Hi Everyone! I am a stay at home mom to an 18 month old daughter and an 8 year old son. I'm considering homeschooling my son (he's currently in 3rd grade). My son currently attends public school (APS), but I'm just not happy with the education he's getting -- or shall I say the lack of education. I'm seriously considering homeschooling him, and this site seems like a wonderful resource. I'm hoping I can get some recommendations on an AFFORDABLE curriculum (preferably secular), I've been browsing around curriculum, and wow! it can get really pricey.
Anyway-- this is a great site, and I'm looking forward to making some new friends!

Hello!

Since I'm up too, I thought I'd just say hi!  There are several other people in the group who just this school year pulled a child out to home school, so hopefully they will see this thread soon.  I just really wanted to say hi and welcome.  Feel free to stop by a park day (although I haven't been in ages).  It's a great way to talk to everyone and get a feel for the whole thing.  Welcome!

Hi. I have been homeschooling my almost 8 yr old his whole life. I really wanted a curriculum to start, and yes, they get pricey. I used Calvert, as it seemed pretty all inclusive, and it has been. We have used the materials for K-1 for almost four years, as parts of it (writing, spelling and some social type studies) were not used right away, stretched out, etc. I liked having it all there for me, so I  didn't have to create it. It has daily lesson plans if you like. I rarely used these, as we have not been as structured in our day. I figured the $700 or so I was spending worked out over time. (They do have a financial aid pgm, by the way).

That said, we have not been using it so much this year, as I have found more of our niche, found more websites and other resources. I also just re read the info on the state ed site about homeschooling, and your local school can allow you to use their text books. I am going to try that this next year, where I feel I need a text book. I have also found great used textbooks on freecycle. I am always looking, so tend to find things. Recently I have started using softschools.com for math fun, edhelper.com for lots of stuff (some is free, others require a $20/yr membership. National Geo, museums across the world, NASA, etc all have great kid friendly things as well.

Good luck! Hope to meet you at a park day soon.

Kim

Hello!

I have very recently been looking into the Robinson curriculum (you can google for info).  It is a one-time approx. $200 investment which includes a set of 22 CD's that include curriculum for 12 years and can be used for all kids in the family.  All the resources needed (except for Math) can be printed from the CD's or checked out from the library.  I have not used it yet, so I don't have any personal experience with it, but I have heard good things about it.  It was put together by a Christian family, but my understanding is that the curriculum itself is not religion based and does not contain bible study, although I think I read that there is a copy of the bible included on one of the CD's as a reference resource.

I am curious, does anyone else on this forum have any experience with this curriculum?