My mom loves when I call and vent my mommy angst. :nopity:I'm pretty sure she pours herself a glass of wine and grins uncontrollably while she tries to sound sympathetic.

YES! In a homeschool group I was in one mom told me how refreshing it was to hear me tell my then 4 year old: "I love you, but you have to stop touching me now. I've had enough." I much, much prefer to just get my tasks done by myself. As it is, unless it's something time-critical (like company in 3 hours), I'm more likely to let the house be a dirty mess until they're all in bed for the night. By which time I'm tired and don't want to do it so the house just stays like that. I like what a pp said: I wish we could bottle it all up to enjoy it later.

Occasionally I'll compliment an unusually nice wrapping job, but for the most part I don't really notice. :blushing: I appreciate it when someone who has spent time making a gift particularly pretty on the outside tells me so as they hand it to me. I have enough common sense to make a big deal out of it so their efforts don't go to waste. But if they don't tell me...they figure out quickly that gifts are definitely not my "love language." As far as stuff I wrap is concerned: we have four cats in our house, two of whom are obsessed with paper that makes crinkly noises (tissue paper, untaped wrapping paper), ribbons, bows and frilly anything. It's a miracle we can even have a fake tree. The presents I wrap are covered in paper and that's it. Flat "to and from" tape marks whose is whose. If anything comes into the house that has more decoration than that, the extra stuff either comes off immediately or the whole thing has to stay in a closet. Most of our family is out of town and if they ship something it comes sans frills for practicality's sake, but the one in town set has finally figured out our need for lack of fancy wrapping.

I think whether you need tracing paper or not depends. We've use both plain computer paper and tracing paper, depending on the map and how detailed we want it to be. You just have to try it out. For my young kids, we tape the paper over the map (on an edge or two) so it doesn't wiggle.

It's been suggested already, I'm just adding my vote: Further Language Lessons. ETA: I hate when I get suckered into an old thread. I really should start paying attention if I want to have an online reputation as anything other than a total internet dunce!

To find the maps that go exactly with the Foundations Geography without having to look them up yourself, yes, you definitely have to subscribe to the CC Connected or be in a community. However, any blackline map will do. You'll just have to go through the Guide and figure out which maps you need for the cycle you're doing and either find them online, in an atlas (like Compact Atlas) or on a cd (like Uncle Josh's Blackline maps). I know others on this forum have linked to free, printable maps online. The student CC maps aren't anything special. They're just unlabeled blackline maps. The location keys in full color are in the back of the Guide. I'm sorry you felt the advertising for the Guide misrepresented what was inside. Leigh Bortins seems to be a polarizing figure on this forum. What were your questions in particular about the history section of The Core?

Thanks. I called an IRL friend to look it up in her Activity Guide and sure enough, it's all there...I guess I'm in the market for a used SOTW volume 1 AG. :D

Thank you! I think I must be overlooking something, though. When I open up the link, what I see is a schedule for world history, using only SOTW and the Usborne book of World History. Have I missed something?

Surely someone out there has already done this and would point me in it's direction? The Kingfisher I have is the white cover 1993 version. I tried a search of the forum, but didn't turn up what I was looking for. Thanks in advance.

It was the St. Jerome Classical School educational plan that told me about it, too! I have it on hold at the library and will read it over the next few weeks. But I was hoping to hear of someone who had used the Activity books, since my library definitely doesn't have those. :001_smile:

I know this an old post, but I'm looking into this book and the activity books. OP, did you ever use the activity books? If so, what did you think? Did you all enjoy them? Was it worth the time (and money)?

I had read the article before, but hadn't seen the educational plan. THANK YOU. This is basically what I've been trying to create for two years now. I wanted a Catholic, Classical education plan. I've been pulling resources from different places, but ended up using much of what is listed already. There are a few differences (Singapore, not Saxon and Prima Latina, not Song School Latin) but they are for reasons of my own. This year we began formal history, but wasn't really happy with the 4 year cycle, and had decided to stretch it to 6 on my own. I am so excited to see this!! You just gave me my "box" curriculum. :D

I received a Christmas card which read "Happy Holiday's!" I don't even know what that means. :confused: Mrs. Mungo, I threaten my husband with the extinction of kittens all the time!

