My reason

Thanks for bringing this topic up...My reasons are well kinda selfish at first...My big girl is just 3yrs old. I already feel like so much of her life has gone by (her life with me) and as much as I wouldn't put her in daycare and miss out on her growing up, I have no desire to send her away to school for 6-8 hrs a day and allow them to see her growing/learning and I miss being a primary educator (and learner, as I wholeheartedly believe she will teach me as much as I teach her). I am not ready to miss her. I am not ready for someone else to decide for my daughter what will be important for her to learn and what wont. I am not ready for her to learn her values from conversations at school (or peers). I am not ready for her to be told she is not smart in the way they measure it.
On the other hand I am ready for her to love being with her family. I am ready for her to excel in learning and actually believe it is fun, instead of a dreadful thing to be nervous about (TEST). I am ready for her to grow in her understanding and appreciation of the world. I am ready to watch my baby grow, learn, fall and pick her self back up, struggle and succeed. I am ready to watch her teach her younger siblings some of the things she has learned without thinking they are too young or not in her "grade" so they wont get it. I am ready to watch my daughter learn values based on our faith in God, His Son, as well as faith in our fellow men (seeing the best in others).
I am her mother. I know her better than anyone. And atleast with my oldest, she is a spitting image of me (in personality and learning) and when I think about how different my view of education would have been had I been HS, well lets just say it would not have taken me till College (lucky I even made it too college) to learn that educating myself could be fun. It cost alot of money to learn that simple lesson.
I am not perfect. There are days when I am outta sorts and her education suffers abit. I dont even know how to teach certain subjects (like geometry) as I myself still do not understand what my teachers were trying to teach me. We will learn together. There will be many moments when she gets it before me and can learn it even better by having to teach her poor old mom something.
We tend to forget that public schools have not been around that long. They are an experiment too.The thing that has been around the longest is homeschooling. Whether in family units or co-op type situations. And then even when public schools came around, towns were smaller. Students of all ages met in the same room. Classes were much much smaller. Teachers usually lived with a local family or where already part of the community, so teachers knew their students better and were better able to tailor their education to them and their particular goals.
The closest we will ever get to 'school' will be a Montessori type situation. They are typically not as long of a day, less structured, and geared towards individual learning. If we are ever living around one and can afford it (as it cosy Way more than HS)then we will see if any of our children our interested in trying it out. It would still never replace them being educated at home, I would just supplement what they are getting at school or help fill in the blanks if any exist.
As for the much looked forward bus ride. Still have not figured out about that. Maybe I can 'borrow' one sometime or take her on a field trip in one.
I mean, really, I rode the bus...it is not all it is cracked up to be. Some of my worst peer experiences happened on that thing.
I am excited about learning with my children. It keeps me busy and my mind active. I really can't see anything she will be missing out on.
I am thankful for a husband who supports this decision (even though he excelled in a school environment). He himself wishes he had been HS.
I look forward to our family growing closer together in this crazy world because of our time HS'ing.