I really believe that the method works, and it is best in the long run... however, I also believe it's necessary (for us) to always be at a place where my kids can go to public/private school and not be too far behind. So, while I do feel kind of like I'm being disloyal, I do supplement. I use story and essay prompts from both the Galore Park English Prep book, and from a vintage text for 3rd graders that has a lot of simple writing exercises.

I buy books used and cheap. I have a list of when every library in the area has annual/semi-annual big book sales, and get there when they open. There is one near me that has all kids books 10¢ each. I have been known to spend $30 there... that's a lot of books :) I really try to stock up on nonfiction books, which means that nearly any time a child has a question I can say "I don't know, let's look it up." (Of course, keeping all those books findable is another issue...) There's a thrift store near me that always has a ton of textbooks. I'm not sure why, since the other thrift stores near me have nothing. Many are teacher discards, but a surprising number are from other homeschoolers (and there are very few homeschoolers in my area). They're from preschool through grad school, and cover every subject, so it's not like I can plan on shopping there if I know I need something, but I try to stop in every few weeks and see what they have. I've gotten some really good grade-level textbooks in science, and social studies, some literature guides, and a lot of grammar/writing resources. I would suggest doing a tour of all the thrift stores near you, and seeing if any stick out to you as worthy of checking out regularly. I know that there are lots of free resources out there, but I prefer the high quality but low cost ones. I find the Galore Park series a real good deal, for what you get: a full year, non-consumable, really high quality textbook. I also think that Math Mammoth is money well spent. I just this week gave in and decided to suck it up and spend the money on the Zaner-Bloser workbooks... they're only about $11 each, so while they're not free, they're within my budget. And, again, they last the whole year. We've started using McGuffey's Readers this year (I got a set at a library book sale years ago), and I am very pleased with them. The primer is right at the level of my learning-to-read 1st grader, and the 3rd reader is perfect for working on vocabulary and pronunciation with my excellent reader 3rd grader. My 1st grader is also using a public school-style phonics course... I got the textbook series at a library book sale, and ordered the workbooks on Amazon... it's an older edition, and I think that plenty of teachers just want their old copies gone, so I got the workbooks for $4 (1¢, plus $3.99 shipping) on Amazon. It's not the phonics course I would pick if I had endless resources (my heart belongs to SuperKids), but it gets the job done, and the whole year came to less than $10. There is a wonderful music school in my town, and my children receive financial aid there (not 100%, but enough so that we can do it), and they are all learning instruments. I can't even begin to describe how happy this makes me. If I really had no money and no way to get "real" music lessons, I'd use this book, starting in 3rd grade: http://www.amazon.com/First-Book-Recorder-Usborne-Music/dp/074602987X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443150978&sr=8-1&keywords=first+book+of+the+recorder. It was another library book sale find, and when my 3rd grader found out that the public school kids in our town learn to play the recorder in 3rd grade, she wanted to, too. So I pulled out this book, and she's 12 pages in... I'm kind of hoping she loses interest (is there a more annoying instrument than the recorder?) but this is a great book that really jams in an amazing amount of music theory. There's so much stuff in there I'd wait until 3rd or 4th grade, but for about $7 (recorders are $5 on Amazon Prime), your kid could know more music than most people. I don't know... we're not in poverty, but things are definitely tight. I think my best advice is to stock up on as many cheap used books as you can find, and use what's available. I know that can be easier said than done, and lots of people live in areas without libraries or where thrift stores are well picked over... and I would never use anything that I thought was absolutely terrible. But it's definitely my trick. And I've found really cool things that I never even knew existed. I really liked MEP, but it was too much work for me... KISS is great, but he says you can start in 2nd grade and that was way too much... by about 1/3 of the way through the first book I could no longer correct or explain things, because it was way more grammar than I'd ever learned. I'm going to try again in about 5th grade.