Yeah, the cribs without drop sides would have to be shorter than I'm used to seeing here in the good old USA. I'm 4' 10.5" and have a really hard time getting babies out of friends' cribs if the mattresses are not in the highest position. Would definitely have to take the mattress out to change the sheet. With a pregnant belly...I don't think even a stool would help! Personally, we just use a pack n play when our babies are infants. They use the bassinet insert until they're pulling to a sit and then they sleep in the bottom. All three have moved to a toddler bed between 18 and 24 months old. Part of the reason we did the pack n play was because of space (1184 square feet of living space, not enough room for a great big crib!) but I'm glad we did. Much easier for me than a standard size crib. And seriously, do we have to have more government regulation on what kinds of cribs we can have? How about we all just stop buying the ones with cheap plastic parts and force the manufacturers to build them better or go out of business?

Maybe an ornate chair or bench for the Bishop's Hall, narthex or office waiting area? A bookcase for the parish offices? Ask the organist/choirmaster/music director if he could use a custom music cabinet or music shelving. A side table for a meeting room?

Join a local homeschooling group that offers mom's support and start attending the parent stuff! We do both CC and another homeschooling group that is bigger and more general (field trips, mom's nights, etc). When summer hits, a lot of homeschool groups do activities (even some CC groups), I'd start attending those with your kids so you and they can start making connections. And I totally agree about any house projects. It can be tough to put school on hold for two weeks while you paint and rearrange furniture.

So far, I like Our Mother Tongue. I've been working through it bit by bit. :001_smile:

I don't know about regular sales, but sometimes places like Lowes and Home Depot will have coupons in their circulars. Things like $50 off purchase of $200 or more. Buying one or two windows at a time you could save a bit. See if you can get on their mailing lists, sometimes I get them that way.

Out of curiosity, are the twins fraternal or identical? I know lots of fraternal twins who vary widely in weight and height. I know some identical twins who vary in weight, but not in height. I have absolutely no medical background so please don't take the question as anything other than curiosity why the weight differs if they eat the same and have the same activity levels. Otherwise, it sounds like you need a great big :grouphug: and some good friends to pour out your anxiousness to, in order to stay calm and focused with your family.

You might try Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money by Bert Whitehead.

The statement of faith is something that only directors and state directors have to "sign." Tutors are asked to verbally agree to support it. It's fairly generic. I personally don't like it, but there's nothing that is directly contradictory. It's more like it starts a line of thinking and then stops just.barely.short of a point of contention. I wish Leigh Bortins could simply provide the Nicene or Apostles Creed as her statement of faith, but that's a whole other conversation. I have agreed to support it and do so. From a CC family point of view, it basically means that the community will be led by a Christian and the guiding ethical principles will be Christian. CC families do not have to be Christian to be in CC. I wouldn't say that the Foundations memory work is evangelical. It is definitely Christian. The closest it gets to being deliberately Protestant is one week in the current cycle, it's the history sentence regarding the Protestant Reformation. The fact they memorize is true. It is correct. There's just a whole lot more to it! But then, trying to condense any piece of history into a single sentence/sound bite is darn near impossible. This one sentence is very simple to explain to my kids, that yes, that action did lead to Martin Luther's excommunication but it was not that sole action that did it. Being in an area that is outspokenly against your faith may reveal itself in the CC group, too. I think that's where going to an Open House, talking to other moms and declaring yourself to be Orthodox (and then explaining what that means!) will pretty much show you if that community is right for you or not. I would hate to think that any Christian community of homeschoolers would be standoffish or offensive to anyone, so I hope that you find a group of tolerant families!

