I mentioned our situation (back when we had young children) in other comments. I could work from home at least some of the time, my wife quit working while we h

I mentioned our situation (back when we had young children) in other comments. I could work from home at least some of the time, my wife quit working while we had young children (because I make more money). We moved to suburban Portland to have other families and activities nearby, and because Oregon has relatively liberal laws regarding homeschooling. And we had family and friends there already. We found groups of homeschoolers -- easy to do, they're all online now. We did not follow the official curriculum, just made ourselves aware of the requirements for obtaining a high school diploma should our kids want to do that (they did, all got it easily). We more or less "unschooled," which means no rigid curriculum, no trying to re-create the classroom at home, and letting kids choose how to spend their time, within limits (we didn't allow much TV and video games and social media weren't much of a thing back then). Our technique, if you can call it that, was based a lot on Montessori, which I recommend to parents who can afford that but can't manage homeschooling, or don't feel like they can competently do it. I know not everyone can homeschool their kids, for practical or personal reasons. I don't suggest everyone do it, or that kids who go to school are necessarily getting damaged or harmed (though that does happen). Ask any teacher, the number one predictor of academic success is parental involvement. Whether that takes the form of homeschooling, or just paying attention and spending time with your kids, that time makes a huge difference in the long term. I don't mean going to school board meetings and screaming about snack machines or sex education classes, I mean spending actual time with your kids so they feel valued and part of the family rather than an inconvenience.