Books

This is my favorite time of year for schooling. There is nothing like the excitement and potential of going through catalogs and picking out what you get to learn next semester. It doesn't matter if it's a homeschool catalog of books and curricula or if it's a course list from the online school, or a course catalog from a traditional school. The mere thought of the potential of each course thrills me to my soul.

One thing I have noticed this year, the options I'm considering are a lot more expensive than in previous years. When I first began homeschooling in 1992, there weren't a lot of curriculum options. (granted, it was the first grade. How much does one really need to teach an inquisitive child reading and basic math?) I think my total homeschool budget was significantly under $100. By the time we switched to virtual schools (2004) my homeschool budget was over $1500. I was purchasing AP curriculum through Apex Learning and Stanford EPGY. Both were good, but I never felt like my daughter got $1500 worth of learn from these courses. There wasn't enough interaction between herself and the teachers to justify the price. My total cost for this years curriculum will be around the $1500 mark again this year. The bulk of this is for one course with Pennsylvania Home School Association (AP Literature) and one course with Thinkwell (Calculus)

The cost of this endeavor has me questioning my decisions again. If I kept my daughter in iForward, these courses would have been free. She would have had not only the access to the knowledge taught, but teachers to help her through the material, hold her accountable for homework, provide feedback on her work. Fortunately, I am saved from regret by remembering that the language teacher last year never once gave her feedback nor held her accountable for homework.

The books have come - Dickens, Chaucer, The History of Ancient China, Oxford Latin, Shakespeare. I can't wait for a chance to begin.