absolute newbie -- please give me recommendations

[2sunshines]

I have always been open to homeschooling, though at this point in our lives, we had 2 other wonderful options for my children's schooling.

I just found out this morning that our circumstances may be changing which may make homeschooling the best option for our kids.

Since it wasn't as vital before, I haven't even done any research or anything. :O

So help me. Where do I start? Any good recommendations on books or articles or websites?

My ds would be starting kindergarten in the fall. I assume I have to research curriculum and decide which route we want to go there. What else do I need to decide or research?

[Leslie]

You can take kindergarten really slow and informally, so, in reality, you have a year and a half to find out what to do. For kindergarten, you can just read some good books, teach numbers and writing the alphabet.

You might find out what your state requires and how much record-keeping you'll need to do. You can look it up here:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Region.htm
but your best bet is to find out from someone who's homeschooling in your area by looking for a homeschool support group in your local area.

To look into various homeschool approaches, you might start with one or more of these sites:
http://www.homeschool.com/Approaches/
http://people.howstuffworks.com/homeschool4.htm
http://www.homeschoollearning.com/approaches/
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Garden/4555/ahrd98/curriculum.html
http://www.schoolofabraham.com/approaches.htm

Once you have an approach narrowed down, you can better focus your research. There are people homeschooling here with all different styles, so if you ask a specific question, someone is bound to have an answer for you!

[ShangriLewis]

We have some great stickies to check out. Just look up :mrgreen

But, don't get overwhelmed. Homeschooling is such a journey. If you can find a support group in your area, it would really help.