I want to homeschool my kids (4 and 1 yrs old), but I'd like to get some "armor" to fight those dissenters and homeschool haters (many in my family).  I am well aware of the academic advantages, so I am looking particularly for Social an Behavioral statistics of homeschooled children.  Any sites?
122972
I have homeschooled for years now.  I hear from my old fart neighbor "When are you going to let them go back to school?"  Ugh.  It never ends.  I just don't broadcast it to the locals because THEY choose to be close minded and to not educate themselves about hsing.  Consider this 'comeback' as it's my best one:  My son gets a one-on-one education.  It's better than a private tutor.  He is fully socialized as he can go to church, soccer, chess club, library groups, the local rec center programs, 4H and scouts."  Folks that flip out and bring up socialization usually just grab that word because everyone that knows little about it uses it.  Good luck and you can email me for any help you need.
380348
We homeschool and only have 1 child.  Most I know have less than 4 children and I am part of a very large homeschool group.  There are several groups that homeschool for religious reasons and those same religious groups probably do not use birth control.  I wouldn't say that 50% of homeschoolers have very large families
334890
I most definitely agree with you. I have lived in the pacific northwest for over a decade now and the population of homeschoolers in this part of the country is on the rise. As a matter of fact, I still remain single to this day waiting for an educated woman who agrees with me on the subject because our public schools are failing our youth and our children are falling behind the rest of the world. Homeschooling is definitely a viable option as I have met many who have blown away their public school counterparts.
548615
Home schooling has never been as popular as it is today. I would attribute that to the decline in educational quality received in the public school system. Literally the system itself is failing. Therefore homeschooling is ultimately beneficial as it provides closer supervision, one to one application and better nutritional availability. Of course the qualifications of the parent are an important factor. The point of "Lack of Social Skills" is invalid as home schooled children can become part of sports teams, clubs, church groups, and other activities that will enhance their social skills. Home schooling is not confinement but rather an alternative to the failure of the public school system.
31645
Jon's Homeschooling Resource Page has a Flodida Resources section.\n\nIt has links and info on;\n\nSupport Groups \nMailing Lists \nWeb Pages Specific to Florida\nHandbooks Florida-specific homeschooling handbooks
514495
It depends a lot on how the student was homeschooled, from my personal experience. I've met a lot of unschooled teens who are great kids, but their personal interests have not been highly academic. Their behaviour tends to be different from what I see among the high schooled kids--while they do enjoy having fun and being kid-like, they're not immature in what they choose to do.\n\nOn the other spectrum, I've been around homeschooled teens who definitely have better vocabularies than what I hear from many public school teens, more likely to think on a deeper level about issues than simply plod along through life, get through school, focus on friends and their social lives. Like the unschooled teens, they tend to have a more mature outlook on their lives and what's going on around them, all the while preserving their kid-like enjoyment of fun stuff.\n\nSo, I'd say that it's attitude more than anything that makes the difference rather than actual education. Even if a public high school student understood all the vocabulary you use, they aren't likely to use it because social 'normality' is too important. As part of this difference in attitude, you probably take your studies more seriously, or at least more attentively, than most public school students, which is why you would know more, feel smarter.\n\nOn that note, I'd say that it's probably more likely that a homeschooled student following an academic program is likely to be more motivated and attentive in their work than the average public school high school student. Not that there aren't high school students who are highly motivated, but in terms of the average, from what I see here, they aren't that focused on their studies.
271655
I went to homeschool.com\n\nThey have a getting started kit, that includes a book with guidelines for the laws in every state and information on the different options you have for homeschool education - working with a local school, interenet curriculums, unschooling, you name it. \n\nThere are lots of these types of organizations out there to help our growing population of homeschoolers.  In my state, California, they even have a California Home School Group\n(http://californiahomeschool.net/default.htm)  You might have something similar in your area.\n\nPeace!
546084
Pbs.org is a great website - has lots of different stuff on it, based on the different shows. My kids always liked the Zoom portion of it.  There's also the website for American Girls which has lots of history and other stuff on it.
134757
Check out Princeton's links for homeschool as well as all the other resources on their site. Good luck.
