For the last few months I have been looking into opening my own "microschool", or homeschool hybrid, utilizing WTM for K-4th graders for the 2025-26 school year and continuing with it until all of my kids graduate (I have a somewhat large age range: 3, 6, 9 and 12). I am meeting with someone next weekend to discuss the details of her microschool and how it functions on the business end (as I have zero business experience). So, this may be a way to make this happen (maybe sooner than later), as I'd love to pull all of my children and homeschool them.

My son (current 7th grader) goes to a Montessori school (where I am a Title 1 interventionist), and I don’t find it rigorous enough. So, this summer my son and I are going to go over the Grammar Guidebook and the Diagramming dictionary, so I can get him into Latin for 8-12th grades through WTM. Will those lessons be sufficient for beginning Latin? And should we continue on with the grammar lessons as we progress through? I hate to make him do “extra work”, but, like I said, I don’t find the education rigorous enough. I find it horribly lacking, as a matter of fact (far too easy for him). I'm debating on pulling him from the school and homeschooling him using WTM curriculum (and supplements), but I can't be there with him given my employment. He's capable of doing things on his own. He is responsible and at the top of his class (and, like most schools, they cater to the lowest common denominator even though they tell parents they individualize the curriculum--they don't). There is a classic school across the river, but it's Catholic. I have no issue with religion, but we are atheists and don't want those ideas as the backbone of every subject. Thoughts? Advice?

Thankfully we live in a small town, so my son knows pretty much everyone from public, private and the Montessori school. He has played hockey for four years now and runs cross country through the local public school. He will continue to do so through high school. We do have some homeschooling groups around here that I we will be getting involved with (25-45min away), one of which does PE twice a month at a local college throughout the school year (the college kids lead the classes). He also takes drum lessons and may end up joining band (there is a sports agreement between our Montessori and the public school, but no other extracurricular agreements, so he has more opportunities if he homeschools, too). I haven't chosen curriculum for my 8th grader yet, but next year I will be using Story of the World, Writing with Ease, First Language Lessons and Math with Confidence for my 6yo. Along with a lot of outdoor time (we have a hiking trail right behind our house and a park a block away). I have some excellent science resources and a wonderful library. The 6yo is ADHD so homeschooling will give him the ability to really get that energy out instead of being in a class environment. He does well academically and as long as we have a good routine down he is pretty good at sitting for short lessons. I have witnessed big shifts in the most energetic kids somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade, with a decrease in disruptive behavior and the ability to sit for a little longer for lessons. But I think he'll be a-ok. Since I currently work at the Montessori school my children attend, I haven't searched out local homeschoolers. I have yet to give my school a heads up that I am leaving and removing my children as well, so I still need to get a grasp on how many homeschoolers we have right in our town. As for the 3yo, he taught himself his letter sounds and numbers to 25 when he was two via a Leapfrog tablet, so we've been steadily working on that when he asks to (he recognizes patterns as we work our way up to 100). I've added some Montessori materials to our space, so he has opportunities to engage with letters and numbers and we've begun doing some phonemic awareness exercises with some simple vc and cvc words to sound out. Overall, my reasons are (I'm sure there's others, but off the top of my head: I am hoping to give my children a better education and a more close-knit family dynamic. A strengthening of family bonds and to know my children better. I want to be a larger influence than their peers (Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate was an eye opening read). I don't want to avoid the morning rush and forcing kids to wake up when they're still tired. I want to use a curriculum that works rather than the latest fad/experiment. I'd like less schedule conflicts and the ability to take our vacations during the week. It also gives us more time with my mom (who has Parkinson's and my grandma who is 95, both of whom need a decent amount of help). I'm sure I'll come up with new "Whys" and maybe even change curriculums a few times or mix and match a little more. But so far I really like TWTM curriculum. We will see if it suits my, though. Thank you so much for your input. I really do appreciate it.

Thank you for the curriculum recommendations and advice. I am definitely looking into all suggestions. Thankfully I have from now through summer to do so.

I plan on pulling my children from our local Montessori school at the end of the year. My children are 3, 6 and 12. They will be in 4k, 1st and 8th next year. I will use WTM curriculum for all of them, but I’m not sure where to begin for my 8th grader. He is intelligent and easily grasps concepts. He has the highest scores in his school for reading and math. I’m not worried about his ability to catch on, but since classical education is a bit more rigorous and he’s missed out on a lot of (basically all of) the grammar and logic stage, how do I begin with him? Any and all advice is welcome!