We also keep a nature journal already, we change it out every season. My husband and I make them ourselves and include gallon sized ziplock bags that are put inside (three ring hole punch, bound with yarn) so she can store her little nature walk treasures inside. She draws pics of what she's seen, we use the paper that changes color in the sun for nature pattern pieces, she has a flower press that we press leaves and flowers in and there are a few collages of those in there as well. The book obviously changes with each season, so in a few years we'll have a nice little collection of her nature art. I think we have been homeschooling for most of her toddlerhood, it just didn't feel official, maybe?

I actually agree with all of you. I just have a few things working against me. First, I am pulling her out of public in which she has full LA, math, science, Chinese, Computer, PE, Library, Guidance, Art, and Music. She is there all day, long day and I think it is too much. And neither her father nor I are happy about the Terc Investigations Math curriculum our county uses for elementary ed and the lack of phonics instruction in LA and that isn't going to change as she moves forward in the grades in public school which is why we think pulling her now is better than waiting. At the same time I've got a mother and a sister who are career public ed people and think I am a loon to pull her out and homeschool. I keep hearing SOLs and so on and worry that I need her to "keep up" in case we put her back in public in the future. I'm stressed about all of this, I am new to homeschooling and didn't plan on homeschooling to be honest, but the overcrowding (her K class has 26 kids!) and the long day are really not good for her and I want her out of there. But at the same time I feel like I need to offer/provide the same kind of instruction at home to make it more "legitimate". Dealing with the disapproval from close family members is way harder than I anticipated. I am certainly NOT one to push academics -we hardly did any preschool for her at all and just did a lot of playing, baking, gardening, crafts, reading and so on. (We actually used a Waldorf preK curriculum called Little Acorn Learning for her). I am just not sure what is typical for this age in a homeschool environment and what sort of curriculum plan is reasonable in a classical homeschool setting. Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

I've been searching the forums like crazy trying to figure out how to easily transition my 5 year old from public K to homeschooling. At this point I am sold on Phonics Road. I've already ordered it. She is only at upper/lower letter recognition and basic letter sounds so I think we'll be able to jump right in and give her the tools and knowledge she'll need to become a great reader/writer/speller. I am strongly considering Miquon Math (orange) with the Family Math trio for some fun math things to do with the whole family. I am strongly considering Story of the World and it's Activity book. I am strongly considering Winter Promise Animal Worlds PreK/K for science activities and a reinforcement of the math/phonics that she will be getting in Miquon and PR. Is this is a reasonable amount to expect her to participate in without being overwhelming? Is this too much for me as the mom who will be teaching? I also have a 3 year old and an infant, though my 3 year old is a bit "ahead" with letters, one to one correspondence, etc. and I thought he might be able to do some of the AW stuff for preschool. I did order I'm Ready to Learn from WP for him but now I am thinking of canceling it and just trying to use the stuff from the AW curriculum for him. Help a newbie out please!

My oldest child is in public K and we are getting ready to make the switch to homeschooling over Christmas break. I've been researching like crazy and so far the plan is: Phonics Road Level 1 Miquon Math Orange and Family Math Trio The Story of the World + Activity Book ...and a lot of playing outside and reading aloud for fun, playing games, baking, year round gardening and crafts. She will also be in an art class one afternoon per week and continue with swimming lessons one day per week.

My DD turned 5 in July, after a ton of debate we elected to try public school. We did not pursue much preschool with her and now we are realizing that she is stressed because she feels behind a lot of the peers in her class in writing/reading. After a conference with her teacher, who assured us that she is perfectly fine and on grade level for this point in the K year, I have decided to afterschool her with a phonics program simply because she is feeling badly, not because I think she needs to be more ahead than where she already is. Does that make sense? Her school does not offer a phonics/reading program, I believe it is the whole language approach and my husband and I were both taught in that way and now he is a terrible speller as an adult. My mother was a teacher so looking back I realize now that she afterschooled my sister and me in phonics though at the time I didn't realize what she was doing because it was pretty fun! I'd like my own children to have the same benefit and after a lot of searching around and reading reviews I've zeroed in on Phonics Road. Is Phonics Road too intense for an after school program for a K student? I would take it easy and focus on the first 4 weeks of the program to give her a good base before moving forward with early reading. On top of this, my son who will be 3 in January is picking up letters and basic letter sounds from playing with his sister. He now knows by site all 26 letters in capital form and is working on the lowercase identification. I've largely left him alone because I don't want to push academics on him at such a young age but I think he would like more from me in the way of instruction. Is the initial 4 weeks of Phonics Road going to be too advanced for such a young guy? I am also considering Winter Promise's I'm Ready To Learn program for him even though he already knows all shapes (he even knows pentagon/octagon/rhombus and so on) and colors and has easily mastered one to one correspondence and counts items well up to around 10. He can already easily count to 25. Will I'm Ready To Learn be fun for him? Thanks for any advice!