Quote:
Originally Posted by annegirl
It is great to hear about you being best buds with your sister! I consider my sisters my best friends, my parents my top advisers and my brothers my personal body guards!! Yeah, my sister's my best friend, and my cousins are more like brothers than anything. We sit around the table after a meal as a family and talk about politics and world happenings! We have a huge map right next to our dinner table where we point out different countries as we talk. My 3 year old sister can point out "The Rack" where her Sollie (my 22 year old brother) is serving, but her favorite country is Madacascar! (Don't ask me why!?!) Conversations with a diverse age range are great for a couple of reasons...the little ones learn that there is a whole wide world out there outside of their experience...the older ones learn how to explain something clearly and simply enough for a young child to understand. This is one of the biggest pluses I see about homeschooling. It gives us the ability to learn and discover as a family which draws us closer!

One of the best ways to learn something is to have to explain it to someone else, escpecially if they are younger.

Quote:
Originally Posted by japprend
My parents decided to homeschool me and my siblings to ensure that we received a godly upbringing and a solid foundation of Christian education, which wasn't even available in the local Christian schools.!

There are no requirements to get into most Christian private schools.
One of the most common ones where I live says that they admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. they do retain the right to deny admission to married students, and any student who has engaged in alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use.

Quote:
Originally Posted by japprend
Also, our family did quite a bit of traveling. Since we were homeschooled, we could just take the books along and enjoy the benefits of traveling "off-season.".!

We've always traveled in the spring and fall instead of during the summer or spring break.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cookderosa
soltran writes "I mean is they are often shielded against or have limited exposure to the worst aspects of our society. This may seem like a good thing, but it can leave one ill prepared for what life and the workplace can throw at them"

You are correct, but something to consider:
It is also true that a child who is shielded against or has limited exposure to the BEST aspects of society (and family, and education) will be ill prepared for life (and marriage, and college) and the workplace. We know this is true- sociology studies this.

Kids are not ready to be bombarded with every bad aspect of the world when they are 8 years old! I know so many young kids that know more bad words than some adults!
Another aspect of homeschooling that I don't think has been talked is the ability to be able to custimize our curriculum. My sister and I both learn in different ways. She tends to learn better visually while I learn better with a combination of visual things and hands on stuff. Because of that she rarely does the same curriculum that I did when I was her age. Homeschooling also allows us to study more in-depth on subjects that interest us. My brother is in 3rd grade and loves Egypt. He already knows more about Egypt than my mom does because he was allowed to spend extra time looking at books and watching movies about Egypt.