Congratulations, Alice, on your decision to home school your son. We (well, mostly my wife) have been home schooling our 4th grade daughter this year and it has been a very positive experience. We have another one in kindergarten who will probably be home schooled next year and more. Government has a de facto monopoly on education which I feel has allowed or perhaps even forced them to be very heavy-handed, abandoning common sense in many areas, which degrades the educational experience for almost all students. Home schooling seems to be the most feasible alternative, since private schools are out of reach for most of us.

There is a wealth of information on home schooling on the Web, as well as mail and email lists, which you should seek out. There is probably an organization in your state or city that has a web site. These are valuable in terms of support and resources.

Kat, sorry to hear that about your friend's son. The scary thing is that the cops (or the IRS or whoever) seldom admit they are wrong, seldom learn from their mistakes - I'm speaking of organizations, not individuals.