Keeping their oldest son Joel out of public school was an easy decision for Renee and Ted Gunselman. Friends who were teachers told them that Joel's rambunctious behavior would probably lead to him being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and possibly prescribed Ritalin.

“He wasn't ready (for school) when they said he should be,” Renee Gunselman said. “We didn't want to see him medicated, labeled or struggling in class.”

Today, Joel, 19, is a lifeguard, competitive swimmer and has spent time caring for special needs children in Mexico.

“He's very mellow and mature,” Gunselman said.

“Home schooling worked out to be a very positive experience,” said Renee who has home schooled the couples other three children: Gabriel, 15, Naomi, 13 and Esther, 10.

The Gunselmans are not alone in choosing to educate their children at home. The number of home school children in the Lebanon School District has grown from 187 in 1997 to 330 in 2007. In fact, Lebanon has more home schooled children than any other district in the Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District (LBL ESD), which includes the Albany and Corvallis districts.

In Oregon, the rules for home schooling are minimal. Any child between the ages of seven and 18 can be home schooled as long the parent registers with the local education service district within 10 days of withdrawing the student from school. At the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, parents must submit the results of a standardized test.

Home school students receive no state funding, so the costs of educational material and fees for standardized testing fall on the family.

With a large home schooling community, it has been easy to find advice on curriculum material. Often, families will trade textbooks. If home school child isn't learning from a particular book or course, parents have more flexibility in finding material that fits their students learning style, Gunselman said.

“What works for one kid not might work for another. There's so much information out there, other parents, on the Internet. It's easy to tap into something new,” she said.

One resource Gunselman says helps supplement home learning is the Brownsville Homeschool Association, which gives students an opportunity to participate one day at a week in learning activities they might not have access to at home as well as a chance to interact with other students. Classes are free and include subjects such as science, history, sign language, physical education and creative writing.

The academy uses facilities at the Central Linn School District office and serves students in the Sweet Home, Albany, Halsey, Lebanon and Brownsville areas.

Robin Altman, a practicing adolescent psychiatrist and author of the book “Shrink Rap - An Irreverent Take on Child Psychiatry” says although there are many advantages to home schooling there also are drawbacks.

“As a child psychiatrist, I see the major disadvantage to home schooling to be the lower level of social interaction,” Altman said. “Even though many home schooling groups get together for social activities or sports, it's not the same thing as being immersed in an outside environment for hours at a time and learning to adapt.”

Home schooling can also place strains on family relationships, Altman said.

“When parents and kids get into struggles, these can carry over into the home school setting. Kids might fight with their parents over doing work, when they would not have these same conflicts in a school setting.”

Gunselman said home schooling isn't for everybody and admits her experience as an elementary teacher as been a definite asset, but rejects the idea that her children are not socially adept.

All the Gunselman children participate in the Sweet Home swimming club, where Joel and Gabriel also work as lifeguards. Joel is an accomplished violinist and plays with the Lebanon Orchestra. All four have friends in the public school system.

Because Ted Gunselman does not get him home from work until late in the evening, home schooling gives their children more flexibility to stay up later and spend time with him, Renee Gunselman said.

Religion plays a part in the Gunselman's decision to continue to home schooling.

“We can talk about God and pray,” Gunselman said. “Home schooling fits with scriptures.”

More information about home schooling requirements can be found by contacting Sam Rounsavell at the LBL ESD, 541-812-2687 or on the web at www.lblesd.k12.or.us/ homeschool. Contact Shawnna Richards at 367-5178 for Brownsville Home School Association registration and class information or go to www.bvillehomeschool.blogspot.com.