Homeschool curriculum quandry?

Although we have been homeschooling for three years, I'm still unsure about each curriculum and wheither or not it's the best. We've used ACE, Life Pac, and most currently Abeka. Now out of those I like Abeka the best. This year though I've entertained the idea of doing it all on my own and go with used textbooks. I started our second school year doing this and enjoyed it but my husband decided I was working too hard. I missed all the hands on it forced me to do and most of the canned-curriculum I've been using has been very structured. Now structure isn't all that bad but I miss the kids excitement of learning.

During this summer, between baseball practice and everyday life, I've tried to keep the kids learning in some form or fashion. I made the kids a reading list and told them to pick at least one book from that list everytime we went to the library and then they could read a book of their choice. We made reading boxes to keep up with each book they read and what they liked or disliked about it. Each box is just one of those small file boxes (receipe box) that holds 3 x 5 index cards. We bought clear ones and I let the kiddos decorate their own box. We then use the index cards to write the title of the book at the top followed by the author and the date (month/year) in which they read that book. At the bottom they are to write whether they liked or disliked the book and why. We then file them by the author's last name. I'm ready for them to pull this box out in a year and flip through the entries, which will help them to remember the books. It will be fun to see what their interests is next year or two years from now.

They both have a love for reading but lately Cade's reading has taken a backseat to baseball. I, on the other hand, am and avid reader. I read just about anything. I'll post again about my book list.

If you have any ideas about a curriculum I should use or any fun ideas to help my kids learn I'd love to hear it. I know that some things can be costly to do but I've found that even the simplest and most inexpensive things can leave the best mark on kids.

Let me know any ideas you have!