I think sometimes too, we as homeschoolers, have added to the parenting comparison games.
I remember crying after leaving a gathering because people sharing how excited they were their 4 year old was reading, and I had a 10 year old that couldn’t master simple phonics, even after repeating them again and again. I think some basic honesty can be good as well. We need to make sure, even if our child learned to read at 4, we let others know that doesn’t always mean he was reading War and Peace at 4, but it was Bob Books.
I think on the other hand, there are parents that are very relaxed about their children’s education and when someone does say something, they respond with a lack of concern based on something they read about unschooling or the like.

Overall, I think the hardest assumption for me to handle is that my children with learning disabilities, have never been taught or are neglected in their education. I started documenting with pictures, some of the school we do, to remind myself of how hard we really work!

How do you navigate the plethora of advice and opinions without losing your own vision?
I try to remember that what works great for someone else might be a total fail for me and my kids. That I don’t have the time or inclination to try everything or to be worrying about what some other family is doing, since I am busy enough with my own.

Meagan: That’s such a great way to have an informational night! We do what we call “curriculum show and tell tables” at our annual Homeschooling 101 so that we can show the diversity among homeschooling philosophies and materials and to give people a chance to talk to veteran homeschoolers one-on-one. It’s always a big hit!

Savannah, This is an article I found recently that might be helpful to you. I always think that people who go all out for homeschooling young children are missing the point that their number one job should be playing! http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/14/my-view-let-preschoolers-kindergartners-play-to-learn/