I'm no help, but just... thanks for posting this. I can identify and it is always nice to know I'm not alone. Somedays it really feels like I'm losing my mind. My 5 year old has never seen me as an authority figure. Ever. It is a constant battle. I make solid resolves all the time to not get frustrated and raise my voice... but, really, if that worked, resolves wouldn't be plural. Sometimes I just have to call it quits, and tell him we'll try again tomorrow. While I feel like homeschooling him is the right thing to do because he is gifted, it is also the very reason that I am reluctant to homeschool. I'm afraid the struggle is going to damage our relationship. I just need to find a way to rise above it. And the dark chocolate. *Definitely* the dark chocolate.

I can't you all enough. I'm still sorting through all of these ideas, but I'm feeling really good about my options. For those that asked - I'm in the western part of VA, Rockbridge County. You know, the in the middle of nowhere up in the Blue Ridge Mountains part. ;)

Thanks everyone. This was a confirmation of my initial thoughts. I know what we need to do at this point, and I don't think we'll have trouble or need outside help to do it. I already know that my local school district is useless as far as any programs or services go, so there isn't really a need to test for that. I will keep in mind some of the other things mentioned here, and maybe revisit this idea every few years. I appreciate the input, thanks again. :)

Hi, Newbie here. I posted in the K-8 curriculum board, and a few people suggested I post here as well. I'm homeschooling BECAUSE I have an accelerated learner on my hands that I know will not do well in public school. He is 5 years old, has been reading since he was three-something he mostly taught himself to do. He also loves math (taught himself addition and subtraction too *shrug*) and science and knows more about tsunamis than any grown adult I know. A few people have mentioned testing. Should I do this? Where would I go? What, if any, are the benefits of it?

I just want to clarify that all I meant by that was that I feel like I lack the patience and grace to pull this off. Indeed, I'm worried about not being cool or fun *enough*.

There is SO MUCH helpful information here. Thank you so much for all of these responses and encouragement. Several of you asked for more specifics: My oldest in 5 years. He would officially start kindergarten in the fall, based on Virginia's age limits. His younger brothers are 3 and 10 months. Besides explode the code, the other things I have (besides lots and lots of reading books) are Ordinary Parent's Guide, Mudpies to Magnets, Everybody Has a Body (he LOVES science) and then a couple of random math books I got at Costco (wamp, wamp). Mudpies to Magnets and Everybody Has a Body have been really fun when I've actually taken the time to prepare and have the things we need on hand. Which is, you know, not often. The math books are terrible, so never mind that. I like Ordinary Parent's Guide a lot, but he just really gravitated toward ETC. (look at me! using an abbreviation!) Oh, and I have read Well Trained Mind, and I love it. But, honestly, was so overwhelmed by all of the suggestions at the end of each chapter I didn't even know where to start. All of the things I have tried so far have been from those lists, but I still feel like I'm shooting from the hip. I do think I have been trying to swallow the elephant in a sense. Beating myself up for thinking I should be doing more when it doesn't really matter. I just know he'd love to do more. For example, I know is Bauer's book she stressed not needing to do science and history in early learning, but he LOVES science. So, I feel bad not doing more things with him beyond letting him watch NOVA episodes on Netflix. I really like this term, Open and Go. Yes please to more of that. I think that would really help me wrap my head around this. (Are there good science kits? A curriculum that comes with the experiments ready to go?) There is always hope that after a year or two, I'll feel more competent in arranging things myself. I think I would prefer secular materials. I don't really want to do an online program, or a program supervised by someone else. My whole reason for doing this is so that I can work at *his* pace. There are some other homeschoolers in this area, but just a few. There are no organized coops or anything. Those that I have talked with are homeschooling for very different reasons than I am. None of them are using a classical education approach. Not that this doesn't mean they aren't helpful, but the suggestions they've made for curriculum haven't really suited what I'm looking for. And I think I just really need to plan on focusing on Reading, Writing, and Math for this next year, and then add in bonus things when the mood strikes us. That sounds SO much easier than what I thought I needed to do. I'm going to research the suggestions you've all given so far. But if the specifics I've given here inspire more suggestions, I'd welcome them. Thanks again everyone. I'm feeling more hopeful.

I'm new to homeschooling, mostly. When my oldest was two I started doing this random curriculum my sister found on the internet. I don't even remember what it was called. I just remember that my two year old flew through the whole thing in a month and a half, and that was that. This is kind of what brings me to homeschooling now--is that he's advanced (gifted? special? I don't know what the PC term is these days. He's a wicked smart kid). I tried putting him in preschool last year, and he was pretty miserable. They were discussing "color of the week!" and he was out of his mind bored. And henceforth he became the classic tale of the kid who gets in trouble all of the time because he doesn't have anything else to do. So this year we started homeschooling kindergarten stuff. Its a bit early by Virginia's standards, but I felt like he was ready for it. It was awful. He loved it, I hated it. We started off doing a little bit of something every day and a couple of months into that I threw in the towel--I was just stressing myself out trying to keep up with the lesson planning. Then the goal was at least three times a week. But really we've ended up in a place wherein we are lucky to get a lesson in once a week. He's young yet, so I don't feel like this is a big deal... right NOW. But eventually I'm going to have to get my act together and I don't wanna. I feel like homeschooling is the right thing to do for him, because our county school system is pretty terrible anyway, and I'm concerned about how he'll fare in a public school environment. But I am NOT a homeschooling mom. I don't really love it, I'm pretty bad at it, and--judge me how you will--I was really looking forward to sending the kids out of the house when they are school age. So, anyway. I need help, and I can't find it. I want to go with the Well Trained Mind/Classical Education ideals, because in my research this is the style that struck a chord with me. But my failed attempt this past year has me really worried about a future with this. I wish someone would just hand me all the materials, the lesson plans, and a schedule. And then I would just what I was told. Does such a thing exist? Either way, I need some curriculum/lesson planning help. Lots of it. Heeeeeelp Meeeee. P.S. The thing we've had the most success with is Explode the Code. Because I can just get it out and say, "Let's do this!" and he loves it. When I tell him we're done he's bummed. If it could all be like that... well, I'm still gonna homeschool reluctantly, but I'd feel less woeful about it. P.P.S. Please, please don't use abbreviates in your responses. I was looking around the forums and I don't have any idea what anyone is talking about.