I'm a huge fan of discussion, too. I think that's why lit-based curricula always appeal to me.

You're right. I was just discussing this with my husband this morning. I told him I wasn't sure how to (or if to) apply her findings to a home where I am teacher AND parent. I did bristle a bit thinking about my lack of teaching qualifications and how she might say that disqualifies me from teaching. However, I will say that reading about the importance of teacher training and expertise has made me look at my own role more critically. I do think I have the tendency to want to find "independent" programs for my kids, whereas it sounds like my input is more important than I realized before.

Huh. I was expecting different answers! Did you not feel the need to implement any changes because you were already following much of what Ripley describes as best practices in your own homes?

by Amanda Ripley, did it influence your curriculum choices or educational practices? If so, how?

I did see that! It was helpful, but I didn't see much discussion about specific curriculum choices/materials or philosophies.

I've been aware of my personality type for a long time, but I only recently started digging into how it affects my homeschooling choices. I can't help but think there must be some philosophies or approaches that work better for INFJ's than others . . . or are we doomed to (re)evaluate our choices for our entire lifetimes? :laugh: *Also, I'm not ready to take my children's personality types into account yet -- I feel I need to focus on my own strengths/weaknesses first.

Here is our situation. I have three daughters, ages 5 to 9-years old. I took French throughout high school and college, and while I'm certainly not fluent, I am more comfortable with French vocabulary and verb conjugation than any other second language. I only took one semester of Spanish in college. However! My husband is Cuban, and his entire family speaks Spanish fluently. That said, DH's parents spoke mostly English as he was growing up at home, and since he hasn't lived in Miami for many years, he insists his Spanish-speaking skills are weak. (So I cannot seem to convince him to do immersion weekends with us!) We live in the opposite corner of the U.S. from DH's family, so we rarely see them in person. But, knowing that my daughters have this Latin heritage, should we choose Spanish first? Instead of the language I'm more comfortable with??

This is lovely, thank you. I really like the way you described everything because I have been feeling overwhelmed!

Sorry, Tess, I clarified just a bit up above.

Great suggestions! Sorry, 3 ladybugs -- the situation is such that my husband will be flying back and forth between the west and east coasts for most of the year. The children and I will be heading to the west coast soon, however, with my husband's travel, we are anticipating a fairly long (6 months'ish?) stay in temporary housing. I just don't know what we're going to have access to in our supplies, etc. Yet, we are due to start our new school year very soon!

For a family about to move to a new state at the same time they are ready to begin a new school year . . . what 2nd-3rd grade resources would you recommend? In addition, one parent will be traveling, possibly significantly, during a large part of 2016. What would be easily accessible (not online), allow for some independent work by the student, and still be fun and engaging?

So, silver, do you plan it out using unit studies? Or do you follow a curriculum and just break it into chunks?

Ditto to this. My children are all so young, I'm planning on keeping our science and history studies very much focused on fun for this year. I want to do things that I know interest them, so I'm trying to stockpile ideas for unit studies. My hope is to do: science for 3 weeks history for 3 weeks 1 week off (from all of "school") science for 3 weeks health for 3 weeks 1 week off repeat the whole cycle. Purposely extra rotations in science because I know that's their interest right now. Art 1x/week.

It seems like the last-minute deals happen on stuff like this all the time. I hate to admit it, but I totally saw this coming. And I still bought my bundle early over the weekend. Gah! I agree -- it makes me not want to support things like this anymore.

Does anyone know if the American Girl history curriculum is usually included? I really don't need it until next year.

We really like the looks of HAS! I see it at HSBC right now, but is it always there? I'd like to buy it later this summer.

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I definitely see myself reconstructing some bits. I'm currently intrigued by the idea of block scheduling for 12 weeks at a go. So I'd need to completely rearrange the history reading/projects to fit into a 12-week window. I *think* that would work, especially because the choppiness of the history assigned in the IG doesn't particularly appeal to me as written.

Texasmama, it's not the money as much as it is my sanity. I worry about feeling adrift without the IG, and I worry about feeling boxed-in with the IG. I like keeping things challenging. ;)

I've looked at all the samples, and I still can't decide. If I put together my own reading list, can I manage the schedule, discussions, vocabulary, etc. on my own? I am not buying the LA -- I'm only interested in the BKSK Reading with History package. (Readers, read-alouds, and history books with the instructor's guide mapping it all out.)

Okay, my husband and I are about to sit down with the laptop to review many of these programs together. Jackie, something you said got me thinking more about what I am looking for. You're right -- I'm not sure if RS is what I'm after either. Which makes no sense to me, considering the number of raves I read about it! I can't quite put my finger on it . . . Anyway, I've tried picturing what I do want. This is what I imagine as ideal -- my daughter and I can sit down, for awhile, and do lessons together. She, based on what she is learning, is able to make connections and move forward on her own after that. Like, we work on concepts together, but then she can take that knowledge and run with it. I don't want her to be 100% reliant on me for every piece of information she uncovers. Does that make sense? Does that help at all with what would be a good fit for ME?

Thanks for holding my hand, everyone. Clearly, I have lots to think about. I do believe my oldest will probably thrive with any program we use, so approaching the issue while thinking about my own strengths is great advice. I thought this morning about my middle daughter, who is very much a tactile learner, and thinking about her eventual needs makes me lean more toward RightStart. But I have a big order I need to place at Rainbow Resource anyway, and I think that, with the cost being so low, I'm going to toss Strayer-Upton into my cart so my oldest and I can have a go at it this summer. I've come across the idea of trust (trusting that our kids will be okay, IT WILL ALL BE OKAY) twice already through my reading this morning, and I think that's the universe speaking to me.

Oh, goodness, dauphin you just described us to a T. I have thought about this issue, but I don't know what to do about it. I do think my daughter tends to just skip over words she doesn't know, and that concerns me. But all the phonics programs I've glanced at seem way too basic for her now. Any suggestions? I am pretty content with our LA plans, but I don't have any phonics work specially included.

Yes, Sweetpea, I agree about the exploration. But I'm sure I sound like I'm contradicting myself because I also said I wanted no frills. Gah! I've read so many glowing reviews about BA, I've thought a lot about using something briefly for a year or two and then switching over. If we did that, I wonder what would be a good lead-in? But then I suppose I'm complicating things -- as my husband keeps saying, "Just worry about this year!" :)

I did like the MUS homeschool DVD I requested. I thought it made sense the way he presented the lessons. Hmmmm. Can anyone compare RS with MUS? Completely different approach? Or just more bells and whistles with RS?

Excellent points. No, I couldn't care less about standardized test scores. I just want to keep our studies enjoyable and productive. I would be heatbroken to crush her eagerness to "do math."