CHARLESTON (AP) – While public school students are back in the classroom for a new year, local home-school families are hitting the books in a different way.

Some children will sit around the dining room table for daily lessons, while others will read on the backyard trampoline. A typical day may start with breakfast and Bible study as a family or be a mixture of schoolwork and a part-time job spread throughout the day.

Regardless of the curriculum, teaching style or daily schedule, homeschool families in East Central Illinois share a common goal with each other and their counterparts in the public school system – to ensure their children receive a high-quality education.