Cautiously approaching second year of homeschooling

[msquire80]

Hello. We are getting close to starting our second year of homeschooling and I am so thankful to have found The Well Trained Mind. Our first year was AWFUL. Everyone kept saying if a curriculum is not working then drop it immediately and start another one. Well we did that with three different curriculums and still did not find one that worked. After reading The Well Trained Mind I am hopeful that we have finally found something that might fit. I am cautious, though. I am not a big planner and am worried that I will struggle through planning out all the different books that we need. I did a pre-planned curriculum last year and while I LOVED having everything planned out; the curriculum was not a fit. I am sure I will be posting a lot of questions while I try to maneuver my way through our curriculum.

[americastamps]

I have never been able to find one prepackaged curriculum that had everything I wanted. I definitely pieced things together that I liked so I could get it just right. It took as a while at first. I bought a bunch of used curriculum and figured things out by trial and error. Of course, I still have to sell all that used curriculum that I first acquired when I was so new. I just had no idea, and the only way to figure it out was to get it physically in my hands instead of relying on reviews etc.

If you know anyone in your local area also homeschooling, taking a look at various curricula in person before getting started is a great way to learn what will be useful to your particular situation.

 

Erica

[Laurel-in-CA]

The closest I've ever come with pre-packaged was Sonlight. By now, on kid #4, I feel free to pick & choose for each subject what works for each kid. It's a bit crazy to try & do that @ the beginning though; you're smart to ease into it and ask lots of questions. Find a local park day and ask the moms there what they use & why and if you can look @ it. Big help!!!