Our family is very new to homeschooling and I need some advice on lesson planning. I am trying to figure out a method for creating a basic plan for the year of what we're going to cover. However, I don't want to be TOO scheduled. I have a first and third grader (both boys) and I know the lessons could change from day to day so I don't exactly want to pull out a nice new shiny notebook and write out the day's plan for every single day of the year. :) Lol That would be a waste of time and paper...

Okay, I like your idea. It's going to a challenge selecting science curriculum anyway because 1) I'm no science buff, 2) My sons love to read but I want them to have hands-on activities (but not too many and with a ton of stuff I can't find or make) and plenty of pictures. And I just don't want it to be boring. :/ I know this may sound crazy, but I'd prefer something with the pages in color. I thought the "God's Design" series would be nice but it's all black and white!!!! To me it just seems ridiculous to make SCIENCE curriculum in black and white.

How do you choose a science curriculum with two different ages? My two sons are 6 and 8. I know there are parents who use the same curriculum for all 7 or so of their kids and they make it work. I found one curriculum that starts off telling the student how they are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and it starts off talking about the nervous system. I really liked that for my soon-to-be 3rd grader, but what about my soon-to-be first grader??? Which student should I target most?? Should I find something for the 1st grader and just let the 3rd grader not be challenged? Lol Thanks for some help, guys!

Does anyone have any experience or opinions about Beautiful Feet Early American History?

I am homeschooling 6 & 8 yr old boys who love history. I'm already going to be doing Learning Language Arts Through Literature and I'm not sure what to do about history. This is our first year homeschooling and they both love doing hands on stuff and reading, etc. But I don't want to do the basic textbook approach to history because I'm afraid they may get bored with history altogether. I also want their history taught from a Christian perspective. Thanks for any suggestions!

I think I may do that. I was thinking about either doing that, or starting halfway through the book (after I made sure he knew everything else) at the beginning of the school year. The boys will be coming out of public schools and they always enjoy doing some form of small workbook activities during the summer.

First of all, I'm brand new to this forum and I really hope I'm posting this in the right location.... I will be homeschooling my two sons, ages 6 & 8, in the fall for the first time. They are both kind of advanced for their age groups, but I don't want them moving ahead too quickly because I want them to have firm foundations in language arts. Both boys LOVE reading, writing, etc. but one prefers non-fiction and the other prefers fiction. So when I ran across LLATL, I thought I'd found the perfect curriculum for their likes! I wanted some type of curriculum that allowed me to customize it as needed, but something that wouldn't leave me spending hundreds of dollars. And for our first year homeschooling, I REALLY don't want to do that because I know how common it is for home school rookies to discard stuff after the first year and I don't want to waste a lot of money. I found the red (grade 2) set at a library and after going through it extensively, I thought it would be perfect for my 6 yr old. It does seem to be a little below grade level and he's supposed to be going into the first grade. Well, he just took it upon himself to read one of the books a few minutes ago that's meant for like week 16. He read one of the stories and understood it (with ease) and was able to understand the comprehension questions with ease. He's a super speller and while some exercises (like the handwriting) look like they may be useful, I'm wondering if this level will be too easy for him. BUT I don't want to move him up to the next level because I feel like that would be jumping him head too fast and I could cause him to not cover important material. I hope someone can help me and keep me from stressing out even more so than I already am! Thanks in advance!

First of all, I'm brand new to this forum and I really hope I'm posting this in the right location.... I will be homeschooling my two sons, ages 6 & 8, in the fall for the first time. They are both kind of advanced for their age groups, but I don't want them moving ahead too quickly because I want them to have firm foundations in language arts. Both boys LOVE reading, writing, etc. but one prefers non-fiction and the other prefers fiction. So when I ran across LLATL, I thought I'd found the perfect curriculum for their likes! I wanted some type of curriculum that allowed me to customize it as needed, but something that wouldn't leave me spending hundreds of dollars. And for our first year homeschooling, I REALLY don't want to do that because I know how common it is for home school rookies to discard stuff after the first year and I don't want to waste a lot of money. I found the red (grade 2) set at a library and after going through it extensively, I thought it would be perfect for my 6 yr old. It does seem to be a little below grade level and he's supposed to be going into the first grade. Well, he just took it upon himself to read one of the books a few minutes ago that's meant for like week 16. He read one of the stories and understood it (with ease) and was able to understand the comprehension questions with ease. He's a super speller and while some exercises (like the handwriting) look like they may be useful, I'm wondering if this level will be too easy for him. BUT I don't want to move him up to the next level because I feel like that would be jumping him head too fast and I could cause him to not cover important material. I hope someone can help me and keep me from stressing out even more so than I already am! Thanks in advance! :)