My first attempts at "planning"....

WWW.TheTeachersCorner.net is NEAT. There are printable worksheets that will design quizzes and word scrambles, basic knowledge checking info that they have available or information that I want to use from my own study units.

Since Justin really wanted to start on the Solar System (he loves space, but didn't feel like they got to do enough on it in school), I included a match and find, using the information from the library books I checked out on the solar system. Everything he needs to know for the worksheet is right there in the book. He just needs to find it. I'm hoping that these worksheets will help him transition into a homeschooling frame of mind a bit easier than just being all loose and unstructured. I am definitely for a looser teaching style, but think he is a child that needs help with focus and goals. Probably more of a Montessori style, with saying "by the end of this time period, you should have accomplished A, B, and C. Do them in whatever order or speed you need, but keep on task!"

I've also laid out a tentative plan for ways to incorporate spelling and math into the solar system unit. We're going to make a to-scale model of the system, with interesting information about each planet. He will be allowed to make the planets out of whatever medium he wants and we'll use our math skills to figure out how big each planet should be in centimeters or inches based upon the measurements in our space books.

I've also thumbed through the Webelos Cub Scout book and am loving the idea of dual accomplishments! When I showed Justin how we could utilize most of the requirements for the achievements in the handbook, he was pretty intrigued (well, as intrigued as a 10 year can get when his mom shoves a book in his face while he's playing army men...).

I am reading a book from the library titled "The First Year of Homschooling Your Child" by Linda Dobson. Easy to read. Very empowering. Makes me feel as though I truly am able to pull this off!