Curriculum!!! What to pick?!?!?!

Once I decided that I was going to home school A this year I then had the huge task of figuring out what I was going to teach her.  I taught 4 year olds for a number of years so I have a pretty good idea what she needs to know going into Kindergarten.  But I really was not up to the task of putting together an entire year program with no outside help.  It just seemed to overwhelming and I knew that I would never be able to stick to it.  So I started looking for home school curriculum for pre-k.

The problem is when you Google for home school curriculum for pre-k you get a TON of options.  So what should I chose?  What was important to me to teach her?  What would she like?  What was cost effective?  Where do I even begin?!?!!  These were important questions to me as a mom and as her now "teacher".  I didn't and don't want to be the reason she does not have a great foundation for school.  I sadly taught kids like that and I didn't want my child to suffer.

A few people that I serve with at church home school their children so I went to them for advice.  Especially one that I fully trust will put me on the right path in this new adventure.  She did not start homeschooling her children until the were in 2nd grade or so.  She didn't have any personal experience that I could pull from for teaching a 4 year old.  But she did know people that had taught pre-k to their kids.  She recommended 2 different "brands" or programs.  The 1st was Abeka and the 2nd was Sonlight.  I had already been looking into both of these programs.  She told me that a lot of her friends that home school their little ones use Sonlight.  So I thought I would check into that even more :)

I had heard of Abeka before and know that a lot of people use it.  But I had a really hard time figuring out what I would even need to order to use the program.  There was no here this is what you should buy or here is a started kit.  They have 109 products listed just for 4 year olds!!  It was very overwhelming and confusing.  Their FAQ really was no help :(  I really wanted to like Abeka and chose it but I just couldn't.

I had already been looking into Sonlight.  I actually even looked at it LAST year before sending A to 3 year old preschool.  But last year I decided to send her instead of home school her.  This year was going to be different :)  Sonlight made everything super easy to figure out.  Especially for preschool and pre-k.  The "Cores" are broken down by age and once you go into your core it is super easy to pick what you need and want.  For pre-k it is super easy because they only have 1 package you can get :)  Everything is included that you need to teach for the whole year!  Their FAQ area was very helpful, as well as their advisers that you can chat with online.  They even have Forums where you can chat with other moms.

Sonlight made the whole idea of homeschooling a lot easier for me.  I decided to go with Sonlight because it answered all of my questions just they way I wanted a curriculum too :)     

• What should I chose?  A curriculum that I feel I could teach her!  One that she will like and be interested in :) 
• What was important to me to teach her?  I want her to have a well rounded foundation.  It has to have a Bible curriculum included.   
• What would she like?  Something that has wonderful books that she has not already read and something that can keep her attention! 
• What was cost effective?  Since everything was included it was reasonable.  Not sure cheap but not super expensive $339 for the preschool curriculum (I added extras to it but you can see what and why in the Box Day post).  But I could do a payment plan to spread out the cost :) 
• Where do I even begin?!?!!  Open up the lesson plans and pull out the books :)  Everything is already done!

I had found my curriculum and I am super excited about it!