Homeschooling: What to Teach?

There is a huge amount of homeschool curriculum out there, and it's beyond overwhelming. But with all the selection, it can be a good thing. That just means you are sure to find something that is a perfect fit for you and your child. When it comes to homeschooling you can spend hundreds or homeschool on a shoestring budget. It's totally up to you. For me, I did a bit of research, but in the end, used recommendations from other homeschoolers, and just tried it. The great thing is you can always change things up if you want to. For example, last year we used Saxon Math, but decided to try out Horizons Math this year, they both have their benefits, but my daughter seems to really love the workbook that comes with the Horizons Math curriculum.
The curriculum I've chosen to use over the years includes the following:

For Preschool:

We used The Letter of The Week, http://www.letteroftheweek.com/  This is a WONDERFUL free curriculum that can be printed out. I love all the fun ideas, especially the activities for the preschool and kindergarten years. I did a lesson about cats over 2 1/2 years ago, and my daughter will still talk about it anytime she sees a ball of yarn;)

For Kindergarten:

Handwriting Without Tears

Hooked on Phonics

Saxon Math

For 1st Grade:
Handwriting Without Tears

Hooked on Phonics

Horizon Math

Science- Living Learning Books
Hooked on Spanish

As you can see for the first few years, I really just focused on Reading, Writing and Math, and we get to experience the other subjects in different forms. For example, we have our homeschool co-op, where each mom will teach a specific subject each week and we rotate. I teach art, another teaches science, another literature/music, and of course we have to have our field trips for hands on experience;) We go on alot of field trips to the nature museum, and science center, I feel when the kids get to go to these places they really are engaged in the learning experience. I still remember the things I learned as a kid from going on field trips over what I learned in the classroom, it is a much more memorable learning experience.

So, if you are still wondering, "What curriculum should I use?" Here are a few good starting points:
A great site for homeschool curriculum reviews can be found here: http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/
This website has reviews from real people that have actually used the different kinds of curriculum.

If you're looking for more curriculum info. check out, "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum". This book offers alot of great information about different teaching styles as well as some great curriculum reviews. If you don't want to purchase it, check out your local library, they may carry it.

Plus, check out these other great free websites:

http://dtlk.com/

http://progressivephonics.com/

http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/