I am really, really struggling with this. I pulled her from PS because they weren't able to give her the stuff she needs: she is in 1st grade, but working at a 4th and 5th grade level for math and LA, respectively.
I don't know if I can continue to challenge her, by myself. I am absolutely horrible at math, and although we've been looking into MUS, that is expensive stuff. Not to mention the fact that I myself am not that regimented about her schooling and feel like I need to be.
There are thousands of choices out there...it's like being a kid in a candy store (only without any money!) And while I realize religion plays a huge role in a lot of people's decision to homeschool, my belief system is very, very different. So, trying to find a good, comprehensive and secular curriculum is HARD. I hate piece-mealing stuff - it's messy.
So, is it more important to be a part of a school system and abide by the "law" and have structure and accountability with a somewhat pre-determined curriculum, or is it more important to have the freedom to choose what you want, when you want, and hope for the best?
My dd is brilliant - do I have the ability to grow and nurture this myself? There are facets of her education that I am confident I can teach, like life skills (you know, cooking, cleaning, balancing the checkbook, etc), but the core stuff? LA (spelling, vocab, grammar) - up to a point. Math - I still count on my fingers and do long division the hard way; I suck at subtraction and can't imagine anyone doing mental math. Science - not so worried about this; I like science and it's relatively easy to teach. Latin - I feel that I have to teach her this to give her a good foundation of vocabulary, but who in the world knows how to pronounce some of that stuff! History - also not a problem because I dig history, myself.
I know this is an insanely long response, but I have read countless posts and replies on several different subjects on TWTM and have come up with a tangled ball of information. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill; I don't know...