This information is widely available on the Internet. Here is one of my personal favorites source for finding local and state groups to contact:

http://www.homeedmag.com/wlcm_groups.html

The information I give here is not exhaustive. It is, however, enough to get anyone started who is seriously interested in researching the topic . Many more references and material appear in my 2003 revision of Teach Your Own. I have added a good deal of material since then, and will be posting that over time as well. If you know of any studies or information that you think should be included, please email me with the data and I'll check it out.— PF

How Many Homeschooled Children are there in the United States?

I estimate there are at least 1.5 - 2 million children being homeschooled at home for 2007. Below are the most recent official estimates I know of.—PF

Government Studies about Homeschooling:

1.1 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2003

U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004115

Homeschooling in the United States, 1999

U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/HomeSchool

Some scholarly materials about homeschooling and active learning (also known as unschooling, child-centered, organic, or natural learning):

Alaska Centralized Correspondence Study Program cited in many places, such as in the original edition of Teach Your Own by John Holt, and in Lines and Van Galen (see below).

Bickman, Martin. Minding American Education: Reclaiming the Tradition of Active Learning. Teachers College Press, 2003.

S. Bielick, K. Chandler, and S.P. Broughman. Homeschooling in the United States: 1999 (NCES 2001-033). U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.

Lines, Patricia. Support for Home-Based Education: A Guide for State Policymakers, Local Boards of Education, and School Administrators. Eric Clearinghouse on Educational Management, University of Oregon. 2003.

Mayberry, Maralee, Knowles, J. Gary, Ray, Brian D., & Marlow, Stacey. (1995). Home schooling: Parents as educators. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press (of Sage Publ.)

Miller, Ron. Free Schools, Free People: Education and Democracy After the 1960s. State University of New York Press, 2003.

Stevens, Mitchell. Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement. Princeton University Press, 2001.

Van Galen, Jane and Pitman, Mary Anne. Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives. Ablex, 1991.

Wartes, Jon. Report From the 1987 Washington Homeschool Testing. Woodinville, WA: Washington Homeschool Research Project, 1988.

The Washington Home School Project: Quantitative Measures for Informing Policy Decisions. Education and Urban Society 21, 1 (November 1988).

Unconventional ideas for teaching and learning.

Research and information about homeschooling/unschooling and other Alternatives To School

The best sources of information about how to start homeschooling are people who are currently homeschooling. Therefore find a family or a local or state group who can put you in contact with such people. Don't rely on any one source, particularly school officials, since people's information is often colored by their feelings about homeschooling.

The bottom line is this: homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. You do not have to be certified teacher to teach your own children in any state. However, homeschooling is regulated differently by each state. Some are more friendly to new ideas and ways of helping children learn than others, so you need to learn about your state's homeschooling laws or regulations.

Teach Your Own

Learning Centers

Unschoolers of Note

Research About Alternatives TO School