The experience depends on parents' skill and dedication, professionals say.
Homeschooled children's names frequently appear alongside their public school counterparts in lists of accomplishments.
Some excel in music or science competitions. They participate in community events, enter the Cherokee County Fair, try out for plays. They also get accepted into college and turn up on honor rolls.
But since statistics are not available on how many homeschooled students graduate, and what those students accomplish, it's hard to place a finger on the quality of education homeschooled students receive.
"I believe that when it's done well, it's done well," said Tahlequah I-35 School District Superintendent Paul Hurst.
However, since there is no regulation, there is no guarantee a homeschooled student will receive the preparation needed for college or the workforce.
The state does not specify what hours a homeschool student must be "in class," but does mandate a curriculum comparable to what public school students complete.
There are no minimum qualifications or tests for the parents who act as teachers, while public school teachers must earn degrees, succeed in three semesters of internships, and pass state teacher testing. The state tests include general education, plus separate tests for the various subjects the teacher will instruct.
On the official Oklahoma State Department of Education website is a special section for homeschoolers.
"State Superintendent Sandy Garrett welcomes homeschoolers," it begins, then directs people to various links for information about homeschooling, curriculum, and other areas of information they can obtain from the department. The lists of resources include lesson plans, student activities, and contacts in the homeschooling community.
The National Home Education Network, www.nhen.org, has extensive information on homeschooling as well, including a list of Oklahoma contacts.
Dr. Kay Grant, interim dean of education at Northeastern State University, has mixed feelings about homeschooling.
"Parents are certainly children's first and most important teachers," she said. "My concerns are that there are no regulations on the quality of education of the educator."
Schools focusing on teacher preparation, such as NSU's College of Education, concentrate on producing the highest quality educators possible.
"The rigor with which Oklahoma is requiring teachers to be prepared is increasing daily," Grant said.
She believes parents also should take social considerations into consideration when deciding whether to homeschool.
"You learn to get along with a wide variety of people, you learn to make friends, you learn to negotiate," she said.
A child should be exposed to a wide variety of knowledge to prepare for life in a global society.
Homeschooling can be a very child-centered curriculum, which is what educators advocate, Grant said. And some well-educated parents are providing their children with good preparation for life.
However, she has dealt with other parents who said they planned to take the child out of school and educate him at home because the child doesn't like a teacher, or for some other reason that could have been worked out.
Sometimes, parents who had dropped out of school declared their intention to homeschool.
"It's certainly a tremendous commitment on the part of the parent. I think it takes an exceptional situation for it to work out really well," Grant said. "I always felt like a child needs a teacher and a child needs a parent, and it's really difficult when they're the same person."
Hurst said TPS and other public school districts share information about resources with parents who homeschool.
"We have an affidavit filled out of those who have declared their intentions to homeschool," he said. "I did sign a number of them last year. I haven't signed very many this year."
The parents can obtain curriculum outlines from the city or the state.
"I think we are in a position of offering some things that in many cases a home school cannot," he said.
Some parents who teach their children at home are well-prepared, while some aren't, Hurst said.
"There are many people who can do a very fine job with homeschooling," he said.
Access to the Internet allows people to obtain more information in the home, he said.
"I think there are some very legitimate things people want to see from a homeschool program, and in a lot of cases, those things are provided," Hurst said.
Two Tahlequah-area mothers who homeschool, Lisa Turner and Carey Taylor, said their children are exposed to a variety of experiences at home, on field trips, and through the HEARTS of Tahlequah homeschooling co-op.
During a study of anatomy this fall, co-op members will get together to perform dissections and do lab work.
In the spring, a study of World War II will include a living history day. An event for homeschoolers only at the USS Batfish in Muskogee will include a re-enactment of a USO show for the troops, and a demonstration by paratroopers in World War II-style gear.
One of the next events will be a field trip to dig for fossils in Tulsa.
The mothers say their children are exposed not only to education, but to socialization and group activities during these events.
"We also do typical fun things," Taylor said.