"People are looking to home schooling as an alternative more now in light of economic circumstances," he said, citing its low cost and potential for strengthening family bonds.

Furthermore, for frugal families, home schooling can be a good fit. Used academic material is available at low cost; free research resources are on tap on the Internet and at libraries.

"Home-schoolers are pretty self-reliant," said Judy Aron of West Hartford, Conn., who has home-schooled three children. "They'd rather cut back on other things."

The Roberts family was pretty self-reliant before the economy turned sour, but money troubles have only pushed them further in that direction. Maile Roberts laughed as she talked about her latest endeavor — making her own soap.

"Maybe I can sell it, too," she said.

Her 15-year-old daughter has become the "designated bread maker," Roberts said. Homemade is cheaper than store bought.

Some families, however, are giving up.

Roberts has a few friends who have taken jobs and packed their children off to public school. Several of the mothers in Diane Hopkins' Utah County home-schooling support group have had to put their children in public school to take a job.

"That's kind of sad that the economy is forcing mothers toward work and away from a lifestyle that was giving them great results," Hopkins wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret News. "Mom's time is valuable, I guess, when the money is tight."

Records kept by the Utah Home Education Association indicate a slight drop in the number of home-school families as well.

"We all live on a shoestring anyway," said Jon Yarrington, the association's president.

But to Maile Roberts, who enjoys reading classics with her children and planning field trips on a whim, statistics — in favor or against home schooling — mean nothing. She's determined to do what's right for her children no matter what happens on Wall Street.

"I want to be home," she said. "We're making it work."

Contributing: Associated Press. E-MAIL: estuart@desnews.com