We think the homeschool environment can be a spectacular experience for parent and child alike for quite a few reasons. In addition to the family bonding and unity it can create, you are also given an incredible gift through schooling from home – a unique flexibility to turn your classroom into exactly what you want it to be. Remember that it doesn’t have to be inside! You have the freedom to choose your learning “spot” and to venture out into the world just to see what the day may bring forth as a learning experience.

Did you ever imagine that the world of homeschooling could be filled with big game animals, dangerous hunts, and wild adventure on far away continents? Bridgeway Academy student McKenzie Sims of Evanston, Wyoming – and star of the television show “Young Blood” on the Outdoor Channel – tells us firsthand how exciting the life of a homeschooler can actually be with the right opportunities!

“Tell me and I may forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.”

~ Chinese Proverb

Many of us envision “leadership” as something that takes place in the boardroom, or in a graduation valedictorian speech. Leadership is seen as the measure of ultimate success in the business world or in academia. But truly, leadership encompasses more of the very manner in which we live our daily lives, the decisions we make, the way in which we carry ourselves, and the full measure of our inner self worth. Leadership is about how much we love and trust ourselves, and how well we communicate with others.

Andrea Victoria Porrata is a homeschooling student of few words. Victoria, as her family calls her, is an only child in a military family and along with her mother was diagnosed with cerebral epilepsy. They were transferred from Puerto Rico to California, and – as a Recruiter-in-Charge for the Coast Guard Recruiting Office Los Angeles – her dad travels…a lot! Her mother, Consuelo, says Victoria is so humble that she actually makes it hard to be a proud parent. She never asks for anything, and seeks no recognition.

In March 2010, my life drastically changed when I made the biggest decision of my life – an experience that would forever shape my future. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the air was a crisp 70 degrees, and I was very anxious to start the first day of my high school year. The plan was typical; I would go to high school for four years and then eventually move on to college and begin my new career. As I was on the bus on my way to school, I caught a glimpse of a rainbow as the clouds cleared the morning sky.  I looked around and gazed at the students that I would see for the next four years.

Homeschool parents know what makes you kids tick better than anyone. They live with you and teach you, and they’re strongly connected to you as a teacher, authority figure, tutor, your biggest supporter…and just plain old mom and dad. Those connections are part of what makes homeschooling so successful.

Now that the first generation of modern homeschoolers is well established in society, I’m hearing a lot about how well these young people are doing. They are running businesses, excelling in college and homeschooling their own children. One has even written a best-selling novel! So what makes these wunderkinds so successful, and is it to be expected?

Whether or not you believe the public school system is broken – or whether you feel it just isn’t for everyone – homeschooling has proven to be a successful education model for families around the globe. I can tell you that homeschooling isn’t a new fad. There was a time when it was virtually the only way to get an education, and up until the 1850′s nearly all Americans were homeschooled. But is there a current trend toward homeschooling in the 21st century?

For years we in the world of homeschoolers have known about the significant success of homeschoolers.  We have watched as our children and others have grown up with a desire for excellence, a commitment to community, to church, to our country, to their ideals.  We have seen them achieve great things at young ages and influence those around them for the good.