Maybe it's mother's intuition, maybe its just because you are living in close proximity, but you know those kids much better than I do. I can tell you what works with my kids, but I'm pretty sure your kids aren't any more like my kids than they are like the thirty or so kids that would be in the same class with them if they were to go to a public school. Isn't that part of the reason you are homeschooling them -so you could teach them in a way that was best for them?

There is a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from the writings of vetran homeschoolers such as Charlotte Mason and Ruth Beechick, and from systems like the Principal Approach or Classical Education. But if your effort to mimic these philosophies and ideas is interfering with your ability to teach your child, you are defeating your purpose.

Relax, you can do this! If you think about it, homeschooling really isn't much different than the rest of life. All those birds, flowers, trees, and animals you pointed out to them were an introduction to science. And they were learning math every time you said, "You may have two pieces of cheese, but only one cookie." If you taught your child to talk, teaching them to read is just the next step. And since you've been reading to them since they were little, you must know what books they would enjoy. So, pick out a few that will double as a history lesson. Every parent is a home educator. Some of us just do it more often than others.