I'm doing some research into American History "spines" for our co-op for next year. Our plan is to have all grade levels studying American History. We have spines/curriculum for middle and high school, but need one for elementary. This will be a one year overview of AH and I would love to try and "match" up with the Notgrass text, America the Beautiful, that the middle school students will be using. Does anyone have a good "spine" to recommend? Thanks!

Thanks, Crystal. I enjoy listening to you ramble. ;) I wasn't nearly as involved with the TLAC as I had planned to be. Did my kids get as much out of it as they could have? Probably not. :/ But, we had quite a number of good discussions and it is what it is. Both my high schoolers had speech with their co-op. I was very pleased with the opportunities they had as part of the co-op. Anyway, I'm leaning toward Notgrass, as I said. We are going to continue reading through the BJU text next year on our own. Dd doesn't really need another Bible credit and so we won't use that, either. I'm sad to not continue with MFW, but know this is the right thing for us now. I hope it all works out for you next year. :)

Waving right back! I didn't recognize your "handle", Crystal! Here I'm reading away and wondering who this person is and then I see it's you! Big smile. :001_smile: Hope you are having a great year. We're having a great year with US1...even my 9th grader. (Remember we decided to have him join big sis using US1. He's really keeping up wonderfully! Anyway, thanks for your input with EIAB and really neat that your old prof. authored one of the articles in the Notgrass text. Small world. I've got to say, I am leaning toward Notgrass b/c of cost. We took a few big hits to our finances this year (it's always something, right? lol) and my homeschool budget for 2013/14 was cut in half (more if I can swing it). God knows and I know He has this all under control. I'm not stressing. I'd LOVE to stick with MFW til the end, but perhaps He is calling us in a different direction. Thanks, Crystal. Always appreciate your advice. :)

I am planning my 11th grader's senior year and trying to weigh some of our options. Dd has used MFW high school since 9th grade and is completing US1 this year. We were also involved in a co-op (last minute decision) where she took a Government class using Notgrass text instead of using the books scheduled in MFW US1. Co-op has not chosen classes for next year, yet, though it looks likely that one of the classes might be American History OR Economics. I would like to continue with MFW for 12th as dd has enjoyed the other programs. However, I am looking at cost. :/ Notgrass Economics is substantially LESS than EIAB. Could anyone compare the 2 or tell me why spending more than 3x as much on EIAB is worth it? Everything is so up in the air as co-op hasn't chosen classes, BUT the 2102 prices over at MFW ENDS on the 1st. :( I have to decide whether or not to order the entire program or just parts of it. Thanks.

Wow, it's been so long since I've been on the boards! Hope everyone is having a great year! We have had a good year so far but I'm hitting those winter doldrums and we're stalilng...big time. :( I'm planning for next year (trying to find some motivation, any motivation to keep me going) and running into some challenges (mostly financial). So, my 2nd, 4th and 6th graders started out using AAH1 (their first real in depth study of any American History). I got through the Explorers and quit. Hated it. WANTED to love it...but didn't. We are doing a co-op this year and they are studying Geography. I gave up on History in lieu of the geography. My 2 year American History plan flew out the window. In looking at next year, the co-op "might" offer American History as one of the classes. Great. But if not? I have HOD Preparing and had planned to use it in 2014/15...after our 2 year study of American. B/c of finances, I'm looking now to use it next year. If we don't do AH in co-op...my kids will only have had bits and pieces of AH from literature read and unit studies. Tell me they will not be scarred/hindered/harmed for life? ;) I promise to follow the 4 year cycle after using Preparing! Honest! LOL. Seriously, I've been so "stuck" on having to follow that chronological cycle that it is causing me serious anxiety to stray from it! I know they will get all history again in high school. I know this. How should I proceed with the rest of this year? Could I just read through a book series like Light and the Glory with them and discuss? Any advice/encouragement and "it will be ok, Sue, chill out" would be much appreciated! :)

I think you will enjoy HOD CtC with your kids! Your 1st grader could surely listen in on the read alouds and even do some of the projects! At that age, I worry less about history and science and focus on math and reading anyway. I hope it will be a good year for you!

