More and more parents have started to consider home schooling as a wonderful alternative to sending their children to public school. Nowadays, the public school system, leave a lot to be desired which is why the option of home schooling has gained popularity.

In a home schooling environment, students won't have to deal with bullies, violence, gangs, and other social hazards that people have come to expect from the public school system. Aside from this, home schooling provides help parents foster and instill belief systems that may not be given importance in a regular school setting. Not to mention that home schooling promotes closer ties between parent and child.

However, there is still some contention in choosing home schooling over traditional classroom instruction. For instance, some might argue that a home school child may not be able to develop social skills properly. This point revolves around the fact that a classroom setting allows children to interact with one another. However, if one really thinks about it, schools provide an environment akin to that of an office and any deep personal interaction will happen outside of the classroom and not in it.

To address social development in home schooled children though, the parent-teacher must be able to incorporate the proper social learning and interaction of his or her child through field trip activities organized with other organizations or other home schooled children. There are also a whole slew of extra curricular activities that may be included in the child's learning curriculum to enrich the learning experience and promote social development.

State laws and requirements must also be taken into consideration in the decision to choose home schooling over traditional education. As a responsible teacher-parent, one must of course learn about the legalities and requirements of non traditional home schooling to ensure the best quality of education for one's child.

To learn all about home schooling-from the basics to improving your current home schooling set up with your child or children, there are a number of publications available to help you with this.

A Natural Learning Experience (http://www.thenaturalife.com/homeschool.htm)

This site's author shares his personal experience in home schooling his children. It is a wonderful resource on home schooling and lists a roster of fantastic home schooling books that will help any parent in home schooling their children.

The How Tos of Setting Up Home Schooling Resources (http://www.home-school.com/Articles/HomeschoolResCenter.html)

This site contains an article that helps a parent-teacher to pick up practical and useful insight and tips on setting up a home schooling resource to ensure a healthy learning environment for the home schooled student. It offers a list for a starter kit on home schooling and lists a few home schooling books that are must haves for anyone serious about home schooling their children.