I wish you had "all of the above" as a choice! While I always liked the idea of home schooling, it took a major incident at my sons' school(the youngest was abandoned for several hours on the preschool handicap bus), followed by persecution of my oldest son for "telling," that made the decision for me. We love home schooling! I wish I'd never let people talk me into sending the boys to public school. After Columbine, my mother apologized to me for not supporting home school from the start. I only wish public schools were safe places for the kids whose parents won't home school them.

We homeschool because we don't believe it is the governments job to dictate what our children know and don't know.
We have a very close family that talks to each other all day long.
The children are growing up knowing first-hand what it takes to run a household.

We homeschool because we love spending time with the kids. We have the honor of being witness to every step of their growing and becoming. A huge bonus is that we can go places when crowds are thinner, in our timeframe, whenever we want to.

We homeschool for nearly every reason listed. There was no one reason, but a multitude of reasons that made homeschooling the best option for our family. I do not approve of the biased learning in PS; with HS, I can make sure my boys learn the whole truth about things, not what some bureaucrat has determined they need to learn. I also do not agree with the whole PS structure. An entire class of kids the same age is not well-rounded socialization (oddly enough, the very thing most non-HSrs attempt to make an issue). Not to mention, I was so tired of only getting the grouchy, tired, whiny--pretty much obnoxious-- left-over part of my child for a few hours in the afternoon/evening before starting the rat-race all over again the next day!

because I'm philosophically against a structured school. because we're happier now without the stress of school, including having to get them ready for an early start, having to structure around getting them picked up and then having them physically and emotionally exhausted so they were miserable while they were at home except weekends.
I enjoy having a relaxed time with them!

Our older daughter learns on her own, at home. While I have been a homeschool champion since I was a child and had homeschooled friends, it really is the best option for our child, who has mental challenges. Her attending a "brick and mortar" school would not work one bit for her. There are as many different reasons to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. One size definitely does not fit all!

We don't homeschool we unschool for various reasons listed in the poll. Mainly for the love of learning, for the love of life and to be ourselves, not what society or religious standards say we should be.

Our district doesn't have a full time Gifted and Talented program, so I had to pull my son out so that he could learn. And yes, we're having a blast.

I agree with Michelle... It is our God given responsibility as parents to educate our own children... We did not work so hard to have a child to turn over a major part of his life to someone that we do not even know.
It is no secret that our public schools are lacking in so many areas and not a safe environment for our children, much less a good "peer" influence or lesson in "socialization" (oh, how that question irks me!) ... Add to that what the government believes that it is necessary or appropriate to teach... (Oh don't get me started...LOL!) We want our son to be able to learn at his own pace while exploring the things that interest him (it is amazing how you can incorporate the "three R's" into our day to day life... with or without "textbooks.") We believe that life is a learning experience and we are enjoying the journey together. Currently my husband is completing his bachelor's in Oceanography. Once that is complete we will travel with his research. We are so very excited to be able to have the world as our "classroom."

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this poll.

Smiles and blessings to all...