Yes. The wonderful thing about homeschool is that each family has the freedom to customize their curriculum choices to meet the needs of each individual child. There are so many options and it really is up to the parent to decide what kind of education they want to offer their child.

Once you step into the homeschool world you’ll soon begin to realize that there are different approaches to homeschool education. There are unschoolers, classical, Charlotte Mason fans, and total eclectic homeschools. Educational philosophy has a direct link to what kind of curriculum you offer your child.

I think one of the best ways to decide what kind of education you want to offer your child is to read up on all the different approaches and then you can decide what you want to do. I would consider myself eclectic as I take something that I love from each philosophy and try to implement it into our school. 

The best way to find out what’s good is to ask other homeschoolers what they are using and their experience. In addition, you can explore  http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/ , http://cathyduffyreviews.com/, http://www.homeschool.com/ all of which offer curriculum reviews and can help you as you explore your options.

I have to admit that I use to think all homeschool families were crazy! I mean what types of parents would actually choose to school their own children? It’s so funny how my life has turned out.

Before I became a parent, I never thought I would be stay at home mom and definitely not a homeschool teacher. I was very judgmental  and it helps me to be gracious to others when I encounter those who still  hold to stereotypical beliefs about homeschool.

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Homeschooling families come in all shapes and sizes. Some have one child and some ten. Some live in rural areas and others in cities like Manhattan, NY. There are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, and everyone in between homeschool families. With over a million homeschool children in our nation, there is just no way to put everyone into the same box. We are all different and we homeschool for different reasons.

Every homeschool family runs their school differently. My kids wake-up at 7:30 am and start off with morning chores (get dressed, brush teeth, clean room, and perform the assigned kitchen chore). They make breakfast and finish chores before starting school work. The first subject of the day is Bible. I’ve found that it is a great way to get everyone focused for the day.  After that, they each look at their individual schedules and start their next subject.

At this point everyone is working on a different subject until lunch. We take a lunch/recess break from 12-1pm where the kids can eat, rest, and play outside with the neighbors (who also homeschool). If the kids stay on task our school day is usually over by 3 pm. However, if the kids are moving slower than usual they end up going later into afternoon.

Each day of the week there is a different after-school activity. On Monday we host a computer club at our house and then my boys run off to mixed martial arts class. On Tuesday Anaya attends a performing arts program while Jayda attends computer programming courses and Pokémon league on the weekends. Every Friday we get together with other homeschooling families for co-op. The kids have P.E. and other classes from 9am-12pm. I’m constantly in the minivan running everyone around for playdates, writer’s club, and field trips. I haven’t mentioned everything and you can see that we have a very full schedule!
 
Here’s a sample of Anaya’s schedule for Monday and Tuesday (4th Grade 2015-2016):

Monday
7:30 Wake Up/Morning Chores
8:00-8:30 Breakfast (30)
8:30-9:00 Bible (30 min)
9:00-10:00 Math (1hr)
10:00-11:00 Writing (1hr)
11:00-12:00 Literature (1hr)
12:00-12:55 Lunch-Recess (55min)
1:00-1:40 Science (40min)
1:40-2:00 Vocab (20min)
2:00-2:30 Chores/Snack
4:00 Computer Club

Tuesday
7:30 Wake Up/Morning Chores
8:00-8:30 Breakfast (30)
8:30-9:00 Bible Video (30 min)
9:00-10:00 Math (1hr)
10:00-11:00 Writing (1hr)
11:00-12:00 Literature (1hr)
12:00-12:55 Lunch-Recess (55min)
1:00-1:30 Geography (30min)
1:30-2:30 History (1hr)
2:30-3:00 Spelling (30min)
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I hope this helps give you an idea of what our school day looks like. There are a lot of great videos on Youtube that chronicle a day in the life of different homeschooling families. Here's one that I think you might like:

I usually answer this question a question. So what do you mean by socialization? Oh, you mean, how do my kids make their friends and interact with other children? Well they make friends in a variety of ways. All of them are involved in after school activities. Sports, dance, computer club, etc… They attend weekly activities at the public library, church youth group, homeschool classes and field trips.

 My children are very sociable and we’ve taught them to interact with peers and adults. Our goal is for each of our children  to have the skills needed to interact positively with the world around them. But I do think this is a funny question for homeschool families. It’s not like attending public or private school guarantee that kids will gain the skills needed to develop healthy friendships.

​We all know of kids who attend school who are really shy and can’t carry on a conversation with peers or adults. And as far as the weird factor goes—I don’t think my kids are weird. Smart, focused, kind, loveable, and a little geeky. But I’m okay with that. So no, I’m not concerned with socialization.

First of all I never dreamed of homeschooling my children. It wasn’t until after college that I moved to North Carolina and met a friend who had decided to homeschool her daughter for kindergarten. She wanted to spend that year getting to know her daughter’s learning style so that she could partner well with all future teachers.

​ I thought this was a pretty novel idea and 10 years later when my daughter was ready for kindergarten I decided to do the same thing. In fact, I had already taught her how to read and write by 3 ½ so it was a very natural transition into homeschool. Each year my husband and I evaluate if this educational path is still the best fit for our children. So far it has been a wonderful option for our family.