Anyone familiar with this program? Is anyone going to try it this next school year? Looks like Classical Conversations geared for Catholics..... http://catholicschoolhouse.blogspot.com/p/academics.html

I want to implement this using my Magnificat. (LOTH type prayers for beginners or disorganized mothers of young children like me!!)

It doesn't matter if you are gaining weight or losing weight--- your body will "hang out" at a weight for a while before creeping up or moving down the scale. Frustrating, but true. This is why weight gaining can be so deceptively easy-- you eat more and stay the same! But only for a while, and then the scale suddenly jumps 5 pounds overnight. Likewise with weight loss Just keep on keeping on..... I wouldn't cut back on food though. Patience is what you need.......

Here's a review of Connecting with History from Cathy Duffy's website. http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/unit-studies/connecting-with-history.htm

Oh, I forgot to add that Volume 3 of Connecting with History is due out this summer, and Volume 4 is due out summer 2011 (according to the catalog I received at last year's conference).:)

Have you looked at Connecting with History? It's a literature based history study (similar to Tapestry of Grace) but with a Catholic world view. I haven't used it yet (my oldest is in K) but others I know have and they really like it. http://www.stgeorgebooks.com/display_results.cfm/category/90/Connecting-with-History-Introduction/ Good luck!

The Toddler Busy Book is great for fun play ideas. Also, the Preschool Busy Book is great for when your dc turns 3+ At this age, just enjoy lots of fun books, and lots of play!

Another one who is relaxed with my three year old. We read stories, sing songs, help "cook" and do "chores" and allow lots of free play. I also have an assortment of Montessori type activities in our playroom. Very relaxed at this age. :001_smile:

Healthy Habits: Having a schedule/routine for homeschooling to stay on track. Not rigid, as flexibility for illness and other things do need to be allowed for, but most kids (and parents) do better with structure. Limit time online. It is too easy to get sucked into many things online and lose track of where the time has gone. Limit TV for obvious reasons. School year round and take shorter breaks throughout the year. Don't be tempted to compare. Each child (and teacher-parent) is an individual with unique learning/teaching styles, strengths and weaknesses. Education is not a race.

Thanks for sharing! I'll keep researching and perhaps check some of these out from the library to see what will work best.

I will have a first grader this fall and I'm trying to figure out our LA program. I'm still very new to homeschooling and curriculum, obviously. This year we have used just Little Stories for Little Folks from CHC. This has worked fine and I love the stories, but I feel we need something more systematic for our phonics spine. I still plan to continue to use LSFLF as a supplement no matter what program I choose. I have a friend who read the oldest version of WTM and bought Phonics Pathways and is teaching her fourth child with it. She seems to think it works well. It is obviously much cheaper than Phonics Road. What about First Language Lessons? Is it like Phonics Pathways or is that OPGTR? Has anyone used both or all of these programs and can you compare them? Please help me out. Thanks!

Joseph :-)

I don't see why it would. But I'm a little confused. I thought you were referring to Episcopal Church as "our church". Is your wife Episcopalian and you just attend along with her, then?

It depends on what Christian denomination you are attending. Some Christian denominations have open Communion for anyone who is baptized and others do not. Some believe Communion is merely symbolic, while others, such as Catholics and Orthodox believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. It would be best to find out ahead of time, out of respect for the traditions of the church to which you are attending, their guidelines regarding partaking of Communion. As for the Catholic Church, the link below has the guidelines for reception of Holy Communion. http://www.catholic.com/library/Who_Can_Receive_Communion.asp

I believe in the case you presented, you were not aware of the rules. That is different from someone who knows that they should not partake and does so anyway. I do find your story very interesting, however. Whether or not you personally believe, you did, in fact, receive the true Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, fully present in the Eucharist at that Midnight Mass. Perhaps you are a "seeker" in some way and don't really know it...........no offense intended. The Lord works in mysterious ways. :)

I agree with the above poster about being respectful with the added caveat that in many Christian traditions (Catholic, Orthodox, and some branches of Lutheran etc.) you should not present yourself for Holy Communion.

Smile and nod, at MIL and SIL, yes. Another thing that I believe goes with the whole language curriculum is lots of writing. For example, over Christmas, my dd "wrote" a letter to her cousin. She dictated while I wrote it because she is still working on handwriting skills and due to the length and content of the letter, it was easier if I wrote down what she wanted to say. Well, we got a letter back written by hand by this same cousin. Granted, there was no uniformity for lower case vs. upper case letters, the words were sloppy and did not follow the lines, and some words were misspelled. But, she wrote it all on her own. I'm wondering-- better to write, write, write whatever, or stress neatness and accuracy?? I always thought the latter. I don't want bad habit to set in. :confused:

What do you think of this article? My SIL's dd is in public school K and according to my MIL can read many more words than my dd, also in Kindergarten, who is going through systematic phonics. Will she be better off because she is already reading "real books" based on pictures, chunking, and guessing words based on first and last letters and overall "meaning" while my dd is still using primers and working through phonetic rules? Thoughts? http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Literacy/wholelanguage.asp

Which would you recommend? I really want to concentrate on the 3 Rs next year, but do want to have science in the mix, if not the focus. If I chose Building Foundations Through Scientific Understanding, is there anything else I will need beside the texts? Where do I buy experiment supplies? I will have a newborn and 4 yo preschooler at the start of the school year, so that is a factor as well. Thanks.

Thank you for your thoughts! I too, am wondering about the need to enroll or not. I know that it is an ambitious program and seems like a lot of work, but very rich and rewarding. In 1st grade, the only reason I *may* consider enrolling is the motivation to keep up and be accountable with what seems to be a larger work load. I'm also wondering about math. We have been following CHC this year and did MCP level K for math. Pretty sure that dd could not leap to Saxon 2. I noticed they are a year ahead of grade level in math. We would probably have to do Saxon 1. I started a cart over at their bookstore to play around with what the cost might be and so far I've managed to rack up $745 worth of stuff.:eek: I'm also looking to get some things for my preschooler as well. I may need to look around to see what I can find used. It looks great and I'm really excited to try it-- the literature aspect is a big draw, too. :001_smile: If anyone has anymore thoughts and feedback, please share. Thanks!

Anyone??

Have any of you seen this you tube video by a homeschooler? Excellently done, in my view.

I know they are anti-Catholic in their bias, rather than neutral or more ecumenical in their presentation of church history and religious instruction.

Has anyone here used this program? I'm considering it for a 1st grader next year. Would love to real life reviews, especially if you have younger kids enrolled. Looks excellent for jr high and high school years. Thanks!