I think the "threats of punishment if you leave" is a big one, as is (something you don't mention) forcing you cut off contact with people who don't share your beliefs. That's not something that normal Christian (or other) religious denominations do. They might tell you to stay away from "bad influences," but there is a much broader definition of that (and usually just a common sense one) than a cult has.

I was just browsing Homeschool Buyer's Coop, and found this textbook series for public schools. It lists what is taught in each year for Social Studies for schools using this series. https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/hmh-history/?c=1

Makes you happy and content and kinda sleepy. Life is pretty good after you eat a bunch of fresh bread.

Ugh, here it comes to about $80 an hour.

It's a catch-all phrase that includes subjects like geography, history, basic economics, and civics. In younger grades, it often involves a lot of "learning about my community" type stuff... jobs people do, places people live. It sounds like he's mostly interested in the kids learning about the election process, and about the US government?

Landmark is a good example. A friend calls it "Scientology for smart people." It's what EST morphed into. Everyone I know involved is a middle class professional... educated (college/graduate degree), intelligent, has loving family and friends. Their introductory classes are about personal organization, communication, sticking up for yourself... presented as a way to improve yourself. Sounds reasonable enough, and I'm sure much of what they teach is useful... or at least there's some placebo effect where you're more confident just for having taken the course, and that translates into being more organized and communicating better. Then you take more courses, and have to start spending lots of money on classes, supplies, and retreats. You're encouraged to cut ties with negative people... so far as I've heard, there's no official shunning, because it's all framed as being a positive lifestyle... but the result is basically the same. All your friends are now people you met at Landmark classes, and hang out with at Landmark retreats, and the ideas being taught to you are now getting pretty out there, but everyone else seems to agree, and the classes have been working until now... There are smaller groups like this, too. DH's boss was involved in one. He was way more professional than to try to recruit at work (and I'm not actually sure recruiting was part of this cult's schtick) but he was always flying around the world going to retreats, and DH would come home perplexed about weeeeird philosophical stuff about life and work that this guy would bring up. I did some Google searching based on some stuff DH repeated, and the leader basically makes a new cult every decade or so, and is disgraced, and disappears for a few years, and starts again. And, sure enough, the guy had to "remove himself from teaching" soon after because of some sort of "personal weakness" (and, when I Googled, because he was being charged with financial fraud...). So, I know it was a joke, but it's definitely not only "idiots." I think it's often people who want to improve themselves, and they want someone to tell them how to do it.

I can’t remember if I have the 3rd edition, or the 2nd, so please forgive me if this is out of date, but… I love the suggested curriculum, and as a new homeschooler I really liked that you had specific suggestions, but I wish that there was a 100% purely secular option for every subject. There are so many more secular programs out there that I don’t believe that there isn’t a single one that isn’t as good as the one that will find a way to make grammar Jesus-centric. (Also a mention that I love the Galore Park materials, and Math Mammoth). I also hated Slow and Steady. I thought it was silly and waaaay too easy with my first toddler. But if my second had been born first, I think I would have been really upset that it was much too advanced for him and maybe there was something wrong with him. I like the idea, because I’m the regimented list-making sort, but I don’t think that there’s a way to make a week-by-week program for toddlers and preschoolers that presupposes ANYTHING about their development… it’s just way too broad of a range. If you’re looking for preschool recommendations, The Survival Guide For the Preschool Teacher is an amazing resource. It’s jam-packed (seriously… tiny print, few pictures) with games, activities, songs, art projects, recipes. You might want to include more information about the various different types of classes and programs that seem to be developing. I've heard so much about coops, but they seem to have faded in my area. There are a couple all-day programs, basically like a private school you can sign your child up for as many days of the week as you'd like... these seem to be in most urban areas now. There are a bunch of museums and sports centers who obviously thought "You know, we have this weekly after-school program already developed... we could double our money by offering it during the day for homeschoolers." The next wave of homeschool classes seems to be former homeschooling parents, whose kids are older (in college, or went to high school) and now they're teaching classes in their homes for younger kids... I've heard of three such teachers setting up shop in the past few months. I think it would be helpful for new parents to describe the different options, and talk about balancing outside classes with the work that needs to get done, and maybe provide some schedules for if you're only homeschooling-at-home 3 (or even 2) days a week.

