Do you homeschool your kids? Were you homeschooled? What are your thoughts? What online school did you choose?

I do homeschool my kids. We do not use an online school. Online schools are NOT homeschooling. With online schools, students are considered enrolled in the sponsoring school and must follow the schools rules, schedule, assignments, and curriculum. Families have very little control over their kids' education. The main difference between online and regular schools is that the work is done online instead of at a school.

With traditional homeschooling, you follow your state's homeschooling laws. You don't have to recreate school at home. You pick the rules, schedule, assignments, and curriculum. You have a lot of freedom and control over your kids' education. You can pick any curriculum that fits their needs, interests, and learning style instead of being stuck with the all-for-one curriculum provided by schools. If something isn't working, you are free to switch or adapt it anytime. You can use any curriculum and materials including traditional textbooks and workbooks but also literature like library books, group and private lessons, hands-on activities, videos, websites, etc. You can go at your own pace so if you want/need to spend more or less time on something, you can. It's easy to explore related issues of interest since you don't have to stick to an approved lesson plan like schools do.

A lot is often said about socialization and homeschooling. Contrary to the name, most homeschool students do not stay home all the time. They get involved in group lessons, community events, activities, sports, volunteering, and church. It just takes a bit more effort since students are not surrounded by other kids all day during school.

I was not homeschooled nor were my children but in some areas, home schooling may be better than traditional schools, with some reservations. you have to weigh both advantages and disadvantages such as what traditional schools are in your area and how good they are - or how bad. A good school will help a child learn to fit in with others and society but a bad school may teach them the opposite as they try to fit in with those popular students who get away with the things which eventually lead them to make the newspapers. It might depend upon the level of education as well. For younger kids, pre-school and first few grades, a site such as Starfall may be a better education than the traditional equivalent and for older kids and even adults, there are sites such as Khan Academy, which supplies free classes online. There are other online ways to get an education but you also need to consider things like whether a student is only trying to finish high school or preparing for a college somewhere and someday because some schools may not be accepted as far as college admissions. You also have to consider how involved you may be able to be in the education because that may be necessary in some cases. This is no clear cut answer, I know, but remember that many of the youths we hear of in movies and television are home schooled and do well for the most part. In some areas now, there is also the question of charter schools as opposed to regular schools. For the most part, I would say a traditional school would probably be best unless there is a reason you do not want your kids to attend a school in your area for some reason, but even then you might consider an online school to teach things not taught in the traditional school or to teach some advanced subjects in addition to what they learn in school or even to make the school lessons easier to understand. Khan Academy, for example, has some 3,000 free videos which teach everything from basic math to things like computer coding and advanced subjects and other subjects I would not even try to understand. I hope this answer makes it easier to make that choice rather than harder but consider all your options before you make that final decision.