Partial home schooling would be great. If it's possible for you to get that option, take it! In my second-choice world, DS6 would be home for math and reading and most science days (unless the school had some really cool experiment in the works--rare!), but would go to school for recess, art, P.E. and library time. (I say "my second-choice world" because my perfect world would have a school that gave him everything he needs and access to true peers, but that's totally pie-in-the-sky...)
And BTW, it does get easier to find alone time as the kids get older. But at 6, my DS still needs mostly one-on-one time for his lessons. He's just not fantastic at staying on task when it's not 100% his project, and I want to be sure he has time to play and do his own stuff, too, so I try to help him focus. (Plus I have a creative-minded and often destructive DS3, too, who still needs *lots* of attention.)
Having a babysitter helps so much! I would have lost my mind if I didn't have some help. But, again, I'm a pretty extreme personality type. I don't think most people would have this problem with alone-time the way I have it. I certainly wouldn't want to dissuade anyone from trying home schooling because of my weird! Provided you "put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others with theirs," as they say on the plane, home schooling is a really great thing for all concerned.
Truth be told, I enjoy my kids a lot more than I did before home schooling. We don't drive each other crazy nearly as often as we did before. I know that seems backwards, but it really is the truth. We connect better, and I understand DS6 better than I did. That's on top of all the educational and emotional gains that DS6 has made by being home. I'm glad we did it!
And be warned: home schooling is addictive! When you see how much better your child does and how much happier he is, it's hard to think that any school can do as much for him!
