[jenny_islander]

For Year 0, the curriculum is easy to apply and extremely simple; you can drop the lessons in whenever your daily schedule permits. Your biggest expense will probably be language instruction materials if you don't speak a second language already. Living books can be purchased used or read online for free if you don't mind reading off the computer. You may or may not want a reading or writing instruction book depending on how ready your child is to read or do copywork. Much of the recommended "coursework" for this year is best done outdoors, so a nature handbook geared to your area is a good idea. Because the weather is apt to cause hypothermia or frostbite for so much of the year, I also signed Sophia up for ballet on the assumption that anybody that crazy about Angelina Ballerina and tutus might like to do it for real. She had her first recital a few weeks ago and looks forward to taking the classes up again in the fall. This should take care of her large motor skills when the weather allows for going from building to building, but not for hanging out in the park on the way. You may need to do the same, or not.

Curricula for the lower grades are very relaxed, not quite as close to unschooling as "Year 0," but not nearly as structured or busy as public school. I have been told that daily tracking and scheduling become ever more important as you move up the grades. However, a structured lesson plan is not as important as in many other methods of education because you don't have to present things point by point. The student is expected to draw out the points himself or herself by reading the ideas presented in context, hence the long lists of non-textbooks in each year. Because you are expected to critique recitation, though, it's a good idea to have read the selections yourself already! The amount of pre-prep and planning needed for science, math, and foreign languages will depend on the curricula you buy.