I have had a comment on this, not the first believe me! :-) .  So, I thought I'd elaborate more.  First off, to be perfectly clear..I don't use any curriculum that is protestant based.  I don't use ABEKA, Bob Jones, Alpha-Omega, or any of those.  We are Roman Catholic and any resources I choose are pulled from curriculums that are Catholic based.  I don't wish to debate protestant vs Catholic...it's just a statement...please leave it at that.

Well! That being said..the concern for most people is how are the kids going to learn their math, science, etc.  I do wish people would stop trying to force feed textbooks to kids and trust that they really do know how to follow their intincts!  We have made sure that the kids have a solid foundation in Math..they can add, subtract, multilpy, divide, borrow, carry, add money, move decimals, figure area, circumference, add fractions, measure, estimate, and more.  How did they learn it?  What curriculum did we use?  Well, I have to be honest.  We do have Modern Curriculum Press math workbooks on the shelf that we occasionally pull out and use..but only when they are having problems with a particular concept.  The rest of the time...we use life!  Don't you know we are surrounded by Math, Science, language and history!  We use it in some form everyday. 

Another thing I might add here:  I don't base our success solely upon those test scores!  They simply confirmed what we already knew!  We see the intellegence and inquisitive nature of both kids on a regulur, daily basis.  No, daily lessons are not important in building excellence..they are good for busy work...keeping them quiet, etc. 

Take life by the horns and jump in with both feet!  LOL!  Look around you!  Do you want your child to really, really learn?  To learn to think, act, and build on mistakes? 

Or do you want your child to memorize, repeat, and follow?  Make them conform? 

 I don't...We encourage our children everyday to be themselves...however quirky or oddball that may be!  :-)  We don't follow fashion dictates, peer pressure, or the Jones!  LOL! 

They ask a question?  We look it up in one of 3 sets of encyclopedias (or look it up in all three sets..they do all give different variations).  We research it on the internet.  We find books in the library..they do love the library!  We explore the question until they are satisfied...which usually takes a while.  Pick a topic..they've probably at least studied a little about it!  Columbus, Native Americans, Roman Catholics, the Reformation, Jacques Cousteau, Iceland, Europe, the ocean floors, sea urchins, the Amazon, the Kalahara desert, Austraila, the rain forests, Pine beetles, the correct way to build a deck, the hardness of an Ash tree..and why they make baseball bats out of them.  How to make baseball bats and balls, how to make tennis rackets, and balls.  Different breeds of cats and dogs..all about Beta fish.  how to grow potatoes, onions, calla lilies, canna lilies, iris, moonflowers, english and boston ivy, multilply types of lilies (Megan is a big fan of lilies). How to cook on a wood stove, how to wash on a rub board, how to make soap, how a mirror reflects, why you use baking powder and baking soda, different uses for both..besides cooking.  The different uses for vinegar.  The list could go on forever! 

Megan learned to add fractions before she could hardly write..because she wanted to learn to cook.  The kitchen is an excellent classroom!  It covers math, reading and science, as well as history!  The garden covers math and science.  My sewing studio covers math, history, home ec skills (almost a lost art these days) and ethics.  Our trips to town cover math, science, government, economics, social skills, reading, and attention to detail. 

History doesn't have to come from a boring textbook written to shove things down a child's throat!  History is a living breathing thing...we have lived it, our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents..etc.  It's all around us.  We have history in our town, our buildings, our church, our state..our families, our lives.  Megan has read every book in the Dear America series she can find.  She has read every single American Girl series as well.  They love books on electricity (especially Mitchell) and magnetism. 

Oh, I could go on....but I don't have time.  The point is that they are learning everything they need to know..are they learning it in the same order that the public schools teach it?  NO!  We don't attend public schools...for many reasons. 

I do have Catholic Heritage Curriculum guides that give me an idea of what they should have learned in their basic skills...so far, they have always covered those things plus much more! 

I don't believe that you have to have a set curriculum to teach your children and I don't believe that they will be lacking if you don't.  What I do believe is that children are naturally curious and if allowed to fully explore their interests, they will grow up to be very good at what they do, and that they will be happy!  I want my children to love life and learning, not dread each day of work or school! 

The bottom line?  I have Faith in my Kids and in my ability as a mother and a teacher!  I know that a child that is firm in her/his religious faith, family love and is physically healthy and provided with plenty of intellectual stimuli, will grow up to be a happy, faith filled, healthy intelligent adult that will raise the same kind of children!  :-)

God Bless!