My favorite resource to share with newbies to homeschooling is the "Welcome to Homeschooling" guide from Time4Learning.  It's comprehensive without being overwhelming, and gives you also a good overview of their curriculum which we used for four years (until the kids aged out of it).  It was our favorite curriculum ever!!

Thank you so much Kerry!  I'm going to look at it now! :)

Woo hoo!  I use ABecka and Classical Conversations.  I wrote a blog post on Why I Homeschool.  You're going to find people asking you why a lot.  It helps to be ready with some answers.

Hey Esther!  I love your blog... can't wait to keep reading more. :) 

Kerry, do you use Time4Learning only or do you use it to supplement other stuff?  I love it and I'm definitely going to use it, but just wondered about adding handwriting and other work to go along with it.  Also, how much time does it usually take during the day for your kids to complete it?

for young kids, I really recommend using Five in a Row- it's gentle and will help you ease into the idea of homeschooling.

The book is set up for you to use award winning picture story books for 5 days, each day you do a different study with it- social studies, geography, math, art, etc.  It really is wonderful and you will make wonderful memories.  After that you will need something for math and something for reading instruction.

good luck with your planning!