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I was homeschooled, so was my husband, and we'll be homeschooling our children.

For my family, my Mom did all of the teaching. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten through high school, but my little sister was only homeschooled up to grade 8 and then she went to a boarding school academy. She is now a senior and has full scholarships for university.

In my husband's family, his Mom started out doing all the teaching but when they got to upper grades, she started hiring tutors to help with the subjects she didn't feel proficient in (math and science subjects). Two of the children were homeschooled all the way though high school, one went to academy after grade 8 just like my little sister (different academy though).

We will also be homeschooling our children. We are aid workers and move frequently abroad, so it would be very stressful and difficult for our children to attend a traditional school. Even if we stayed in one country, I would still probably homeschool, although I would consider Montessori.

I was homeschooled all throughout high school until I went to college, and I turned out perfectly normal, happy, and socialized haha!! I LOVE dispelling myths about homeschooling. Everyone is always surprised to find out I was homeschooled.

Re: your questions:

will you do the same for your children?
I am seriously considering it. It all depends on our financial situation and whether I'm a SAHM or a PT working mom. At our current income it would be REALLY hard to afford another child, but obviously I want 1-2 more babies. SO there is a possibility I will be working in 4 years when DS starts kindergarten. IF I'm not working, or only working PT I will DEFINITELY homeschool through elementary school! I think for myself personally, I love the ability to give my son a firm foundation in morals, values, beliefs, and education. I know firsthand how influential kids can be. I worked at the elementary school in our district and it was not an environment I would want my son in when he is only 5 years old. After a few years I might regroup, see how it's working for us and take into account whether DS is thriving in a homeschool setting or if I feel he would need a more structured environment. It also depends on whether our district improves, or if we move to a better district.

Who taught you, your parents or was someone brought in to teach you?
In the early years it was my parents. Most anyone can teach addition, subtraction, letters and sounds. It's pretty basic. By middle school I was doing 90% of my homework on my own though. If I had questions, my parents guided me and if I had problems they either helped me or found me a tutor every once in a while. In high school I had math tutor because I was failing in math.

How long were you home schooled?
Until I graduated HS! Although I did go to a community college for my senior year of HS; in my state as a jr and sr you can go to a college for free and get both HS and college credit. So I did that.

One thing I would change IF possible: I wish my parents had listened and responded better to my needs while I was in high school. Even though I was involved in activities that allowed me to make friends; I was struggling with my academics. I had a really hard time with math and science and neither of my parents knew how to help me. My dad is not a gifted teacher and would get frustrated and my mom didn't know/remember algebra, geometry etc. They got me a tutor once a week, but I needed help EVERY DAY. I would get it when the tutor helped, but trying to do it on my own, I would fail. I REALLY wanted to go to high school because my self esteem was completely suffering because I was failing and my mom was making me feel like it was all my fault. We had a lot of bitterness between us as a result. My mom was ADAMANT about not putting me in the public school system. In fact we didn't even talk it out until about a year ago and it still produced tears and hurt feelings on both ends.
However, starting out in elementary school is completely different than continuing to HS - so my advice is to take it a year at a time - regroup and take an objective assessment of how it's working for each individual involved

My Mom also used a home school curriculum, although she improvised when she had time and wanted to teach something in a way that better fit our personalities and learning styles.

There was a lot of independent work, that taught us to be self-starters and was very useful later in life. That said, it's not like she handed us books and abandoned us. She was there to answer questions, explain things, grade us, discuss concepts, etc.

I was homeschooled, and we haven't yet decided if we will homeschool (I am currently pregnant with #1). The big question is whether I am going to continue working full-time while we raise our kids. If I quit working/go part-time/flexible schedule, we will homeschool. If I continue working full-time past the next 5 years, then we will have to determine what we want to do. I really want to be the person to see my kids finally grasp a math formula or learn to read, but I do really love working, so I'm just torn.

My parents taught me for the foundational years - primarily my mom, but my dad taught science and math. In my high school years, I took a science class from a homeschool friend whose dad was a geology professor. We also began taking college classes while still in high school once we had our high school credits (levels governed by the state) finished - so I took English 101, Math 101, Biology, and Microeconomics college classes while I was still in high school. This was great because in high school, we did a lot of our school work independently, only going to my mom for help or exams, and taking those college classes further helped me to further get prioritization, time management, and independent study skills before I enrolled in college fulltime.

How long were you home schooled? I was homeschooled K-12. My older sister went to public school through the end of her 3rd grade year, then was homeschooled through graduation. She currently homeschools her kids.

Anyone else who went to private/public school considering this as an option for their little ones? My husband went to private school through 8th grade, then was homeschooled.

FYI: as a homeschool graduate, I have found the socialization arguments against homeschooling to be very silly and not at all reality-based. I know some awkward homeschoolers and to be honest, those kids would probably be awkward regardless! I know awkward private/public school kids too. As far as academics - I am very passionate that parents who choose to educate their children should work very hard to do so! I am so grateful to my parents for the quality of my education - I maintained a 3.8 GPA while studying two majors and one minor in college, my sister has had no trouble homeschooling her own kids, my brother tested into the Navy at 97% on an exam that the national average is 42%. Done well, homeschooling can be a great thing. I just have to figure out whether I'm doing it myself or not

Oh @Rainbow Sprinkles brought up some great points! One thing that is also important to me, if we homeschool, is that we are in an area with a lot of other homeschooling families. Because I was while growing up, I got to be on the cheer team, do debate, sing in the choir, etc. All of my siblings have been really involved with the basketball teams. These are such great experiences for kids, I think, and you can have those when you're in a group of other homeschooling families. I know in some areas where there isn't that type of group, homeschooled students can participate with private schools. Regardless, I would have a hard time deciding to homeschool my kids if I lived in a remote place where they wouldn't have access to these types of activities. Just another thing to think about

And the sibling bond thing- SO huge. We are all so grateful for all that time we had together as kids, and we've stayed so close as adults.

@Arden: yep, we were also super flexible. Sometimes we did our schoolwork at night if we had family in town or something. We were also a part of a co op so it's not like I never had friends. I had tons! And because my friends were homeschooled too, we could do sleepovers on school nights!

We had a veggie garden, chickens, horses, etc., so taking care of those things used up a portion of our day as well.

I for sure plan on homeschooling at least until 5th grade!

DH and I were never homeschooled, but we are planning to homeschool our children. =) I will be the teacher and have them very active outside of the home environment to help build their social skills. Plus who wants to be cooped up with mom all day?

Reading this post was very helpful. Thank you!