The Homeschooling Committment-The Beginning

As my daughter enters first grade, I have finally decided to place her in the virtual school offered by my county school board.  I have always considered homeschooling as an option for all of my children although I have not been successful in the past.  Still, I am not giving up this option.  I don't think I would try it though, if it were not for the curriculum offered by the school board. 
I thinkI should explain why I chose to home school..  I guess I have always had a bad impression of Duval county schools.  I never really liked school, and my older daughter didn't have a very positive experience either. I have three children 25, 6, and 3.
There are five specific reasons I have for choosing to keep my daughter out of the public school system, here they are:  1-I can't control who my daughter is exposed to in school.  There are people out there that will say that she needs to learn how to deal with all of the different people in the real world, but I say I need to preserve her character and instill the values that I believe are important.  Having her at home and surrounded by friends and family, she will learn plenty about the differences in people and how to handle them and there won't be the exposure to some of the negative aspects of being around so many unpredictable people.  2-health and safety are not a priority in the public schools.  Some will say that this is a major part of what the schools teach, but they do not practice what they preach.  The schools are dirty and unorganized,  there are an enormous number of children concentrated in a very small area, and there are a very few number of responsible adults available to care for them.  3-teacher to child ratio is very low.  One teacher to 30 children is definitely not conducive to learning. yes, they learn, but knowing I have the choice, I pick One to One over 30 to one any day  .The curriculum standards could possibly be more sophisticated if there were less children per teacher.  4-Money, money, money.  There is not much more to say here, but I will go ahead and say it, the budget for public schools is paltry.  I am not going to leave my daughter's education up to a county who consistently lowers its educational budget.  5-I have one more reason to mention and even though it is number five, it is not the least important.  My daughter does not enjoy school.  She complains about having to go, and wishes she were home all day long.  I feel like if I can offer her an alternative to the classroom I should try, even though it is not conventional. I know, a lot of you are saying no child enjoys school, but shouldn't they? I don't think being unhappy is conducive to learning.  I am sure the teachers do everything in their power to create a positive learning environment, but I don't think they have been given enough resources to accomplish this effectively.
So, I am going to try.  I have made a commitment to this and I will keep you informed, all who are interested.  Thank you for reading.
I am a beginner at this whole world of homeschooling and I feel that using the public school system will allow me to get into a routine and fine tune my schedule.  Once we complete the first year we may consider other curriculums.  Either way I feel like my daughter is going to be much happier at home and I will have the peace of mind knowing that I have the more of a hand in what and where she learns.
My husband and I actually believe that virtual schools are the wave of the future.  I realize that many families cannot be at home with their children or would even want to, but I know that the current system does not work. There are those out there that will take the reins and opt for this, knowing that they can have some major guidannce, be free of the financial burden, and and  be with their children in a very meaningful way.