Homeschoolers in here please...

[Still_Tbog]

I have pretty much decided I will be homeschooling my three this next school year. I am totally overwhelmed by the curriculum choices, and I was wondering if any of you have homeschool boards, swap boards, etc that you go to? I have found a couple good ones, but I am looking for as many resources to research as I can.

TIA!

[EmmaGirlsMilk]

I really like homeschoolreviews.com (http://www.homeschoolreviews.com). I have bought and sold on the swap boards with no problems.

[Sashahomeschoolmama]

I lurk at the Latin-Centered Curriculum and The Well-Trained Mind message boards from time to time.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Tbog, how old are your kids?

[Still_Tbog]

Almost 6, 12 and 16.

Oddly enough, the easiest one to plan for has been the 12 yr old.

My youngest was VERY bored in K and I have a feeling she is going to be with 1st grade curriculum as well. She devours knowledge and its really hard to keep her challenged at her grade level. She was figuring out multiplication at the beginning of Kindergarten, lol.

My 16 yr old did NOT take 10th grade seriously so he will be reviewing 10th grade curriculum before he moves on to 11th. His main issue is that he gets totally lost in a classroom. He has admitted that this will be better for him, because he learns better without a lot of distractions.

The 12 yr old wants so badly to do this, as he is an excellent student that is in a school that is full of kids who just dont care, or all they want to do is fight. He has sat with me for hours looking at lessons and books out there and has a good idea of what he wants to learn this year.

I am just trying to get a feel of what curriculums worked for others, as well as just seeing what other resources are out there for homeschoolers.

It is definetly scary going in to this, but I am SO looking forward to it.

[Still_Tbog]

I really like homeschoolreviews.com (http://www.homeschoolreviews.com). I have bought and sold on the swap boards with no problems.

This one seems to have a lot of good info...thanks! I have been ALL over the Well Trained Mind one, and have gotten a lot of ideas of the different curriculums from there.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I love the book The Well-Trained Mind. I pick and choose but use a lot from it.

[LiquidLove]

the well trained mind discussion boards would be a great place to ask questions with that sort of age range. They are located at http://www.welltraindmind.com and look for the forums area.

[kohlby]

How about taking an unschooling approach with your 6 year old? That way, she's not boxed into a certain curriculum or grade level. (Plus, it's cheap to unschool!) My 5 year old started figuring out multiplication last year, at only 4. I let him take the lead - which means that math and reading are on totally different grade levels. He has a Reader Rabbit computer game grade 1-2 math and he's able to do almost all of it, including adding three digit numbers. (Though I think he's on age level for his reading, which will be kindy next year). I do facilitate, but we go with what his interests are. That way, he's not bored, nor frustrated, and he's able to learn above and beyond what he could in a traditional setting. My DD started reading some words right before her second birthday, so I'm expecting an unschooling approach to also help her. (Though her focus is excellent. DS's focus can be a problem which is another reason why I'm homeschooling).

[Still_Tbog]

kohlby--He sounds a lot like dd. They did the SAT 10 test at the end of the year, which is basically like a standardized test for those that arent old enough for the FCAT. She was at 99% in Reading and 96% in Math. I will give her work that I think might stump her, and she gets it, lol. Today she wanted to work on adding two digit numbers. It ended up two hours later with her adding two and three 3-4 digit numbers together. I certainly dont want to stifle that.

I found this site: http://www.homeschoolspot.com/index.php and it has an excellent forum with links to printables and other resources. Dd has had me printing things off all morning, and now ds is working on Algebra stuff.