I’m going to be homeschooling my three youngest this coming year. Which, quite frankly, is a shock to me. When I hung up my homeschooling yoke four years ago I never thought I would take it up again. But, here we are. 2020, the year of never say never.
I’m going to be homeschooling 1st grade, 6th grade, and 8th grade. My oldest is in high school and is taking several AP Classes and Lab Science and will be attending school.
All summer long I have been preparing my middle two (and myself) that we might end up homeschooling. Last week the other shoe dropped and we started making plans.
Homeschooling middle school. A daunting prospect.
I’m going to keep a record here of what we’ve decided to do and a rundown of how it is going and hopefully what we thought of the curriculum. Right now I am in the frantically reading and researching phase. My right hand woman has been Cathy Duffy’s Reviews an amazing site with reviews on hundreds of homeschool materials including: amount of parental involvement, grade level, religious perspective, suitable for (homeschool co-op, independent study), etc.
I have also found a number of great websites that I am researching fully and fretting over. I know, from past experience, that I have a tendency to over commit on curriculum. I overestimate my own enthusiasm, my kids’ enthusiasm, the amount of time available, what needs to be covered, and the energy needed to sustain the whole thing. Knowing that, I am trying to be reasonable and cover the bases. Then, once the whole thing is in motion I can add if I see a place where extra is needed.
Are you homeschooling this year? Or have you ever? What is your favorite curriculum?