About Me: While obtaining my degree in Elementary Education, I met a family who taught their children at home. As an education major I was puzzled as to why parents would choose to do this themselves. "Why not leave education to the certified professionals? This is how it has always been done." (Has it?) I chose home education as the topic of my research every chance I got in college. The research showed that children educated at home excelled socially and academically above their public school peers. This seems obvious since one of the common characteristics of academically successful children, whether they are educated at home or in a public or private school, is parental involvement. I always had a strong desire to live an educational lifestyle and to surround my son with books and educational games and toys. Homeschooling was an obvious and natural extension of that parental instinct.