Co ops - Thoughts?

Mariah started a homeschool co op yesterday.  She absolutely loved it!!  She's going every Wednesday and has 3 classes each week.  She'll have a history class in the morning and then the afternoon classes will vary between math, art, literature and cooking.  She wants to go every day now!

It started me thinking - have I made the right decision in homeschooling her?  Should she really be in a public school with more kids and interaction with more adults?  Would that make things better or worse for her?  She seemed to thrive yesterday and really came out of her shell.  There weren't the tears and drama that we have at home with math.  She had class for an hour and a half and managed to get through 5 worksheets!  That's about 5 more than she gets through at home in that time.  Maybe the critics are right and I'm just not qualified to teach her at home.

But then it hit me that if she was in school, we wouldn't have the time together that we do.  I love my time with my daughter.  Tomorrow, we're having a 'birthday party' for her doll.  She wants me to make peanut butter & jelly finger sandwiches, tea, and an apple cake with cinnamon glaze.  I know she's 10, but I won't have this time with her much longer.  Maybe I'm being selfish, but I still think that homeschooling is better for her.  She wouldn't get the individual instruction like she does here.  Even in the co op, there are only a few kids in each class so she gets a lot more instruction that she would in a regular classroom.

Any thoughts from other moms struggling with the same thing??