Thanks for all of your replies. I thought about this stuff a lot this week and decided that this year, for academic work, I am going to just focus on reading with my boys, which we do lots of anyway. I ordered The Story of the World, so we could start reading some history, and also The History of the Ancient World for myself. I like the idea of adding one subject per year so that we can slowly get used to this. I already often read classics, so I will just keep doing that and just switch my focus to works that are more fitting with the period we are working on. It already feels better to be focusing in this way for myself, instead of just reading lots of interesting works that are all over the board historically. I also started Latin this week, which I have been meaning to do for years. I have had Wheelock's Latin book on my shelf for at least ten years, but just kept putting that off so that I could study modern languages instead. Now I am realizing that I was going about my language study all wrong! I am having so much fun with it. Thanks again for all of your advise. It really makes a difference to hear what other people did early on when beginning this path. The nebulousness was disconcerting, and though I do definatly want to keep it fun I really need have at least a vague idea of what we will be doing. Happily now, I have that.

Well yes, I guess that was my question. But does that actually work, with learning I mean?

By focus I mean how do people actually get their kids to stick with things like phonics, math books, etc, and go from chapter to chapter in books (other than literature.) I can see how people do unschooling because it is easy to just read lots of intesting stuff. But when you study something that builds on it self, it requires returning to the same book and really getting the next chuck of info down. This can be hard for adults (who understand the need to focus,) so how do you get kids to do it?

Yes, I have read the Well-trained mind, and I really like what Susan Wise Bauer has presented there. However, I am curious what other people's personal experiences are. What mystifies me is how people actually get to a more focused way of studying with their kids, because I have a hard time seeing how to guide my 4 year old (he is very strong-willed.) I love to read and study, but motivating someone else to do it is and entirely different thing. I know that my son is still to young to focus on anything very long, but seeing how the transition will come is foggy. We do go to the library (lots), the childrens museum, natural history museum, etc. Just the other day we did some baking soda and vingar stuff just for fun. Also he is attending some montessori preschool, and so I try to do things in the montessori way at home as much as possible. Thanks for your ideas; I am always curious how other people do homeschooling.

I am curious. I have a 4.5 year old and a 1.5 year old, so I am new to all of this. I think I want to do homeschooling with a classical empasis, so mostly I am curious how people start to do all of this. I was looking around here and read some people's sceduals, and am not sure how to work up toward that. Granted, my kids are young, but I still would like some direction. Thanks!

I have been using the Pimsleur language tapes for myself. They are great to get exposure to lots of languages, and also teaches conversational skills better than any other program that I have used. Lucky for me they have them at my local library, but I bet you could also get them on interlibrary loan to try them out.