I don't know of any Orthodox Christians that participate in CC (I probably just haven't met them yet) but I'm Roman Catholic (I'm a director). My tutors vary, but to sum up they're Presbyterian, Evangelical Christian and former-Baptist-turned-Episcopalian-turned-I'm not sure what exactly. :001_smile: Our families range all over the Christian spectrum, and I am aware of a child in Challenge at another local community whose family is Buddhist. As a Catholic I can honestly say there is nothing in the Foundations memory work that contradicts Church teaching. The Veritas Press history timeline cards are the usual point of contention and my answer is that we only use the titles/pictures (the front of the cards) in CC and never look at the back (which is where it does actually contradict Church teaching). In our homeschool, we do not use the back of the VP cards. Few of our families do, actually, most use some other history program than VP at home. The only religious content in the Essentials program (afternoon English grammar and writing program for 4th-6th graders) is that the sentences they're diagramming are things like "Jesus loves me" and "For God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son." Challenge can be a little different, simply because God made a universe, not a multiverse, which means that truly no individual subject can be learned/taught without having something to do with the rest. Therefore, religious topics do come up in Challenge classes, and the directors are trained to encourage the students without indoctrinating or pushing them to a particular conclusion. The individual director at the Challenge level makes all the difference. That's not really the answer to your question. Sorry.

If you liked Echo you might also like The Core. It's her newest book, a lot more along the lines of WTM in scope. I'm not overly impressed with her writing, either, but I've appreciated her ideas and her take on the subjects she's most passionate about. I read both books after helping to start a CC group and tutoring for it. The next year I became a director and opened up a new local group. Yes, it not being a co-op (all volunteer) really helps keep us all dedicated. It also helps that we have high standards to meet. If one gets into CC not really having a good vision of "the big picture" it can be frustrating and/or a let down. I think that's true for any commitment one makes, though. Each group is very different due to personalities, so definitely talk to as many people as you can who are involved in the group before deciding if it's worth the drive. Leigh Bortins is a loud supporter of memorization in the grammar years, but I don't think she would say that memorization of when/where/who/what facts and living books is a complete curriculum for those years. There was another WTM thread not too long ago that talked about her stance on math (that you can never really do too much math). I think Leigh Bortins would support a curriculum for K-2 that was math, phonics/reading, good literature, and memorization of when/where/who/what facts.

7th grade means he's in Challenge, right? Talk to the Director. If he's having trouble keeping up with the workload, you (as his parent and primary teacher) can choose to lighten it. Your son does not have to do every assignment/paper/etc that the Director assigns when he/she says it's due. Just tell the Director what's going on and keep him/her informed. I stress that a lot when telling people about Challenge. YOU, the parent, are the final authority. :001_smile:

When you say "he" do you mean the pastor of the parish? Do you mean the Director of Religious Education for your parish? Is it the principal of the attached Catholic school? The only "he" that has authority to say yea or nay to your chosen religious ed program is the pastor of the parish you are registered at. I would make an appointment to come in to see the pastor, bringing your children with you. Bring the "approved" materials as well as your chosen materials and have highlighted/outlined/cross-referenced where you are covering the same material, just in a different way. Show him where you are in the series at the time and encourage him to speak to your children about their faith. He may tell you that his hands are tied, as he is only doing what the Diocese has decreed. The pastor is under the authority of the Bishop and you may be encountering a Diocesan policy, which the pastor cannot make exceptions from. In which case (or in the case of him saying that he simply won't approve it), you will need to appeal the Diocese (the priest can give you contact information) with basically the same approach. If you PM me with your city, I can find the contact info for you (my husband works for the Church, he'll know how to find the right person in your Diocese). For the sacraments, you only need a priest to sponsor you, not a parish. There may be another nearby who is willing to examine your children himself and allow them to proceed. Ah, the entanglements of bureaucracy... ETA: It's so refreshing to hear someone who takes a commitment they've made seriously. I mean that. As a society I think we "promise" lightly and don't follow through nearly enough (in general, this isn't specific, just generalizations!). So, good for you for trying to honor your children by doing what you said you would.