It definitely depends on where you live what the requirements are. You can google homeschooling laws for your state and get an idea. However, most unschoolers anywhere in the US that I've had any interaction with say that it's entirely possible to comply with the law without doing sit down school at home. Sometimes you have to do standardized tests and that seems to be the hardest, in other places you don't have to do anything but file a statement that you're homeschooling, it just depends. There are some wonderful unschooling websites that talk about these issues. Google unschooling and your state and see if you find a local list, or my favorite, for parents of children who are not yet technically school age but who want to live radical unschooling as a lifestyle, is alwaysunschooled: groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysUnschooled/

I LOVE that list, it has really changed my life as a parent in ways that have made our family so much more peaceful and happy. I shoud clarify that alwaysunschooled is an email list, not really a website. I have links to some of my favorite websites at my profile.

For me, once I discovered unschooling, it was like the whole universe shifted. It just makes so much sense. Yes, school completely sucked for me. It doesn't suck for everyone, but the more I think and read and listen to other unschoolers, the crazier the whole idea of mandatory schooling has become to me.