I don't think that you're being childish at all. That sounds really, really tough. Can you continue to go to church? I hope that your husband isn't restricting you, or even mocking you if you want to. I hope that you can continue going. Even if you no longer feel comfortable/welcome in your old church, you might be able to church shop a little to find what you need right now. As for your daughter... it sounds like she might be testing you. I don't know how old she is, but it's pretty normal for kids to test their parents like that... from toddlers right up until teens. Saying something just to get a reaction, and then gauging the reaction. Sometimes to tease/be mean, but more often because they themselves are confused and trying to make sense of the world, but don't want to ask a "stupid question" (heaven forbid a child admit that they don't know everything already!) so they say something and see how it goes over. I only have younger kids, so I'm not in a position to give advice on responding to an older one in this situation, but I will anyway :) The "I love her because she's evil!" comment is definitely worth examining, calmly. I'd say "Why do you say that?" "What does evil mean to you?" A discussion of supernatural evil v. human evil. Supernatural "evil" on TV shows and in books for kids is usually more along the lines of mean-spirited pranks, of the sort that an older kid who recognizes that they're not real might find funny. But how far would she count "evil" as being aspirational. Tripping a bully? Maybe. Killing a baby? Yikes, I hope not. And I think that if actually presented with the opportunity to have a conversation about what evil means, it could be a really valuable discussion for both of you. Honestly, I don't even think you'd need to bring religion into it, in order to have this conversation. It's NOT okay if your husband is rude or childish to you. You should call that out. But I think that it's important to keep in mind that your daughter may very well be testing you and your relationship even if this paradigm shift hadn't occurred. It's not okay for her to be rude, but it is expected for her to be childish (assume she is a child, LOL).

There's a moral code set by society, that humans in all cultures need to ascribe to if we want to be accepted by society, and which we learn from a young age is important. Religion is an easy way to teach this moral code, and to encourage people to self-enforce, but people without religion are certainly able to pick it up along the way, too, and are just as capable of keeping their adulterous thoughts and murderous rage to themselves. People who live only for their own happiness aren't going to have a very easy time living in a community of peers. It requires some give and take, not sleeping with your neighbor's wife or taking their things or killing their kids/livestock. This is universally true. Since humans are social animals, who need to live in packs to survive, it's actually just as easy to ascribe to the moral code of the pack for an atheist as it is for a Christian (which is to say that some people don't... but I'm not aware of atheists being statistically more likely to be murderers or thieves or whatever).

I've heard "little kids shouldn't wear black," but I think navy is what you're supposed to dress them in if you believe that and you want/need a dark color. Navy is a very traditional color for little kids... sailor suits and all that. And Prince George's little smocked romper was classic. All white for babies went out with the invention of the washing machine and decent detergent and color-fast dyes. It's "tradition" because in the olden days, dyes were unreliable and the only way to really get clothes clean was to boil them. And baby clothes need extra boiling because of what babies do to them.

I just wanted to say that there's a social group called "Free Curriculum for the Price of Printing" here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/groups/119-free-curriculum-for-the-price-of-printing/ I didn't start it, but it's such a great idea. Each post in the discussion section is a different subject/topic, and people can post free curricula on that thread. This method makes it really easy to find what you're looking for. If you have free curricula that you enjoy, consider joining that forum and posting your ideas! It will be easier to find things in the future than on a big long thread like this one where everything is all mixed up.

