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the rest of the class to catch up. For instance, a seven year old homeschool student could feasibly be in sixth grade reading and language arts, fourth grade math and science, and third grade in other subjects while still working at small-motor skills and handwriting and emotional maturation.

The homeschool student has the advantage of one-on-one student-to-teacher attention. Class time can fit the family's schedule. The student can begin school by 9:00 in the morning and have all his/her work completed by lunchtime. The rest of the day could involve life skills such as cooking or baking, gardening or farming. Maybe the student won't start school until after noon or when a parent returns from work. There is ample time for music or art, collecting or researching, or even part-time jobs for older children. Group activities abound in homeschool groups, 4-H, scouting, YWCA or YMCA, equine programs, camps, sports, theater, pageants, library programs, etc. There is no reason for a homeschool student to be isolated or idle.

Aside from education, the greatest benefit of homeschooling, making it better than formal education, is parental involvement. Yes, the United States Department of Education has developed a program in its No Child Left Behind legislation that is geared toward getting parents more involved in the formal education of their children. Posters on the school walls and notes sent home to Mom and Dad remind parents to become involved by reading to their children, volunteering at school with activities, field trips, book fairs and school fundraisers. Homeschooling parents do not need posters on the walls or notes from teachers to remind them to become more involved in the education of their children.

There are obvious benefits from the closeness and comfort of receiving an education at the home. Another strong benefit of homeschooling is the benefit of choice. Parents can make their own decisions about the type and quality of education their children receive. Parents have been educating their children since birth, yet when they reach the ages of five or six, when their children enter the school system, little choice is left as they stand and watch their children blend into the cattle-herd of children going en-mass through the front doors or hallways of public schools.

In the system of formal education, the parent cannot choose the curriculum, the methods in which their children are taught, or the type of care or discipline they receive, or the type of exposures

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