OK, this all makes sense. I think I was just getting overwhelmed and intimidated by the freedom vs. the need to make sure they are actually learning what they need to learn. Thank you! Keep the suggestions coming, if you have them. :)

So this coming year will be our first year homeschooling. I'll have an 11 yr old, an 8 yr old, and a 5 yr old. I see a lot of people talking about chopping spines off and rebinding things. Do you do this to the kids' workbooks? If so, why? If you don't rebind them, do you leave the worksheets in the books and just let the kids work through the books? Or do you tear out each sheet to do individually? Leaving them in the books sounds easier to me, but I'm not sure how beat up the workbook (and the completed work in it) will be by the end of the year. But tearing each sheet out seems like a lot of extra filing to do. What do you all prefer?

Another kind of related question: What do you prefer? Setting a set amount of work in each subject (as in, do lesson 1) and having the kids work until they finish it? Or setting a set amoun of time for each subject and having them get as much done as possible in that amount of time? Or does it depend on the subject?

More newbie questions here. First, if it matters, I have two boys, who will be 11 and 8, and a girl, who will be 5. One of the many things that has drawn me to homeschooling is the flexibility. My kids' knowing that we will be able to really focus on some topics that they enjoy and maybe just give a cursory lesson on other topics that they don't is part of what got them on board. I also keep hearing people say not to stress if you aren't able to finish the curriculum--most teachers in traditional school never finished the whole text book either. However, how do you know what is ok to skip/gloss over? I know the 3 R's should be covered daily, but if it takes us a little longer to understand or finish a lesson here or there, that could mean we don't finish the whole text "on time" at the end of the year. Do we just plan to work on the 3 R's as long as it takes until we finish the books each year? Or do we skip stuff? For the non-core subjects (not sure if that's the right term), if my boys want to spend an extra week learning about Rome and the gladiators in history, for example, how do I decide what other history topic can be sacrificed to make up for the extra time on Rome? Our whole family loves the idea of the flexibility and the ability to dig deeper into topics or subjects that interest us, but I'm more than a little intimidated by it and scared of doing it "wrong". This forum has been a Godsend for me. I haven't posted much, but I have lurked a lot and learned a ton! Thank you! Danielle

One other question... If I am planning to start the school year around mid-August, when should I start purchasing curriculum? I keep seeing advice to buy at a convention if possible, and there is one in my city in early August, but if I wait until then to buy, is that too late? I have been able to see and flip through almost all of my choices in person. How early should I get everything in order to have time to look it over, plan the year, etc., especially considering this is my first year, and I will be teaching 3 children in 3 different grades?

I can't help, but I wanted to say I had almost the same reaction you did. I say "almost", because I haven't actually started homeschooling yet, but I thought I had settled on using MUS. I loved everything about it, from what I had seen on their website and read about it elsewhere. Then I saw those posts, and now I'm wondering if I need to go a different route. One person did say that MUS seems to be one of those love it or hate it things, and that the people who had the most success with it stuck with it for the long haul, but I have no personal experience with any of the curriculum choices yet, so I can't help much. I am interested to see what others say here too though.

That makes sense, but with this being our first year, I am not ready to commit to homeschooling from here on out. Because of that, I am concerned that chosing a math (or any subject) curriculum that won't keep them up to speed with their ps peers might be a bad idea. I just looked at the R & S math, and it looks like a more traditional math program, which suits me anyway, but it seems awfully old fashioned (most of the word problems seemed to be about farming or mending socks). The BJU math looks great! However, looking at the table of contents and sample pages for K and 3rd grade (6th grade samples were not available), I almost think they are ready for the 1st and 4th grade books. I don't want to advance them if they're not ready, but I don't want them to be bored out of their minds doing busy work either. Does BJU offer assesment/placement tests? Thank you again for your help! Danielle

Thank you! Although now I am fretting about my choice for math. I just saw several posts in another thread saying MUS put them WAY behind! But I've seen a lot of people say they love it. Yikes!

Hello, I will be homeschooling our children (who will be ages 11, 8, and 5/grades 6, 3, and K) this coming school year. It will be our first year of homeschooling. I have done a lot of research into curriculum choices, and honestly, it's been a bit overwhelming. I'm pretty sure I have found choices I like and that I think my kids will like, but I would love to run it by you all and get your advice and input. Math-U-See Apologia Zoology (Due to my fear of burnout on one type of animal, I'm actually hoping to get all 3 zoology books and just cover half of each book one year and half of each book the next year, so that we'll finish all 3 in two years--we're a science oriented family anyway, especially animal science.) Apologia Bible (Who is God?) Mystery of History (Volume I) Switched on Schoolhouse Spanish (We already purchased this early in our research into curriculum choices to use as a trial opportunity for homeschooling. I'm not impressed so far, but it doesn't seem to be too time intensive, so we'll probably finish it out.) Spelling Workout Zaner-Bloser Handwriting (even the 6th grader, whose penmanship could use some work) The Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading (for the Kindergartener) Rod & Staff (Beginning Wisely and Progressing with Courage for 3rd and 6th graders) My biggest question right now is, is the Rod & Staff program sufficient to cover grammar AND writing? Any input or experience you all have regarding the other subjects, I'm all ears. Thanks! Danielle