My LO's love to learn by singing, so this looks great. I will add this to the library as well.

thansk for the sites. I will add them to the library.

With lesson pathways you have to more or less use the resources available to create your own curricula, this does take time. It is a great set of resources for you to pick and choose. But if you feel that it is to much for you and or to time consuming then please try www.abcmouse.com , there are others of course like www.hubbardscupboard.org and so on.

Here in KY cursive writing is a process, we start with block print, then slant print, then cursive, by grade 5 cursive writing is mastered and mandatory in most of the schools. You would not believe the children who use both cursive and print together. It is very hard to read. Maybe that is why they are confused about which style to use? Some say it doesn't matter, some say it does. However, I do believe that some children are better off with one or the other, and then sometimes there are some that can't even master either one, and that is where bingo markers come in handy and or stamps.
Thaks for all of the input.

Do you think cursive writing is important?
Do you teach cursive writing?
Does your public school enforce cursive writing?

Here are some websites to view...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/us/28cursive.html
http://blog.childandfamilydevelopment.com/blog/sensory-integration-through-play/why-cursive-writing-is-still-important
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-23-cursive-handwriting_N.htm

What do you think?

I don't believe that furthering your education as a homeschooling parent is a waste of time. I do hold a certificate from the mentioned course and it does serve me a great deal. I am a founder and homeschool co-op leader and with this professional certificate it helps me in this ministry even though in the US it isn't required it does help for those interested in starting their own co-op, homeschool group, etc. and if you are ever faced to have to go to court over your homeschooling your own children then this gives you a leg up in the court system or with social services. In KY there have been tons of families checked out by the local county school districts and even  went to court so the certificate will help in those cases for the positive.
I do offer a free homeschooling course if anyone is interested, And no it is not a scam, either one. yes some colleges and places of employment does accept my certification as well from this company. Even the public schools know that the children I teach will be taught the legal way and the correct way because I have this certification, and the children that return to 12th grade for social reasons all of their credits get accepted by the school because I hold this certification, when before they would not accept the credits as most don't in  my area.
It has helped me tremendously with the homeschool community in my area.
thank you all for the free links provided. I will check them out. I love free education.

Each child is different. I have worked with children who didn't want to read until 6 years old but then took off full force reading. Maybe the key is to find out about his day during preschool, what they are introducing? Some preschools are real good at introducing and teaching but not all. Maybe there is some reason why he isn't interested in reading just yet. Starting with flashcards or word walls of pictures and words, then go to picture texted books (these books have pictures in the middle of the sentence) also you need to find out what the child likes best, dinosaurs, animals, cars, etc, and go from there to create or design your curriculum for reading. Even though he goes to preschool you can still teach him the extra's at home without pushing him. I have had children who went to preschool all day and just colored so when the child come home the child didn't even want to see a crayon, the child would throw a crayon, or swipe the paper off of his/her desk, that gave me the hint that there was way to much coloring going on in the child's life.
Maybe if you slowly introduce word cards, flashards, that interest the child with the child's favorite charachter on them, use letter tiles or magnetic alphabet to start spelling the child's name then go from there with small words. www.starfall.com can be a big help as well. That is what I used with BK LR program, and my 4 year old can read and my 3 year old can read small words like milk, etc. we haven' t gotton to read an entire book yet but we are working on it. Also labeling things in the child's room and all over the house on items will help introduce more words.

It is that time again for those who do portfolios of their homeschooling child's year. I love this time but it can be nerve racking and time consuming so on that note the best way is to have a blog or a private website to keep everything in. Of course only school aged children may need a portfolio I also do them for my preschoolers and up as well because that helps me keep everyone on the same tack. Now I am not talking about the grade recording or attendance but a porfolio of the best work and or 5 writings in each subject that is kept in a binder, and tons more. Some states require these and some don't. Mine doesn't but I keep them anyway since I have taught in a public school I like to make sure that my homeschoolers are kind of doing the same as their fellow community peers.
Here are some websites that may help;
http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/portfolio.htm
http://thefrugalhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/08/creating-maintaining-and-presenting.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Creating,-Maintaining-and-Presenting-a-Homeschool-Portfolio&id=102223

If you need some ideas let me know and I will see if I can help.

thanks for the link. Will check it out.

thanks for letting us know.

As far as teaching other languages I believe it has to do with the child's ability, and the geographical area that you live in. We here in KY look around to our community and see what languages are being spoken and which ones are rising. That is how we determine which language to teach or offer. kat the companies and jobs that are avalialbe in your are and see what the owners, board, and staff are mostly speaking. I took latin just because I was going into the medical field. My homeschoolers take Spanish and Mandarin chinese, and Japanese, however, we have alot of Spanish speaking people here in KY. Remember even though someone else suggested a form of teaching it is really up to the child's ability. If your child is having trouble with one language then try another. Don't allow a curriculum to bind or set boundaries for your child's education when the curriculum may not be working for that individual child. Remember it is about the child aand not about setting a curriculum based on suggestions or requests.

Well here the schools do not allow homeschoolers to participate in any sports or any field trips with the public school, so please be sure to check with each school and the district.

http://www.homeschoolersguides.com/

Here is a link to a homeschooling guide for those who may need a little guidance when it ocmes to job counting, college, and so on. Check it out. It has seasonal guides, family vacation guides, and so on.

K-12 is not free in all states so be sure to check. I like using www.time4learning.com, www.abcmouse.com and www.lessonpathways.com If you have a child that is an audio learner and does well with videos, games, and interaction with the computer then yes, however if you have a child who is more hands on then you will need to back up the virtual school with a craft or lapbook or a supplement workbook like the ones for School SPeciality, Commprehensive Curriculum workbooks, they are around 20.00. I use virtual school for all of my students in one way or another less for some then others. Depends upon the child.

Believe it or not we help around 15 children now with learning challenges and disabilities homeschooling them. I like to find the right nik for each individual child to learn on their own pace at their own level instead of trying to match the so called criteria that the public schools recommend. Education is about teaching the child at his/her own level not just about core content. Learning the find the nik for your LO's is the key. I created a years worth of curricula with a dog theme, a car theme, and so on. I have created power point software for children who were parapalegic and so on. Getting to the root of your child's abilities and or disabilities is the kaey. Do not take anyone's words for it, no matter what your child is faced with they can learn one way or another. I have seen children who were as a vegetable learn and respond in their own ways. If there is a will there is a way to nurish the challenges and or diabillities.