It's also a commitment in terms of not being able to work and earn extra money - school is great for child care :)

We are crazy homeschoolers as well.  I have 2 girls, 7 and 8 years. 

It has been a few years now and I can't say I regret it at all.  Initially I wanted to homeschool because I wanted my kids to love learning and was afraid that there was a pretty good chance that school system would try to quash that. 

We unschool and that seems to be a great fit for us.  The whole "freedom from religion" has just been an added bonus.  Here is a little post that made a lot of sense to me;

* because the kids waiting at the bus stop down the road, laden with heavy backpacks, seemed so little
* because it didn’t feel right for my children to be away from me more of their waking hours than they were with me
* because I’m a better mom at the beginning of the day than at the end of it
* because I believe my kids have inner genius, and I want to help them uncover it
* because no one is as committed to their success as I am
* because I want them to have freedom–and extra time in their day to play, to think, to imagine
* because I don’t believe staring out the window longingly during a lesson deserves a punishment–instead, it deserves a break
* because children are not parts on a assembly line–they’re individuals in need of unique nurturing
* because I am in the privileged place to consider making this choice
* because the investment I’m making in them will one day reap dividends in the fruit of their lives
* because I cling to that belief on the hard days when it seems I’m making no difference whatsoever
* because I think traveling 6-8 weeks of the years makes for better learning than a year at a desk
* because hearts, not minds, most need reaching at this delicate age–and who better to reach hearts than a mom?
* because I am learning just as much as they are, and that’s fun
* because this choice has been the right one…for us

Atheist Nexus has two groups you might like, Atheist Homeschooling and Heathen HomeSchool.