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My siblings and I were homeschooled through 8th grade. My parents made sure that we had a lot of exposure to social situations. We were in weekly Catechism classes at church. We also were members of 2 homeschooling groups that met weekly. Also, my dad traveled a lot for work so we were able to travel with him as a family. It was a great experience for us!

My brother and sister (12 and 14) are homeschooled. They honestly say they're well socialized, but I think they're in for a rude awakening when they go to college. EVERYTHING (sports, music lessons, summer camps, homeschool groups, everything) they do is through their church. They have literally no friends outside of it (even our cousins go there). So they have no idea what it's like to be around people who have different beliefs or come from a different culture. I've also read from adults who were raised similarly that it's very hard later because they don't understand most of the references to things that are part of our shared childhood. They weren't allowed to watch secular music or watch secular movies, so now when someone makes a joke about the Backstreet Boys they don't get it. They say that can be very alienating.

That being said, I think they're the extreme. One thing I've read about socializing as a homeschooler is to remember that getting along well with adults doesn't mean they will get along well with people they're own age. School exposes us to a LOT of people we might never choose to hang out with, and teaches us how to get along well enough. So I think it's important to be sure to mimic that as well as you can. Classes, play groups, music lessons, sports, even taking them to different churches/religious gatherings and sending them to "sunday school," anything that helps get them out of their natural social group and around people who are different from them.

We plan to homeschool for at least the first few years, so I've given it some thought and am interested to see what other bees have to say. DH insists that they need to start school by third grade for socializing. While I don't really agree, I DO think he's right that if our kids wind up being as athletic as him, they'll need to be sent to school in order to be able to participate. The opportunities just aren't there for homeschoolers.

I'll come back and post on this after I put J down for bed

I was homeschooled until 10th grade. I felt like I was very well-socialized for these reasons:

--We participated in a homeschooling co-op. We met two Fridays a month with a bunch of other homeschool kids. It was broken down into semesters, and we took a different course each semester. We could take classes like team sports, dissection, sewing and quilting, carpentry, etc. It was really fun, and I made a lot of friends this way.

--We were actively involved in church. I am still in touch with the friends I made in Sunday School/Youth Group growing up.

--I participated in sports at our local public school even though I was still homeschooled. I began soccer in 7th grade, and played all the way through 12th grade. In 8th grade, I started cheerleading. I was able to participate in all of the sports even though I did my coursework at home.

--When I began school in 10th grade, I was very "normal." I was a cheerleader, ASB president, and homecoming queen my senior year. I don't think that being homeschooled had any impact on my social life or social skills whatsoever. Lots of people were surprised when they found out that I had been homeschooled for 11 years.

--It sounds cliche, but because of homeschooling, my siblings were my best friends. I have such incredible relationships with my four siblings.

--I learned how to be really independent at a young age. My mom depended on me a lot for babysitting, so I learned a sense of responsibility when I was in late elementary school. I started cooking meals for my family in the 5th grade!

I feel that being homeschooled gave me nothing but advantages. I graduated high school right after turning 17. I was 2nd in my class. I felt very far ahead of my peers in terms of academics felt that way my first year of college as well. I don't know exactly what my mom did, but whatever she did, it definitely prepared me for my post-high school education. I was never behind in my classes. I am so glad I was homeschooled!

If we have the funds for me to stay at home, we will consider homeschooling for at least a portion of our LO's schooling.

ETA: Every single one of my siblings was homeschooled for at least some portion of their schooling. For examples:

My older brother graduated high school with his Associate's Degree. He graduated university when he was 19 and immediately landed a job as an assistant city planner (now he is a senior city planner). He is one of the smartest guys I know.

My sister is about to begin her student teaching. She also graduated high school with her Associate's Degree. She is so bright and so competent, I think she has a 4.0 at her university.

My younger brother is beginning his first year of college next week with a full-ride academic scholarship.

My littlest sister is still in high school, but I know she is set up for success.

I am so proud of my homeschooled family!!!

ETA again!!!! Because she homeschooled, I believe my mom was able to focus on each child's strengths and weaknesses and tailor her curriculum to each child individually. Not one of us had to lull behind in a subject that we were great at because we were waiting for the rest of a class to learn. I was great at spelling, so my mom used the 12th grade spelling curriculum when I was in 6th grade. I was terrible at math, so we would spend 3 hours out of our 6 hour day focusing on the problems that I struggled with.

I think that homeschooling depends a lot on the teacher... just like public/private school does. Some parents were born to homeschool their kids... others, not as much.

Things have changed in recent years where there is a lot of curriculum support available online, along with lots of groups where kids who are getting schooled at home can interact and even ways that kids can get involved with organized sports. So I think the homeschooling experience is changing rapidly.

@allison: there is a charter school in my area that is part time traditional classroom, part time home school! It's really popular. I think its a great model!