writing my own homeschool curriculum

Question:
I wonder if I'm going about this the hard way. I started writing my own homeschool curriculum, without even looking at the books available. I wonder now if I am re-inventing the wheel.

My daughter is at multiple levels in each area, and I wonder if a purchased curriculum would stimulate her enough, or discourage her in areas where she is less proficient. I had planned to teach her very practical math, then mathemagics (algebra and higher) after she mastered the basics. Is there a really good math curriculum? Or will practicality be the best way to go? (Money, measurement, groceries, carpeting, sewing, tent-making, etc)

Also, I have noticed, she is actually learning the stuff on the curriculum now, as opposed to waiting until August, so I will have to revise even my own.

Is foreign language appropriate at age 6? She's starting to become bi-lingual. (We started with French for some unaccountable reason. Perhaps because I was semi-fluent in it at 7 myself. It's currently the weakest of the 4 I speak)

I have compartmentalized the sciences to make things easier. Right now, we're explaining genetics because she's having a series of tests for a neurological disorder.

Any suggestions on teaching history at this age, other than just reading? (Already had to explain Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth and the Civil War when explaining the phrase "His name is mud.") We do historical re-enactment, so she is learning some things there. (Unfortunately, it's Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but oh well....)

The concept of intergrated curriculum: Read a recipe in Middle English, translate to modern, experiment until it's palatable, and serve it.

Is that a viable way of doing things?

Answer:
-I've been writing my own curriculum each of the three years we've been homeschooling. You can check out my work on my web page listed below in my sig. I figured since I did all that work, I'd share it with others. Actually what I have posted on my web page is what I start with when I put together my daughter's curriculum. I researched what is commonly taught at different grade levels. Then I edit these to put my daughter's together as she is at different levels in some subjects.

There are a ton of curriculum pages available throughout the web that you can find. I'm going to put some of them together in a list and add it to my pages. Right now the only link I have is to World Book's lists.

The best place to start is with whatever level your child is at now. Then add what you think are the most important subjects. After that add what your child wants to learn. The best thing about home education is that your child can proceed at whatever pace is right for them. For us it means that our daughter is studying 2nd grade spelling and 4th grade math while her same-age peers are in 2nd grade.

I envy your ability to teach languages. I'm a typical monolingual American trying to learn Spanish with my daughter. It isn't easy.

-time for a spanking I think (A spanking! A spanking!) Yeah, my kids learned from Monty Python, as well. Especially the part about "and in the cold of winter they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels. And there was much rejoicing! Anyway, What we've tried to do with history and social studies, is first introduce broad concepts, such as where we live (country, state, county, city, street, house,. In other words, we live in America, in the state of Tennessee, in Hamilton County, in Chattanooga, on 5704 Moody Sawyer Road.) Then we talk about our flag and other symbols of our country, then we talk about the history of our country, beginning with the Pilgrims. I don't recommend an extensive history with dates and everything until about fourth grade, because it can be sort of confusing. However, kids love to learn about Native Americans, Pilgrims, the Revolutionary and Civil War, and other high points of history. They also like to learn about mummies, knights in shining armor, and the Titanic. Let your child lead you in this, and they'll learn it. This is a good time to introduce good historical books, like the Little House series, the American Girl series, legends of King Arthur, and biographies of Famous Americans.

Sure, but you're a braver soul than I am. I don't think i could stomach barley gruel, no matter how you fixed it! I see no need whatsoever for formal reading curriculum, using readers, workbooks, etc. Let your child read lots of different things. In first grade, we just read things like Dr. Suess, Maurice Sendak, and whatever we could get from the church library. In second grade we read the Ramona Books. In Third grade, Charlotte's Web and other classics. In Fourth Grade, the American Girl Series. We do some vocabulary work now that she's older, and have a test at the end of a book, but it's not cut and dried like basal readers are.