I think the MFW board had a thread about this. And if you search here you will probably find something, too. I had considered combining my 2nd, 4th and 6th graders in Adventures this year, but decided against it. I would have had to do too much "tweaking" for the 6th grader to make it worth it for me. Others may find it completely doable for them. That being said, I'm not thrilled with the program we went with (AAH) b/c it was a bit too "dry" for my taste. I ended up ditching that after the first unit. I started using it as a framework/outline and using my own books to make it more exciting. Just a thought, but have you considered using the 1850-Mod. package? It would be more on target for your 5th grader and it includes a schedule for all the books from Adventures for younger sibs.

Thanks for all this wonderful advice! I have a gut feeling that my daughter is attracted to all the "glamorous" aspects of nursing...helping sick people, caring for little ones, working with labor and delivery, etc. and is a bit blind to all the not so glamorous aspects that you all have mentioned. I will look into having her "shadow" a few nurses. Our co-op director works in various departments at the hospital (depends on where she is needed) and has some really crazy stories to tell. It's not all glamorous! LOL. Our CC doesn't have any entrance requirements but I am fairly certain that once she gets those pre reqs out of the way and actually applies to the school of Nursing, it will be competitive and a whole diff. ballgame. I'm so appreciative that you all took the time to share your experience with me!

She is deciding this so very late in the game. :/ Up until today she wanted to be a teacher. So, for this next semester she will have to double up on Geometry and Algebra 2, continue through the summer and move on to Advanced Math. For Science, she will have to move rather quickly through Chem and then take 2 Sciences next year...Anatomy/Phys. and Adv. Chem perhaps? She is a young junior (just turned 16 in Nov.) so we DO have some buffer room. She could "graduate" with her co-op seniors but still take another year to perhaps do some dual credit in some of these Science courses? Any feedback to these plans? I'm really at a loss. Only thing going for me is our co-op director is a nurse and her second oldest daughter is in a Nursing program at our local cc. Hoping they have some advice for me! Thanks!

My 11th grade dd just told me she thinks she might want to pursue Nursing. We have not been real heavy on the sciences here...she has taken Phys. Science, Bio and is now doing Environmental Science at our co-op and slowly making her way through Apologia Chem. She has never been a real science minded child. I need some advice on how to plan the next 1/2 year and her senior year to make her a strong candidate for a Nursing degree. She also isn't very advance in math. Partly my fault, but she re-took Alg. 1 b/c Saxon just wasn't cutting it for her and I didn't figure that out until mid-year. :/ She is now in Geometry and will start taking Alg. 2 simultaneously when we start back up on the 7th. Thanks for any advice you have. She has really thrown me for a loop here! LOL.

Great ideas! Thanks! I had thought about the travel brochure and the vacation planning. We are covering 2 states each week...this week is NY and NJ. Any more ideas?

I'm teaching US Geography this month at our co-op (6th-8th graders). We are studying the Mid-Atlantic States (NY, NJ, PA, WV, MD, DE and Wash. DC). Besides filling in maps for each state, studying places of interest, history, etc...I'm at a loss! Class is 1.5 hours long or thereabouts. I need something FUN, engaging, hands-on, etc. Any ideas?

I agree with everything you said before the point above. While all 3 groups might call God "Holy", the difference lies in who each group says JESUS is. And Jesus is the KEY. If He isn't who He says He is...there is no eternal life. Christians believe in a triune God...they believe that Jesus IS God. A Muslim does not...Jesus was simply a prophet (I know I am drastically simplifying this so please forgive me...my intent is not to misrepresent). And a Jew does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah (they are still waiting for the Messiah). So, there IS a difference. HOWEVER, I do agree that we focus too much on the differences btwn people and not what could possible bind us together. That part makes sense. But to say that we all believe in the same God? It simply isn't true. And that's MY rant for the day, lol. Though I doubt I'll sleep better thanks to that Pumpkin Spice Latte I had earlier. :D Sure was yummy though. :tongue_smilie:

