Oh no! :(

Oh I couldn't imagine. Prayers for safety for all of you in the area as well as the men and women on the front lines trying to fight the fires.

It's heartbreaking watching from up here. I cannot imagine being in the middle of it all. :(

I'm watching SD news online. It is hard watching places I used to live near burn; much, much too close to '07. I still have family and friends down there. I hope those of you in SD, especially the north county, are staying safe. :grouphug:

My class barely touched on it, and only during Mystagogy. My guess would be because the overwhelming majority of those in my class were engaged to be married to a Catholic. But that is only a guess. I already knew the Church's teachings, so it wasn't a big deal to me, but I think in general, it is a big err to not teach that during RCIA.

:grouphug: There are no adequate words. I am so sorry Rosie.

It doesn't to us, but we've been eating it for so long we may not notice (we've been dairy free completely for four years, though dh and I off and on for a year or so before that).

We only eat coconut milk yogurt. None of us like the almond or soy ones. Eta: the So Delicious cultured coconut milk people now make an unsweetened, plain one that would work well in that situation, I think.

:grouphug: I am so sorry.

We do a mostly traditional schedule; dh teaches and we follow his school calendar for the most part. That said, we do "school" in the summer. The boys have about 1-1.5 hours of math and copywork, and then they read something during the day and we either do an audiobook or a read aloud together. We take about 2-3 weeks off, total, in the summer. Otherwise, it's just enough to keep them fresh with pencils, paper, and numbers, without it ruling our summer vacation.

We get dd's filled at a compounding pharmacy. They are a county over and mail it to us each month.

(Catholic here) Oh that would probably cause us to have to find another parish. I can't even imagine.

We will take a week off at the beginning and at the end, but in between, we do math (LoF for the older two though different books and continuing SM or doing Miquon for the youngest boy), copy work as to prevent pencil-phobia from setting in, and read alouds (usually we do family audiobooks so I think this summer will be the second LotR book plus dh usually reads still at bedtime).

Well, and I have to add that tonight we were watching Fr. Barron as a family and my eldest pops off with, "Hey mom, that's just like what we were discussing the other day." I guess they do listen after all. ;)

Thank you for the reminder regarding the Ask Andrew videos. I need to go watch a few. My poor eldest. He is such our Guinnea pig. Our middle is only slightly less so because he is academically a bit advanced and only two actual school grades behind our eldest, who struggle in the beginning, so we did a lot together. I read some of the things others do, or how things "ought" to be, and I know both those are from the Enemy and not of God, but it's hard not to fall into the idea that I have messed up their education. But then last night a few of us were out back and my middle son says, "Mom, look at the sky. Isn't it beautiful?" And I realize not all is lost. I do believe we have helped foster a sense of wonder with them. And that must count for something, right?

Thank you for saying this. It made me go back and read her signature. I love that quote and just wrote it on the chalkboard for dinner discussion (our chalkboard is in the dining area where we do school and eat our meals).

Did you have to chill/refrigerate it first or did it whip up at room temperature?

Ok, I just watched the Eight Essential Principles video, and took two pages, front and back, of notes. I feel like I have totally messed up my eldest (12, finishing 7th grade), and more than likely have mostly messed up the other two boys (10, 5th grade and 7, 2nd grade). That leaves the three year old girl. She does have Down syndrome, but I'm hoping that doesn't stop us. ;) How, though, does one undo any potential damage done with older students? And where do I find time to make sure I am well prepared and have read what they are reading, so as to engage in discussion/conversation/contemplation with them. And does that happen with every subject? Every day? Do you pick and choose?

I did while in college. They were opening a new one a mile or two from my campus. I think it was a couple hours, but that included standing in line for our turn. We were shown parts, but if I remember correctly, there were some areas we weren't allowed to see. I found it fascinating and if the option ever arose again, I would definitely take my kids to see. The guide gave us simple explanations in to the reasons and basic beliefs behind what we saw, and an idea as to what happened in the different rooms.

You have now been initiated as a California resident. ;) They don't happen too often, though for us, this week brought a few, mild earthquakes.

Memoria Press - my favorite of all Classical Academic Press Circe And yes, Dick Blick ... I love drooling over art supplies.

Prayers for you all. :grouphug:

Inositol powder works wonderfully and rather quickly. One tablespoon in the morning and one in the evening/night for as long as needed. (It mixes with water but is way too surgery sweet, IMO. I mix it with a bit of orange juice and a bit of water; easier to drink.) I find that it helps relieve the anxiety, which then gives me a chance to really look at what's going on to find what is ultimately causing the anxiety, which usually allows me to stop using it after a week or so.

At first I was just going to teach myself. I love lettering and my writing has taken a nosedive lately. So, I bought some cool French-ruled paper, a fountain pen, and started printing things off the internet. My youngest son (2nd grade), especially, loved the idea, and started learning with me. The other two boys, probably lured by the idea of a fountain pen, decided to join in, so I bought that book. Up until now, the older two boys (7th and 5th grades) have learned HWOT cursive. I think I'm in the minority that actually like it. Recently, though, I switched my reluctant cursive-writing 5th grader to a more traditional script. But, I think I might have my youngest son and eventually my daughter learn New American Cursive. But I'm not sure. I think they all will also learn French script well enough to use it. Given that they probably will all develop their own style, and that I see it as an art-form and not just a means of writing, I don't mind them learning a few different ways.

I bought a French schoolbook to teach my kids French cursive. They each picked out their own fountain pens and we are having fun learning.