There were (and are) a surprising number of curricula on-line, many of them published by different state educational departments. We chose the New Jersey C.O.R.E. Curriculum (link) for Chris because it was familiar to us and would provide a map for a well-rounded education.

I found many invaluable on-line resources for home schooling. Of special importance was an appreciation of a home schooling parent's legal rights. The Home School Legal Defense Association (link) provided a wealth of information.

Equally valuable was Donna Young's Home School Web Site (link) where she dispatched the kind of advice that made the task seem much less daunting.

The subject area listed below came from the World Book On-Line (link). It was gratifying to see such information so readily available, especially for a home school newbie like me!

It is simplistic to say that families who choose home schooling do so for religious reasons. Quite the contrary. In our case home schooling was the only option, but it proved in the end to be the best option. Home schooling allowed for much greater flexibility and a one-to-one learning environment. Clear educational goal and guidelines, often in the form of well designed curriculum, was the key to a meaningful learning experience.

We were not be able to explore all the subjects listed below in one school year. (But we sure tried!) What was important was to use our exploration as a means to hone critical thinking, communication, mathematical, and personal development skills.

· Global and regional studies
· Countries and their cultures
· Native American cultures
· The Roman Empire
· International trade
· Milestones in human achievement

· Transportation and communication
· World trade
· Citizenship and social responsibility
· World geography
· Map and globe skills

· Classification of living things
· Ecosystems
· Ecology and the environment
· Microbes
· Algae and fungi
· Human body
· Food for growth and energy
· Climate and weather
· Recycling of resources
· Elementary geology
· Oceans
· Electric and magnetic interactions

· Electricity and its uses
· Sound, light, and heat
· Nuclear energy and radioactivity
· Solar and geothermal energy
· Conservation
· Elements and compounds
· Universe
· Simple astronomy
· Space and space travel
· Scientific theory
· Inventions and discoveries

· Personal appearance
· Dental health
· Health maintenance
· Our food supply
· Exercise and fitness
· Cure and prevention of common diseases
· The heart
· Accident prevention

· Safety and first aid
· The health professions
· Understanding emotions
· Coping with stress and anxiety
· Preparing for puberty
· Human reproduction
· Substance abuse

· Reading silently and skimming
· Critical reading skills
· Introduction to mythology
· Types of literature
· Lyric, narrative, dramatic poetry
· Listening skills
· Nonverbal communication
· Extending dictionary skills
· Vocabulary building
· Homonyms, synonyms, antonyms
· Using roots, prefixes, and suffixes
· Spelling

· Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb
· Sentence structure
· Diagramming sentences
· Cursive handwriting
· Types of writing: narration, exposition, persuasion
· Simple note taking
· Writing outlines, letters, reports, verse, prose.
· Bibliography building
· Organization of a book
· Using reference books and indexes
· Using on-line information services,
· CD-ROM's, and other electronic reference materials

· Exponents
· Operation of powers
· Set of the integers
· Factoring
· Operations with denominate numbers
· Multiplying and dividing fractions
· Common and decimal fractions
· Problems in percent
· Use of calculators and computers

· Identification, and construction of geometric figures
· Identification and measurement of angles
· Concepts of similarity, congruence, and symmetry
· Scale drawings
· Customary and metric measurement
· Problem analysis
· Interpreting graphs
· Concepts of averaging and sampling