-eliza-, in answer to your questions:

My mom used to be a schoolteacher, so she's a really great teacher. We use some different curriculums for homeschoolers.

We have all the normal subjects, like math, science, history, etc.

I usually start school around 9:00, and work until about 11:00 or 11:30, then take a break for lunch. Then in the afternoon I have another hour or two of school.

I don't have homework.

We get off on most holidays too.

Going from homeschool to private school (and later public) was a shock for me, there's a lot more to worry about when you go to a school. But I think it was good for me cause then going to college wasn't such a huge shock. I always wonder, how do people adjust to college after doing homeschool all the way up to 12th grade? Seems like that would be a huge transition.

In australia we have uni(not like america when you stay their). We basically go to a class their then go home or what ever.

Actually, Ilovefauns, you can do that too in the USA. It all depends on how far away your university of choice is. Right now the one I want to attend most is 3,000 miles away so if I get accepted I'll be staying there...

Princess-of-Narnia: Excellent answer to questions asked! I was beginning to wonder If I was the only one who attended a co-op! Most high school kids I know go to co-ops after a certain time determined by their parents. My mom--she taught us everything. But when my brother and sister hit time for high school math, she signed them right up for classes.

I guess the reason so many homeschoolers don't use co-ops is because they're afraid it will become too structured and no different from public school.

Here's a question for you all, from one homeschooler to others: Why do you homeschool? On job interviews I get asked this and I'm still trying to formulate a response.

I think because the uni nere here is only small and only does a few courses it is just for the peopel around here. If you want to do anything else you will have to go to perth.

ChristProclaimer, thank you. I think I worked on that response more than I worked on my book that day.
Co-op is actually the only method I have not tried. I find Video Cirriculum is what I need at this moment. But I had to include it, as I know a ton of homeschoolers who do co-op.

Why do you homeschool? Good question. Formulating a mature response, without the "My parents forced me to", might be somewhat difficult. This is the general answer I came up with.

I felt that it was the best way to learn what I needed to learn. And it also provided me the liberty to increase my skills in the areas I wanted to.

You can add to that whatever your hobbie/skills are, complying with maybe the type of job you are being interviewed for.
Hope that helps!

Why do you homeschool? Good question. Formulating a mature response, without the "My parents forced me to", might be somewhat difficult.

In my case though, that is exactly why I was homeschooled. Before 8th grade I was in public school, and I was doing fine. I actually work better in public schools, just because of the way my mind works and stuff. My little brother and sister had wanted to be homeschooled, so to avoid scheduling they made me get homeschooled.

My parents homeschooled me and my siblings the last three years of my life and it really wasnt working out-for me. I simply did better in a classroom setting, having certain dates to get things done, and I really needed to be around my friends and people. It got lonely a lot, and when I did see my friends they were always talking about stuff that happened at school, other people they knew from school, activities related to school, complaining about homework, etc. My life began to feel irrelevant and I was getting depressed. There is this rule in my county that if you don't go into public school by 9th grade, you can't go in unless you repeat everything from 9th grade and after. Fortunatly I heard some info from someone that managed to get around this rule, and with an accredited transcript and some other things, my family was able to get around this rule, and I was able to get into high school. So far this year, it has worked a lot better for me. My brother is also being public schooled and he is doing fine. He needed to be homeschooled during elementary years as it helped him better(he had a hard time picking up certain concepts in public school), but now he is in middle school with his friends and he's doing well.

My sister is still homeschooled, and thats alright. I think its working better for her. Homeschooling is sorta something that depends on the person. It may or may not work out for you.

I have been homeschooled my whole life, even in Preschool and Kindergarden!
I really enjoy it! next year is my last year of school (I am in 11th grade)!!!!
sometimes I wonder what it's like in public school, but I don't really want to be there; I am contenet to be at home! yay for staying in p.j.'s all day (sometimes, not ALL the time!)! lol!

Ha, my mother puts her foot down on the pyjamas thing! She insists that we be dressed for schooling.
Reading back a few pages: Decarus is right, homeschooling is not the norm anywhere. A lot of people still don't know what it is. I think the reason we give off that impression is because this is a Narnia site, and anything by C.S. Lewis is practically required reading for a homeschooled child. We Christians/Homeschoolers stick to our our favorite theologian C.S. Lewis, hence more of us are Narnia fans, hence more of us are here. If this was a site for a series that did not so strongly reflect Christianity, the number of homeschoolers would drop dramatically.

I am also a homeschooler! I have been homeschooled all my life, and I am currently in grade 9 at 13 years old, so a bit older than others would be in my grade.
Next year I plan on taking some online courses with a Christian online school that I am pretty excited about.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go to an actual school, and maybe some year I will. But definitely not public school. It would have to be a Christian school.

My wife and I were both public schooled, although I did two years in Christian schools and found them both to be rather horrible and far worse than public school. We're strongly considering doing homeschooling for our kids when we eventually have some for numerous reasons. I'm somewhat torn on the issue because I do recognize there are good things about public schooling when I was going through it, however in recent times it has gotten worse.

