We’re still new to homeschooling, considering that our older son is 5 years old, and we haven’t dealt with the long-term consequences or what it’s like when the kids are older. But before they were born, I wanted to homeschool any children I would have. Speaking just for myself, my reasons for wanting to homeschool is precisely that I feel he can learn a lot more, and get a far higher quality education generally speaking, than in school, public or private.
If I had relied passively on the school system to teach my son, he’d now be learning to read instead of decoding at the 8th+ grade level and comprehending texts, without too much trouble, written at the 4th grade level. And at home, I’d probably be reading him Winnie-the-Pooh to him instead of Stevenson’s Kidnapped, which he pretty strongly insisted we read. (This requires a lot of explanation on my part but not so much as to make it impossible or even unpleasant.) He’d be doing things like one-to-one matching and putting sets of 1-5 objects in rank order, and maybe getting a start on the most basic addition, instead of having memorized most of his addition and subtraction facts and getting a really solid grounding in 1st grade math. He’d have a few very basic stories about the Pilgrims and George Washington read to him, instead of having studied ancient history thoroughly and being reasonably acquainted with a lot of the rest of history. He would be learning the names of the continents, instead of already knowing that and much else about geography, and now choosing to read a series of 50-page books about South American countries. (I asked if he wanted to stick to reading relatively general illustrated & commented atlases for children, and he opted for the books on each country.) And so forth for the rest of the subjects.
I am sure that a kid who went through the Doman method (and/or similar methods) and then went off to school would do well and could thrive, under the right circumstances–especially if like you the child got extra stimulation at home.
We’ve been going to classes (sports, art, and chess) at the YMCA and elsewhere for socializing. I gather that lots of homeschoolers do even more, and I think we’ll do more as he gets older. But it certainly does seem to me that socializing would be easier if he were in school. The trouble, though, is that he wouldn’t relate very well to most of the kids, because most of his work is done well above grade level, so he isn’t quite like most 5-year-olds. I won’t rehearse the arguments re socialization…you can find them yourself if you haven’t already.
We can homeschool because I am more or less my own boss and I work at home, and their mother does too. I’m very thankful for this, and I don’t make our experience into general recommendations because I know others are in different circumstances.
I’m not sure I can advise you on worse-case scenarios. Some parents put a huge amount of work into it and this really wears them out. Since I work full-time, I simply can’t put as much time into it as I wish I could, so I don’t have this problem. When H. is a little older and doing more schoolwork (I’m pretty sure this will happen!), and baby is older and not as much work for their mother, I am sure she will step in and do more. If you are a SAHM and you don’t have babies or other major claims on your time, I don’t see why it has to be overwhelming. On the other hand, I imagine that if you do have babies or even a part-time job, then depending on your other circumstances it could be very stressful.
If you’re all-in on the homeschooling thing, poor educational outcomes and poor socialization will probably not be problems. Those are problems that, as a very involved parent, you worry about more than anyone, so you’ll doubtless proactively solve any problems that crop up, and you’ll have time to do so.
The Well-Trained Mind forums seem like a very good place for more help: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/
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