Hi Allison,
I've never homeschooled,but it seems to me that setting up policy is as important as curriculum. After all, with curriculum, you are mostly, if not entirely going to follow your child's interests, perhaps occasionally linking the practice of a difficult skill to an iterest. You local school district probably has something like a "scope and sequence" posted on an internet site somewhere. That can be a good reference point to keep in mind.
I've heard praise for Singaport Math and Handwriting without tears over and over again. You may want to read up on books about "unschooling" which is all about following your child's lead.
But educational policy - that's the part I never hear about. I weighed HSing very carfully last year. I concluded that for us, I would have to lock up the TV, or throw it away, remove all the computer games so that "Typing Practice" seemed like great fun, (compared to nothing) and institue a P.E. requirement. I would defintly include household management on the curriculum (chores)
Back when DS11 was 6, and we were walking around in the dark, being told that there was something wrong with him, we got him a Gameboy, so that he could be like the other boys. It did help socialize him, but it also acustomed him to instant gratification. It was the best decision we could make at the time, give the information at hand, but I believe that it was too high a price for fitting in a bit.
So I've never seen an article about setting up policies for homeschooling, but I would encourage you to think hard about how much "mindless entertainment" under what circumstances you and your DH will allow. What do you want your day to be like? How much of your son's day will be about following his interests and how much about contributing to the family and others? I'd love to hear about what the real HSers say about this.
Smiles,
Trinity
