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@MrsRcCar: Wish I could help but I would also love to hear some thoughts on getting started. LO is 3 and I would like to start home preschool with her in the fall. Also wondering about how to find and connect with other local homeschool parents!

Our LO is no where near school age yet, but I've known I would homeschool for years. And like a teacher naturally spends a lot of time at college preparing before setting foot in a classroom, I take my role as future educator just as seriously and have tried to prepare myself accordingly. I attend local homeschool meetings where various education topics are presented on and debated. I've read at least a dozen books from various education philosophies. I've tutored homeschooled students. I'll try to answer your questions, keeping in mind my LO isn't old enough to count as homeschooled yet.

How did you decide to homeschool?
My DH was homeschooled. He went on to earn science and math degrees (undergraduate and post graduate). He also has a passion for history, art, foreign languages...what's really remarkable about him is that he never lost that childlike love of learning. Learning never became a chore or just another box to check off or another class to sit through. I think the freedom he was allowed to explore his own interests at his own pace while being homeschooled is responsible for that.

I wish I had been homeschooled. My public school experience was awful. Both socially and academically. When someone mentions socialization, what comes to mind for me is the Lord of the Flies social enviornment that I was exposed to, and how the most isolated homeschool environment would be far better than what I went through as a kid.

What program do you follow?
Classical education, aka the Trivium. Particularly the brand expressed by Susan Wise Baur in The Well-Trained Mind.

When did you start really implementing a school schedule?
I plan on doing this as soon as we start formally teaching her to read and/or do simple math. We plan on using All About Reading Pre-Level One for reading and Right Start A for math. We'll probably just do it in the mornings with a small break in the between. Both of those curricula employ the use of games so it'll be light and easy.

How did you balance education and socialization?
I don't think students actually spend that much quality time socializing in school. A lot of it is comprised of working on schoolwork, lining up to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, listening to story time, etc. etc. So I don't worry overmuch about it. We want to socialize our children by primarily exposing them to adult society so that they have good role models to mirror their behavior from (we don't believe it's healthy to immerse a child among thirty peers of his exact age). We want to find social groups for her with mixed ages and serve a creative outlet as well.

Do you get a lot of satisfaction in watching your child learn and grow?
We're not there yet, but I am looking forward to that. I'm sure there will be power struggles and there will be days when I think, "This would be so much easier if I just let someone else take care of her education," but at the same time, I'm sure there is a special joy in seeing those lightbulb moments where your child really understands a concept for the first time that I will feel so blessed to be there to witness instead of just hearing about it secondhand.

Following. I'm considering "unschooling" part-time, and a charter school part time, with a school that offers a part-time schedule for this very reason. Interested to hear what experienced mamas say here.

@MrsRcCar: "I always learned better with my family when we traveled." I think that this is many kids. Most kids have things they are good at and gravitate towards. I think we have a bit of an un-schooling bent in that we feel that Ellie will be best served by having parents who are sensitive to and support her passions, but also find ways to help her strengthen competency and explore in areas that aren't as intuitive of a fit. We'll be raising chickens in the spring, we plan to get some horses down the road at some point, and we try to do other activities with her. She'll be building a hovercraft with Mr. T as a special "Christmas" project.

I'd say one of our biggest hurdles to getting connected with homeschoolers is that many people in our area choosing to homeschool do so for religious reasons. We are atheist, and so most of them would prefer to interact more closely with like-minded people. That's pretty understandable, but it is also limiting since as far as I know there are really no secular-based groups in our immediate area. We're trying to get hooked up with a group about an hour away.

@MrsRcCar: Wish you lived closer-- sounds like we could be good resources for one another! We've done lots of reading about chickens. I'd be happy to be a "virtual" resource for you and just stay in touch. Ellie would love to have some more pen pals, and goodness knows I could use a little extra human interaction. And I completely understand-- I have no issue whatsoever with religion, but the religious groups aren't a good fit for us in the sense that they are trying to surround themselves with people who share their beliefs, and we have different beliefs. They've been pretty darn gracious all-in-all, though.

I would suggest looking into homeschool groups in your area, like on facebook, etc. I found a couple in my area and joined so that I could get more info and discuss thing and get to know everyone better, even though my daughter is only 18 months so it is a while off. By joining the groups I joined their email list, so I get all the emails when they are having events, etc and whenever anyone announces learning or special opportunities, etc.

Are there any homeschool co-ops in your area? I have found one in my area that I am interested in that does preschool, kindergarten, and programs for other age groups. The classes are 2 days a week and parents attend with the little ones but the older ones are drop-off classes though parents can still help out, etc. And they have a co-op day once a week for the kids too, so I think that would be a great option if you are looking for more socialization. There was one non-religious co-op and multiple religious ones that don't align with my views. The one I was interested in actually starts as young as 2 with the preschool part - that is one great thing about homeschool is you can set the pace (or let them set the pace) and have multi-age groups. And it is a LOT cheaper than private school haha.

Also reading books (like @Skadi mentioned The Well-Trained Mind) on homeschooling is really helpful for me too. I enjoyed reading about the different homeschooling philosophies, I definitely think I will be doing an eclectic mix, it depends on how my daughter is - too early to tell her learning style, etc.

Good luck!