I'll do math, but it will be more worksheet drill to cement skills than real teaching. I expect her to continue reading on her own time. I'm probably going to keep up handwriting, because I don't want her to get rusty. She'll still have piano lessons and have to practice daily. She's going to summer camp every day, and I expect her to come home pretty exhausted, so we really won't have time for much. But we actually did a bunch of schoolwork in the evenings last year, and it worked out very well, so I know that we can get some stuff done.

I think that price was her point about why it's NOT being printed at this time. It's a PDF magazine right now, for considerably less. Most magazines are paid for by advertising. This is a new one that probably doesn't have much advertising.

I don't think it's necessarily the font style, but that many European schools (particularly in France, I think) kids are expected to have perfect handwriting, and they work at it HARD. Every day. And are graded on it, all through school. Even at university, handwriting matters... I heard a story that universities in France that consider American students doing JYA pretty much a cash cow have had to crack down on professors giving American students bad grades just because of their handwriting. This video might be interesting: http://archive.teachfind.com/ttv/www.teachers.tv/videos/france-teaching-handwriting.html In America, I think the vast majority of schools teach handwriting in early elementary, and then never really care about it again. Kids get sort of half-baked instruction, and then nobody ever cares about it again.

What a lovely-looking magazine! It's about time there was a secular homeschooling magazine, too.

Does anyone know anything about the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program? The music school that my kids attend has just started offering the exams. DD's piano teacher hasn't mentioned it, but I have a friend who plans on making her DD take it every year, and she's already done the first level (which I think was some sort of pre-preparatory level? The DD is still on Book 1 of Suzuki). Honestly, I never really saw the point, but this thread is making me think that maybe there is a point. Maybe not every level, but a few of them, down the road. Is this one as good as the ones you guys are talking about? http://www.musicdevelopmentprogram.org

Actually, the SAT is mostly a test about the socioeconomic status of your family. There's been criticism about this for as long as the SATs have been around, and they are finally acknowledged it. Which is why lots of colleges are eliminating/making optional the SAT for admissions, and more and more are turning towards the ACTs (which test subject knowledge). So the SAT is making a business decision. They are getting rid of the most esoteric of vocabulary, and concentrating on academic vocabulary. They are going to test more content area, like the ACTs. And so of course they are testing based on Common Core standards... what else would they base a content area test on than the most common standards? If you think that your kids aren't going to have the content area knowledge to get a decent score on the SATs, I think now is probably the time to figure out why that is, and how to fix it.

We've just started Zaner Bloser's cursive book, and it's nicely done.

Are they even available in the US? I really would not bother. I got to England 1-2x a year, for several weeks to a few months, and have never had a problem with my US cards. All of the store machines can take them. Sometimes the new person at a small boutique won't know that, but I really doubt that will be a problem for the places people are likely to go on a school trip.

UK credit cards all have chips and pins. But they can still slide the card, though sometimes you get a little attitude about it. I imagine that anyplace they'd be going would be really used to US cards, though, and all she has to do is say "it's an American card" and they'll know how to deal with it.

My daughter did get Lyme Disease a few years ago, and it was pretty awful. But so long as you pay attention, it's not hard to catch. I also use Deep Woods Off every time the kids go outside to play... before our Lyme experience, I was little miss "no chemicals near my children!" now I've gone to the other extreme, LOL.

Boston is awesome for homeschooling! I totally recommend living here. And I have to say that I've lived here most of my adult life, while traveling a great deal, and I've never noticed a smell. I have no clue what that criticism was supposed to mean. :confused1:

I don't think I'd do all 3. I'd do a week in London (maybe a little more) and the rest of the time in Paris. Honestly, I LOVE London and could find things to do every day for a year there, so I'd probably spend the whole time there :) So many great museums (make sure to check out the Museum of London... it's really an amazing museum, all about London's history... I think you could probably spend most of a day there), and parks, and plenty of theater to take kids to, and the public transportation goes just about everywhere. You got all the historic sites, and it's very very easy to take the train to other locations outside of London (Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford, etc).