[KentuckyHillBilly5321]

We are thinking about home schooling. There are around 2-3 million children home schooled each year. Many parents choose to home school for various reasons. I am leaning more towards "unschooling" than anything. Right now we are doing home pre-k/K and our 5 yr does really well and truly enjoys it. He does well in a Kindergarten-1st curriculum already.

If we could find a good (everyone's definition of good is going to be different for this one) private, independent or montessori school then I would be more willing to allow him to attend school. Our choice will have a lot to do with where we decide to live after QQ finishes up with school. If we do decide to let our child attend a school then he will start at 6 instead of 5 for our own personal reasons.

I think home schooling is more than adequate and for some children MUCH better than public schools. It all depends on your parenting style, what you want for your children, and what your children want. I also believe in child led learning.

Home schooled children can have as much social interaction as regular school children. It all depends upon the parent and what they choose to do. Our child is already involved in city sports and depending upon the county (I think..not sure as I have not done any research on this so many some of you can tell me) in KY your child can participate in the school's extracurricular activities.

Along the lines of a "friendly" debate. . . . .

Do you really think that a home schooled child gets the same type of social interaction opportunities as kids who go to any type of school (public or private)?

After readying your examples--I can have respect for that--but the situations during sports are significantly different than what they are going to experience walking down the hallways of a school (which I immediately agree--would/could be harmful in many different scenarios).

There are a couple different kids that I am thinking of who are EXTREMELY intelligent, yet for their age, they lack nearly all of the necessary social skills to suceed in the future. (And this comes from a good family--and a family that makes a strong effort to get their kids engaged in social activities on the same level as you have previously mentioned).

I immediately agree that it works for some kids--but overall--I think that this is something that will hurt them in the long run. Especially when it comes to finishing college and getting out in the "real" world.