607914
I am in my 1st year of homeschooling my son, we pulled him out of public school during his 6th grade year. We are preparing to enter the 7th grade. We use the Abeka curriculum primarily but we also dabble a bit with Saxon and Alpha Omega.\n\nWhat my son really loves about homeschooling is that he gets to choose  what order he wants to learn his studies. Some days he wants to start with History, some days he starts with Math. It all depends. Plus we explore much more than the public schools do. We go on at least 1 field trip a week, whether it's to the park or to the museum, or even the library. He also gets to learn French, something he has wanted to do since the 5th grade. \n\nThere is so much less stress to the whole scenario of it. We have the basic subjects + French, Literature, and Art and he is still done within 5-6 hrs a day. I instruct him on what needs to be done, help him as he works through the first parts of it, then supervise and be there if he runs into a roadblock. I wouldn't trade it for the world, and neither would he.\n\nHe also has a larger social network then he had in school, between skating parties, swimming parties, study groups, bible study, sleep overs, etc.
139277
This looks ok:\n\nhttp://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/workshops/stats_wrk.html\n\nor else just keep google-ing psychology+statistics.\n\nGood luck :-)
199523
try this site\n\nhttp://www.schoolingkids.com/
445820
I homeschool my own kids and I know another family in our coop that is brand new to homeschooling. This girl came from the public school where she was treated horribly by her peers. Since she has been homeschooling, she has made more friends in our coop than she had in school. Her academic performance has improved as well.\n\nI have found when homeschooers gather with homeschoolers, attitudes are better towards each other. there is less competition with each other for "the best" and more focus on the quality of personal relationships.These kids don't get jealous of friends as easily as the kids I've seen in the public or private schools because they know from experience they can be themselves. There isn't the belief they have to say or do stuff to impress others out of peer pressure.\n\nPeople who are against homeschooling tend to make a big deal about the socialization thing because they are more concerned with kids being like everyone else than being themselves. Notice they will always talk about socialization, not socializing. Socialization is actually defined as the conforming of one generation to the standards and expectations of the previous generation. Socializing is the gathering of many for a common pleasure or goal. Listen to these anti-homeschoolers and you will see a common factor that is pro-socialization and less concerned with socializing.
66782
the main benefit of homeschooling is the ability to individualize everything that goes on. any educator will admit that there's nothing better than one-on-one teaching, when it comes to actual learning (it's just that they can't). the parent/teacher can evaluate how well a student is learning, work around blocks and learning disabilities, and utilize natural talents. more attention ALWAYS equals better learning.\n\n plus, what kid wouldn't want a curriculum designed specifically around his/her interests? what kid doesn't want to be able to find out about what he's curious about without having to raise his hand, and wait for teacher, or a computer to open up, or library time? what kid really wants to be in a world where everything is structured down to the minute, full of illogical and sometimes unpredictable reward systems and dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, filtered by someone who's too busy to spend more than a few minutes paying attention to him? \n\nhomeschoolers have been proven to be better socialized that institutionalized kids, more mature, and score better on achievement tests. they are more creative, independent and have a love for learning that is drummed out of most kids by about 3rd grade or so. \n\nmost objections boil down to just a few roots: \n"i had to deal with the hell of regular school, and so should everyone else." and "those kids are weird." well, if weird means getting into the best colleges, winning the National Geographic Geography Bee, dominating national spelling bees, and eventually becoming just like everyone else, with jobs as diverse as entrepreneur or mechanic, then sure, they're weird. \n\nalso, schools are paid by the student. therefore, they are highly motivated to denigrate the move towards homeschooling. (every kid who quits is money down the drain for them.)\n\nlinks to stats and studies:\nhttp://homeschoolinformation.com/homeschooling/homeschool_statistics1.htm\n\nhttp://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp\n\nother links:\nhttp://www.homeedmag.com/INF/strt_index.html\n\nhttp://www.homeschoolzone.com/unschooling/
289365
http://www.jefcoed.com/SCHOOLS/fdalehi/index.html\nhttp://www.fultondale.com/schools/highschool.asp\nhttp://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/al/814/\nhttp://www.campusactivism.org/displayschool-10075.htm
390635
As a home school Mom, I use the Internet to get alot of information. You can search by grade or subject. Use something like Google or just search- you can be very specific or very broad- you will find a ton of information out there. Many site offer free down-loadable pages- educational and for fun! Also many stores offer workbooks that could be used in teaching many different subjects.
482295
I'm with you.  Let's see the valid studies!\n\nNHERI has done a tremendous amount of research.  Dr. Brian Ray and his colleagues give presentations in courts of law, to the US Congress, and to governments of foreign countries.  The statistics are clear and present the fact that home-schooling is a very good method of education.\n\nI personally helped with one project that involved questioning home-school students in regards to the military.  The study involved questions that could help the military adjust their enlistment requirements and recruiting policies.\n\nEvery home-school will have it's "issues" just as every public school has areas that need improvement.  The question is:  Who do you trust more -- parents or the government?