Hi! Waving from the schoolroom in our house! lol We're beginning our second year of homeschooling! Last year I homeschooled our 8th grader...thought we might butt heads a bit...but luckily for us I chose the right curriculum the FIRST time! Whew! I chose a computer based program which 1) works best for the way he thinks...he relates best to computer...versus book to paper ... and 2) the computer assigns the work so he can't say I'm a slave driver...it's that computer teacher that is. ha ha
We were so successful last year that I am going to be homeschooling his younger brother this year! So I have a 7th grader and a 9th grader this year. I also put the curriculum on laptops so we are mobile in case my mom needs help at her house...we just pack them up and the boys can work over there very easily. Everything stays in one place and nothing gets lost. lol I chose "Switched on Schoolhouse".
http://www.aop.com/homeschool/index....op&PID=1499915
They even have a sale on the curriculum for the next couple of days. My son really liked it because if he didn't feel like reading the lesson...he could push the button and it would read to him. It had a "highlighter" feature where he could highlight text and use it as a study guide. There are mini movies that he can watch over and over...and games to help with spelling and vocabulary.
My youngest wants to learn Spanish...so we chose the Rosetta Stone Homeschool edition...I checked out all the available Spanish curriculum at the fair...this was the best because of voice recognition. It's also a 2 year curriculum so don't let the price scare you off if you are interested in your child taking Spanish. Plus you can log in multiple people...I'm going to take it too! I took 5 years of Spanish but it's been many years. I also bought him Thomas Kinkade's DVD art program through AOP (link above).
I cannot believe how much closer we became this last year because of homeschooling! My child had been bullied in the middle school...and now his anxiety is gone...he is a HAPPY HAPPY child!
Do check into your local homeschooling groups...ours sends out a monthly pdf newsletter with all kinds of information that is going on in the area. That is how we found out about a really good deal on homeschool bowling and he met his best friend! We joined our homeschooling group for $45 which gives us free admittance to the curriculum fair in April...and gave us a $20 discount on the fee for Home School Legal Defense which helps you in case the school district or anyone challenges you on your homeschooling.
http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1
They also keep you updated on any pending legislation in your state and across the United States...as well as other countries.
I wish I had made this choice YEARS ago!