when we made the decision to homeschool DD5 this year, it felt like the whole world was open to us - amazing and endless, but also kind of daunting. the place i started was our province's curriculum, which is posted online - if your state doesn't post the curriculum expectations, you could take a look at various ones and make notes on the common threads. i literally use a highlighter directly on printouts of the curriculum when it's clear DD has met various expectations - it's a nice visual cue.
we do use an online program for the math framework - but it's just a guide. i come up with zillions of ways to approach the concepts (SO good for my brain, too!) and DD5 designs word problems to go with them.
we're also using an online program for spelling (click n spell), because she loves it - but more and more we're doing word banks from her reading/interests. she has become obsessed with Quiz Days, so we're doing a quiz every second day, now.
the one thing i realized early on was that at the pace our kids learn, it leaves a LOT of time for interesting detours and personal interests. today, DD5 had some questions about plate tectonics and the materials i found that looked most appropriate for her questions were from middle school - it didn't matter at all. she's writing a short essay on the subject as i type this, and has come up with a list of new questions about earthquakes and tsunamis that we'll look at later this week.
very exciting times - and we're wishing you all the best, jholland1203!!
