Your logic fails. You imply that I cannot study a field because I do not believe its claims to be true.

Of course you can. You can set up a group of nuns to pray specifically for someone to be healed during their normal prayer time. You can even manipulate the number of prayers said, their frequency, and the exact words being spoken. It's been done very robustly. The data are always the same. If you pray, your chances of receiving what you ask for are random.

That was one case. As I stated, there is ample data that shows no better medical outcome for patients who are prayed over. Regardless, I'm very happy that your child was healed -- however it happened. I won't argue this point because scientific data means nothing in the face of faith. I can never convince you that praying is not useful. You cannot do real science if you know what the answer must be before you start. Unless a scientist walks into the lab knowing that he must accept whatever the data says, even if it violates his faith, then he's not doing real science. That's just my opinion, but a lot of people far smarter than I share it.

No, he doesn't. I read the book and I think it's hogwash as do the majority of scientists. Religion requires faith. Faith is believing something you know isn't true (otherwise, you wouldn't need faith -- you'd just know it's true based on your senses). People pray over their sick relatives all the time despite overwhelming scientific evidence that nobody gets better through prayer. (Yes, some people get better, but others who were prayed over croak anyway -- it evens out.) Science requires reason -- the exact opposite of faith. Collins can spin his theories any way he likes, but he will never prove through science that the Big Bang, evolution and faith are not mutually exclusive. All he can prove is that somehow he's rationalized his religious beliefs to fit into current scientific thought. Good for him. If this works and satisfies his spiritual quest, then I say, "Wonderful!" But it's lousy science. Note that I'm not arguing against faith. I'm arguing that faith and science will always be at odds because they attempt to look at our world from completely opposite perspective. Just my personal take on this.

That's just plain inconsiderate. I would have no trouble at all telling him I don't want my children exposed to a virus. Why would he feel entitled to expose your children to illness so he can go to a party? As to the doctor's words, I'm sorry, but no doctor would say things like that. My take on that is that he is lying and trying to convince you that it's safe for you to babysit his sick son. Just say no, honey.

We've been doing this since our 27-year-old was a baby. It's the way our pediatrician told us to do it, and it's still the way our current pediatrician recommends it. We alternate, starting with Tylenol which works faster. If you're treating muscular aches and pains you're better off with Motrin which will also deal with the swelling and inflammation. Tylenol only works on fevers and pain. For backaches I only take Motrin because instead of just masking the pain temporarily, it works to relieve the swelling in aching muscles.

Wow! This system looks useful. I'm going to use it this year. Thanks!

Maybe the chocolate just got packed into the natural indentations in the enamel. Go ahead and take her to the dentist. If she has no cavities, her first visit to a dentist will be a party (as long as you get a pediatric dentist), and he or she will be your dd's new best friend. Ours still comes out with big clown feet and a red ball nose. Ds, who is 10, thinks the guy is over the top now, but he laughs at the dentist's lame jokes because he's known him so long and the whole thing was funny 6 years ago when they first met.

Oh, no, there's no reason to freak out. A good pediatric dentist can do any procedure on a small child without frightening her. Whatever you read that scared you is probably not an accurate portrayal of what really happens during a normal dental visit. Some kids just get cavities no matter how much you take care of their teeth. It doesn't mean her permanent teeth will be that way either. Get a referral for a good pediatric dentist Monday, make an appointment and get the work done. You'll see how quickly and easily it will go.

This sounds about right except each year we also buy one expensive item for the whole family. One year it was a Bose iPod dock. Amazing. Last year we got a Wii console with several games. We don't emphasize gift-giving at Christmas as much as just enjoying the season. We do lots of crafts and fun activities. We bake and cook gifts, etc. We have friends over a lot during the holiday season. Also, big sister (27 and independent) brings her little brother gifts - maybe $25 worth, and my sister always gets him way too much, but she can't enjoy Christmas if she doesn't buy scrumptious things for her niece and nephew. I can live just fine giving and receiving very small meaningful gifts. We do buy toys, games, books and music throughout the year, so even if Christmas doesn't bring a giant mountain of gifts he still has plenty of stuff to play with. Also, every three months or so I rotate his games and toys (and also do some culling). I've found that we can get away with fewer items if every three months or so they're considered new again. Before I started doing that, he was bored of everything and no amount of games and toys were enough. Since I started rotating them, it's Christmas every three months. He oohs and aahs over this thing that he hasn't seen in ages, or that other thing. Works for us.

I'm going to bump this because I also am interested in whether to continue with CW or go to IEW next year. Like the previous poster, I want to keep an eye out for used curricula and I will probably begin shopping in January. My fifth grader is currently doing Aesop B. Since he had never had any writing instructions before, I planned to start his first writing project at the first level. During his first draft he insisted on including dialog which is done at the second level. The whole thing seems pretty easy for him. He picks up the concepts the first time. We'll be working at second and third level this year. Would you keep a bright little guy with good writing sense on CW, or would you switch to IWE next year? If IWE, where would you start him?

What a great website. And we're doing SOTW 3 this year. Thanks!

We love junior analytical grammar. It gets done in 11 weeks (for us it's going to be 13 weeks as we had to hover for a couple of weeks over prepositional phrases). When we're done with JAG, we'll probably use a "daily practice" type workbook from Evan-Moore. I know Even-Moore is not considered a classic resource, but it works for my son, and that's my main goal. :)

All good advise. As to the exercise ball, someone posted about a sitting disk that you put on the chair and it requires just enough attention to stay balanced without it disrupting his concentration. Does anyone know the name of the disk? They sell different models at Amazon.

Can I respectfully suggest that most 8 year old boys are not ready to work independently? And yes, he must learn to do his work in a timely fashion, but at his age, it's unreasonable to expect that he'll do it this year. Your son is just a little guy. Just because he's the oldest doesn't mean he should be expected to act beyond his years. Frankly, I don't know any 8 year olds that will sit there and do all their work without a good deal of close supervision and assistance. They're simply not developmentally there. Are you sitting with him and helping him work through his assignments, or are you handing him his work and telling him to get it done?

CW Aesop B is what my fifth grader is currently working on and he loves it.

I'm going to set up my raised planters for our vegetable garden this weekend. Our season in South Florida begins in the middle of October. Tomorrow, while I'm slaving outside in 90 degree weather, I'm going to think of you guys playing in the snow and wish I was there!

Congratulations! I love when these things happen. It reminds my why I'm homeschooling when my friends are having their pedicures.

Good grief. I wouldn't have taken another shot either. I'm glad it was a temporary thing and you're ok.

My understanding is that the single dose vaccines will not have any preservatives. Only the multi-dose bottles will have it.

I can see how this would be a completely unbiased report. ;)

May I ask what kind of reaction you got? I've never had a flu shot.

Thanks! These are both good suggestions and I'll look into them both.

We're behind on fractions. While ds continues with his regular TT curriculum, I'd like to help him achieve mastery of fractions on the side. He shies away from cramped pages in black and white. (Come to think of it, I do too.) I'd like to find a colorful, engaging book, or an online game, or something visually engaging to help him attain mastery. A combination of resources would work. Any suggestions or advise would be most appreciated.

Where would you do Essentials and Challenge? At a co-op? I'm hoping to learn more about this program.