"Start Here" for Homeschool Curriculum

Update: In case you haven't heard, Cathy Duffy released her revised and updated 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum in July.

Original 3/21/12 post:
For those considering homeschooling, I highly recommend 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum as an excellent starting place. Although her curriculum reviews and "top picks" are helpful, the best part of the book is definitely the first series of chapters wherein she overviews the various common approaches to homeschooling and how to identify the approach(es) that best suit the vision, priorities, and individual needs of your particular family. She takes out a lot of the guess work by providing self-assessment tools to help you identify your best matches. Then she identifies curriculum that would deliver what you're looking for.

Because the homeschool curriculum market is continuously booming with new products, Duffy's book is already out of date. So be sure to supplement the book by checking out her website for the latest reviews. But don't skip the book or you'll loose out on the foundational guidance that will give you focus and direction as you face a flooded market of curricular options.

ADDED March 29: I should not neglect to mention that I trust and recommend Cathy Duffy personally. Having had the privilege of meeting and working with her early in my career, I know her to be an insightful professional and deeply Christian woman. She also has the valuable experience of already graduating her own home-educated students. As far as I understand her philosophy of education, it tends to run more or less in harmony with the vision and values I seek to uphold in my own homeschooling and on this blog.