Public school, invariably, is going to ultimately be a social event. You've got your various cliques, groups, etc. that form and you're going to be in one of them; rich people, jocks, nerds, the stoners, the middle-classers, the ever present ne'er-do-wells, etc. These are the folks you congregate with and become friends with and they have as much an effect on your grades as does your study time. This isn't all bad though...if you find yourself in a good, responsible group (like I did) you come out ok. But if you get in with the wrong crowd bad things sometimes happen (which is true of life in general). This is the one thing that bothers me with homeschooling...my kids probably won't have regular friends outside of church to really hang out with, or at the least it may be more difficult for them to.

Another issue in homeschooling's favor is that my kids likely wouldn't have to deal with bullies. My wife and I both had to and it's not fun. When push came to shove you had to be prepared, if there was no other way out of it, to put up your dukes and resort to fisticuffs. At the very least you had to be prepared to occasionally run away. I've always promoted standing up to bullies, but nowadays doing so might get you shot in public school, and I don't want that happening to my kid.

And probably the biggest thing in favor of homeschooling as opposed to public schooling is what I strongly perceive is a huge imbalance of quality of education. The homeschoolers I talk to here are smart...really smart. They talk about literature, and not just toss away stuff like Twilight but Classics like Victor Hugo or even Tolstoy! They're articulate and well spoken, and I've yet to see one resort to cyber speak "ph3Ar mE! I'm 7eeT!" . Public schooled kids usually aren't interested in such things and oftentimes are more concerned with social activities (which follows since we're basically talking about it being a much more social setting). Only a few years ago when my niece and nephew were in school I would sometimes look at their homework and was stunned when I learned that their school district actually allowed them to pick what grade they wanted. If they wanted an A they had to accomplish everything on the list...for a B, slightly less, C only required them to do half of the requirements, etc. I was literally flabbergasted. One should not lightly just hand the reins over to a 16 year old who's interest is more in the release date of an Eminem CD rather than stuff they'll need to use in college, because all too often they'll choose the former. With homeschoolers the parents are there constantly to provide supervision and I imagine are pretty stern about maintaining a guiding hand towards excellence. Had I that amount of supervision at that age I know I would have ended up with far better grades than I did!

My only other concern stems from lack of sports or musical programs. While I was never sports-minded (I love college basketball and will occasionally watch NHL) I did take to Quiz Bowl like a fish to water. Here I was, a C student, and I knocked the Valedictorian off of the team . Ahh...great memories . We won county and district and did pretty good at state level. I even got a couple of trophies out of the deal. But with homeschooling is there anything like that in place? And what if my kid wants to learn how to play a musical instrument like violin or trombone? And even if I got a music teacher for them half of the job is integrating that instrument into a band or symphonic setting so that you get the full feel of where it belongs in an ensemble. Is there something that addresses this type of issue?

But even if it means my kid misses out on some great stuff I'm still thinking homeschooling might be the best way to ensure they're using their brains to full potential rather than squandering it needlessley on useless stuff that, unfortunately, goes hand in hand with public schooling.

I really wonder about the social implications of home-schooling. Sure, it may be good for some people but it almost certainly wouldn't be suited to others. One important life-skill is to learn to get along with people you find disagreeable (or worse). School is a good place to learn these things.
I guess both types of schooling have their positives and negatives though. I've attended a Christian primary school and a Christian high school but you can learn so much about getting along with others in these environments (a Christian high school certainly doesn't mean most people there belong to the faith, weird as that is). I don't know what I'm trying to say but here's one thing. If you're home-schooled try not to think of others as more corrupted than you. We are all sinners in the eyes of God and all need his redeeming love to grow and change.

Oh, my! I don't think anyone meant that Warrior 4 Jesus. No one is implying that anyone who doesn't homeschool is corrupt.

One important life-skill is to learn to get along with people you find disagreeable (or worse). School is a good place to learn these things.

I'm afraid this only caused me to laugh. My apologies, I'm sorry, I know you are serious. But my sibling aren't always the most agreeable people in the world and I have to get along with them because I live with them. So home is a good place to learn these things too.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. But when I say that I support homeschooling, I'm not saying that I think all children can learn better at home. Homeschooling is about more than that. A stronger bond is created between the parent and the child because they are together every day throughout the day. And the curriculum is specifically for the child and not a one-size-fits-all thing. Sometimes children learn better when they are taught in a way that is specific to them.

I have plenty of friends who are not homeschooled, and I don't think they are corrupt. They are different from me, and I am different from them. But that would be true if we all went to public school.

My wife and I were both public schooled...

Long post! I agree with most of what you are saying about the bad things with public schools. I do agree that homeschooling gives students a better education than does public school. But one other thing - wouldn't a Christian school be better than a public school, based on the fact that a public school would force you to learn evolution, but a Christian school wouldn't?

Then again I have never been to a Christian school, so you would obviously know more about it than me!

You're still taught evolution in a Christian school, it's just presented as another belief (but still a large part of the Sciences).