The Search for Curriculum

Choosing Curriculum has been quite a challenge for me. I'm not one to settle for the first one I see. I haven't seen any boxed curriculum packages that suit me to a T. I doubt I ever will. The closest one for me is My Father's World which I am using for kindergarten this fall. I have entertained the thought of just creating my own unit studies as we go, but that scares me. I find a certain level of comfort in just being told what to do, but in all honesty, as my parents could attest to, I don't often do as I am told. I have my own ideas and tend to follow them as soon as I get the hang of things. That fact about myself has helped me to rule out Tapestry of Grace as it is too much of a commitment to buy something for the whole 12 years. I know I won't stick with it.
I will be educating myself further on the creation of unit studies in effort to make myself feel more comfortable with it. My guess is, that's the way I will go. I would love it if their were more unit studies already put together out there, but instead, I have found many resources to teach me how to make my own.
I know this:
I love Lapbooks.
I love Unit Studies.
I love a chronological approach to history.
I love science and hands on exploration.
I love saving money by using all the freebies available online.
I want to teach the following subjects through elementary school:
History
Social Studies
Geography
English and literature
Reading
Bible
Math
Science and health
Spanish
Music and arts
Physical Education
So now I will just have to figure out how I will fulfill each of these over the years to come. So many possibilities, so little time.
I think that daily, I will try to post one thing I learned today at least. That way I can refer back to it. And who knows, maybe some day I'll write a book. :-)
The one thing I have learned today, is focus on the goals, not the schedule. If they have already figured it out, don't bother with the rest of the worksheets or activities if they aren't learning anything new. Just because it's scheduled doesn't mean it's necessary. Otherwise, you cause burn out for no reason.