It's not a bad thing that it emphasizes language arts.

I wouldn't worry about it taking too much time.  Just forge ahead and don't worry if they don't do all the busy work.

I'm fairly sure any conventional homeschooling plan will replicate school curricula more than is needed.

The ideal situation is an educated parent who doesn't need an organized curriculum to teach his children.

However, if you are in a situation where you feel you need the guidance of such a program, then it's best to follow it but not worry about the excessive work.  

I'm fairly sure any conventional homeschooling plan will replicate school curricula more than is needed.

The ideal situation is an educated parent who doesn't need an organized curriculum to teach his children.

However, if you are in a situation where you feel you need the guidance of such a program, then it's best to follow it but not worry about the excessive work.  

You absolutely need an organized plan. Teaching manuals are very helpful. We found OLVS had some good materials but very unorganized. Seton is much better organized.

There are a myriad of old textbooks on the internet for free.

I really don't see what is so complicated about homeschooling, and why a course plan is necessary.

Once a child can read, calculate, and write with adequate penmanship, there are no serious obstacles to advancement.

whether it's history, geography, geology, biology, astonomy, chemistry, physics, algebra, geometry, calculus, grammar, composition and literature.  

Really there is nothing to it.

There are tests of basic skills that can be administered to see if the child is progressing at a good pace.

I really don't see what's so complicated.

It's not as though elementary school teachers are more knowledgeable than the average trad parent.

It's not that easy to teach a subject properly. It requires a plan. Most people will need this guide to be successful.

I use Seton myself. Their English program is a little intense, especially for the Grade 1 level. My oldest is in Gr. 7, and gets through their program with some struggle (to tell you the truth-I struggle with him a bit too!)

The only thing about not having a structured curriculum is, how do you get children their accreditation if you don't enroll them (for high school, I mean)? Anyone have some advice? I understand about buying books different from the suggested ones and dividing it up into so many lessons a week (I do that) - not hard. But you can't really do that with them being enrolled...I would burnout!

What is VIE?

 Voyages In English

The only thing about not having a structured curriculum is, how do you get c!

What is the accreditation for? College, military or work?

Most homeschoolers I know attend the community college during high school.

I know two women who finished 10th grade then took their GED when they were 18 and 20. Their younger siblings completed 4 years of high school and had a teacher evaluation every year to meet the school district requirements.

Here the community college requires a placement test, mom transcript, and a teacher evaluation (A teacher evaluation is required for homeschoolers every year and turned into the district.)

HSLDA has information on the military. I know they helped make changes to where they no longer have to take the GED. I've also seen HSLDA help where a place of employment rejected a homeschooler's graduation from high school.

I would check your local school district to see if they have high school graduation requirements for homeschoolers.