. She also types really well now, and has learned a lot about real life (helping with bills, cooking, cleaning etc…) I have her in a home school group were she gets to hang out with other home school children her age and go on learning field trips with them. I use School of Tomorrow and Life Pac both excellent products. They only take 2 hours a day, but it does take commitment. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

I think it is…children arent under so much peer pressure to do drugs, drink,ect.

I have been homeschooled for 7 years and LOVE it!

It is so flexible. We do school when public/private schools have “Snow day’s” and “Parent/teacher conferences” (Well, why would you need those? You are the parent and the teacher!)

I think it is a great option…and please dont listen the the teenagers that say it is “So boring, I dont have any friends” There are MANY programs in every city that are centered around homeschoolers.

Homeschooling is a very good option. I heard that people who are homeschooled are 10 times smarter than people in public schools. You’ll do good in homeschool, because there’s no distractions from other people, and you’ll learn to become more independent from the other people and the social life.

~advicegal2013~

Homeschooling is an excellent option if you have the dedication, time, and commitment to train/teach your child(ren). There are many different ways to homeschool and the homeschooling laws are different in every state.

The Homeschool Legal Defense (HSLDA) is a good place to start your research. They not only have the homeschooling laws for each state on their site, but they also have lots of information on getting started in homeschooling. The link is below:

http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

Well I am in home school. It’s probably the best thing that has happened to me. I am almost done with my school work (all of it) and I may either graduate late this year, or early next year. Hopefully I graduate soon. That’s the upside to doing it. The downside, a loss of friends, no social life. (wow… I feel like a dork now.. lol) well sorta, my friends moved away before I did homeschool. But I think its a great thing to do and be in home school, I learn better than I did back in public school. Hope that was of some help. (ps…I type faster now. LOL! and the school program I am doing is Penn Foster High School. Pretty easy, and cool. no time restraint. do it when you want to. :D)

yes i am taking homeschooling too!!! it’s fun.. but sometimes you know, that you will miss the school life.. for example spending time with your friends, doing sports activities, etc. BUT you can discover yourself if you are homeschoooled, and you can even do whatever your missing at your school (like signing up for art classes or swimming lessons). This is going to take a while to get used too..After a while you will probably get used to it…. and the best thing about homeschooling too is you create your own schedule.. you don’t have to worry about when to finish your work in time.. but you still need to work hard:) and you could go to great colleges (if your in highschool??) but remember if you are sure about going to homeschooling you should think about it first.. and if you like it go ahead, because i loved it:]

It can be a great option for the dedicated parent.

I think its a marvelous option. Unschooling has amazing rewards.