last year was the first year i homeschooled. i think i was successful because i joined a magnet school that had a homeschooling component....so we had alot of support. i decided to HS my 2 olders....just for a year, bc their behavior and academics at school were SO poor that when i looked into their future, it wasn't pretty. we lived in a nice area, but the school was rough....the situation wasn't going to get better on it's own. so i pulled them both out of school. after we moved, we put them back in with the understanding that if i had to pull them out again, it would be the last time. they would not get another chance. they are behaving amazingly, and one has straight A's, the other all B's. my 5 year old has adhd...he's a little squirrly and has trouble paying attention. we tried to work with the teacher and administrator to help him be successful....but it didn't work out. neither were really interested in helping him....or maybe just didn't know how. not only did he stop excelling, he actually started going backwards. he started the year reading, and by the time we pulled him out, he was a struggling reader with all sorts of new bad habits- reading backwards, sounding out sight words. it was odd. where we live, we've decided school is SAFER than where we were before, but academically leaves lots to be desired. in the weeks since we pulled him out, he is excelling QUICKLY and we are rapidly knocking out the bad habits he created while in school. i think being homeschooled helps him bc there are fewer distractions, he gets one on one attention, and i can customize the learning experience just for him, moving faster or slower as he needs. at school, he felt like he spent the entire day getting in trouble, here, he has more freedom...he doesn't bother anybody by standing to do his assignments or swaying while reading. for the older kids, i think it helped remove some of the anxiety they had about school and allowed them just to focus on learning....which allowed them to catch up to where their peers were.

homeschooling is not for everyone, and it is not a popular decision. but for the kids it benefits, it is worth it. for the record, i was always pro-public school education, a teacher by trade, married to a teacher, with tons of teachers in our family....but when you look at your kid, and that environment is not working for them, you do what you have to do to help your kid be a success.