Homeschooling was great! Yes, there were days....
But overall, I enjoyed having my children home. It gave me great pleasure knowing that I am the one who taught them how to read and do math. I decided what was important for them to learn, especially with their interests and as they got older, what they planned to do with their lives.
For example, my son (I have three girls and one boy) was interested in home remodeling. We had friends who did this, so they took him on to work with them. Since they were firemen, they only did the remodeling on certain days. So the days they didn't need him, my son did his school studies.
Anyway, it's the freedom to allow them to learn what they need that is exciting.
Also, there is freedom to choose what works best for your child. How does your child learn? What makes them want to learn? There are so many options available for any learning style and interest your child may have. Sometimes I designed a course just for one child.
As they got older, they did more and more self-study. If they can read well, they can study on their own. I just reviewed their assignments/tests to make sure they were learning. The self-study skill is very important, because now my children are still learning on their own. This helps them in their lives, even today.
We also schooled year round. We took breaks, but just not a big long one during the summer. We spread them out with shorter breaks (no more summer forgetfulness). Our vacations were usually in the fall or winter during off season when it was less expensive and less crowded. When family came to visit, we could take the time off (couldn't do that if they were going to school).
Homeschooling gives you a lot of freedom as a family.
Is homeschooling for you? I don't know. Just know that you will make mistakes, but also know, the school makes mistakes, too. The only difference is you can change quickly when something isn't working. The school can't (or won't) change - or at least not quick enough.
So cool, how long did they homeschooled? I mean, did they ever went to a school building? How did you managed the social part? One of the main reasons to sign my eldest into kindergarten was for her to interact with other children, I felt she needed that. Sadly I think in my country (Venezuela) is not a possibility, but I'm lucky enough to have my mom with me, she was a teacher back in the day and fills in a bit in the "academic" Part while we are at work!
My children we always homeschooled. I never sent them to school.
We were involved in church, but mainly my children socialized with adults. They were very comfortable visiting the elderly in assisted living and chatting with them. Some became great friends and a grieving process when they died. But that's life.
When we had friends over (we became parents later in life, so our friends had older children), our children would love to sit with us and chat. Our friends loved our children, and each of our children had one friend of ours who became very special to them - they just clicked.
There were also piano lessons. Another homeschool mom gave them and so as they took turns with their lessons, they played with the other family's children.
There were a few other homeschooling families we would get together with and do trips to the zoo or museums, and for a while we all helped cleaning our church's sanctuary when they were temporarily without a janitor.
Also, when you have four children, there is socializing going on!
However, I much preferred my children learning their social skills from adults rather than their peers. My children thought many things other children did very silly.
My children, starting when they were young teens, were sought after by others to help with babysitting and helping them. They were mature enough to be the first ones they asked.
I don't know about your laws there for homeschooling, but it could be a possibility with your mother that it could be considered a private school. Not sure.