Hi Becs - I will try to answer your questions as best I can.

Socialization - It is always the first thing people bring up negatively about h/sing. Firstly kids in general are usually as social as their parents are no matter whether they are in school or not. A child sent to school will learn to socialize with his peers a bunch of 5 year olds,etc. A h/sed child will learn to socalize with all ages. There is a huge h/s network out there with regular meetups for sports, educational trips, etc. Often the type of socialization kids get at school is not what we as parents desire or our children. I met my children or most other h/s children you will find that socialization is not a problem at all and these children are not introverted. When I started h/sing my first I was involved with other h/siing families (there are heaps of us around) and my oldest son is more outgoing than all my others!!!

Curriculum - yes you do need to cover all bases of the National curriculum, but in that you can add so much more and go so much deeper. There is 1000's of options out there of curriculum and styles, etc but ask lots of questions, look at as much as you can and you will still probably change around a bit to find what suits your child the best. At the end of the day nobody knows your child better than you. I use a mixture of Australian curriculum, a phonics programme from the States, and bits and pieces of other stuff. I am able to tailor make it for each of my kids different needs and learning styles.

I do the core subjects with the children and my hubby puts in the more practical side, experiements,etc. H/sing is a lifestyle decision and something you just incorparate into your daily life. My younger children and being brought up in this enviroment an are so quick to learn and read it blows me away. H/sing is not to be taken on lightly as it is a huge conviction and committment, do your reasearch. It is a whole nother world.

Check out the Aussie Homeschool site - they have good forums there to ask lots of questions on.