Home schooling is not easy (though my much-better-half does most of the teaching/grading) and takes dedication. We are of the same mind in that we have decided that our kids are worth the cost!
By-the-way, we have been using the Abeka system exclusively this year. My sister-in-law selects her texts from multiple curriculums. There are any number of ways to do this and being new at it, I need input. Any suggestions for this "newbie" homeschooling dad?
The first thing you want to do is teach the kids to read and comprehend. It's of the utmost importance!!!! If they can understand what they read, they can eventually teach themselves anything just by reading a book.
My kids are now teaching themselves. The only time they come to me is when they can't figure something out alone. This is important when teaching multiple grades, and it teaches the kids good work ethics without saying a word.
They're also very proud of them selves when they kick the public school kids butts on their SAT's! They did it all by themselves!
As far as curriculum, we started with Alpha-Omega, but now we're just using a mixture of books and the net. We just bought a book on every subject from start to finish. The kids go as far as they need to. All ages can use the same books.