My husband recently preached a message called, "Why I don't want to be a Christian". In it he explained how the term, "Christian" (which only appears THREE times in the entire Bible) has become so generic and watered-down that it in no way even comes close to meaning what it should. I agree. Many, many people call themselves Christians. I call myself a Christian. As I do not have the mind of God and am not able to see into the heart of man, I have no authority to judge whether or not one is or is not a Christian. To me? To me a Christian is at the most basic a follower of Jesus Christ. A Christian is a DISCIPLE of Jesus Christ (the disciples where the first "group" of people to be called Christians). I honestly prefer the term "disciple" over Christian b/c it more fully explains what it MEANS to BE a Christian. The Bible is very clear the path of salvation. Romans 10:9 says that if you "confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved". I believe this is where the "Sinner's prayer" gets its origin though there is no specific prayer one must pray in order to be saved. And I wonder sometimes if salvation and being a "Christian" are 2 different/separate things. (this is just me pondering). What I DO know for sure is that when I say I am a Christian, I am saying this: "I am a sinner, saved by the grace of God. I am and was completely incapable of saving myself and needed Jesus Christ to save me. I am not perfect nor will I ever be. Thus the reason for needing a Savior. I mess up. I say all the wrong things and do all the wrong things...every day. I am completely reliant on the saving grace of God who forgives my sins and the blood of Christ which washes away all my stains. I am saying that I will do my very best to follow the example set by Jesus Christ while He was on this Earth, though I will fail. I will stand up for the things that Jesus stood for...no matter if it is the "popular" opinion of the day or not. I will do as Jesus commanded in Luke 9:23 when He said, "whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." You see, I think to be a Christian means a heck of a lot more than just "believing Jesus is the Son of God". This is why I am pondering if there really IS a difference btwn salvation and being a Christian or a disciple of Jesus Christ. Does that make sense? Any believers want to chime in with their opinion on that? :)

Yes...please, please vote! Dana is such a sweetheart (I AM a bit biased, though, b/c she's my cousin, :tongue_smilie:) and it is such a worthy cause. (thanks for posting this, Chris...I know she appreciates it!).

just a FEW things from our schedule? My 12yo is doing HOD Rev to Rev and there is a LOT included. We are also doing a co-op on Fridays where he takes Literature (reads/discusses one book/month), US Geography and Environmental Science. He has significant amounts of homework for co-op (more than I am comfortable with...he is not taking these classes for credit). Tell me it's okay to ditch parts of HOD? Like...the State Study which overlaps with his US Geography at co-op and the Music Appreciation and some of the books he's reading for the History portion? He's overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed. Thanks.

One of the Devotions that went along with LHFHG. Some of the text just didn't sit well with me. I was constantly changing words. We ditched it. But, I figure to each her own...there is plenty more to love about HOD. :D

I wish there were more women like you in our churches; women who aren't afraid to confront and chastise a younger woman, in love, if they are going the wrong path. I've been lucky enough to have many of those women in my life at various points but they are few and far between. Confrontation is tough and she might not accept it but as the PP said, she won't forget it.

Ravens fans here, except ds12 and ds9 who are HUGE Steelers fans. Actually, ds12 is the HUGE Steelers fan (begged to stay up to watch part of the game tonight). Steelers fans...poor delusional children. ;)

Starting Week 5 for my high schoolers and Week 4 for the others. So far I am happy with: MFW US1 for BOTH dd15 and ds14 although we did decide to join a co-op and do government through the co-op and have ds14 take American Lit using Lightning Lit through the co-op instead of doing ALL of the Lit in MFW US1. It's a perfect fit so far! I would also like to find more time to focus on Thinking Like a Christian. :( I am also extremely happy with HOD Rev to Rev. After sitting on the fence with this one, I finally went ahead and bought it. Very happy I did. We are not doing State study as we are doing it through a co-op although I do really like 50 States Under God. I'm thrilled with our interest led science plans using the MFW K science topics as a springboard. Lots of work for me pulling plans together but worth it! The only thing I am NOT liking is AAH though I really, really wanted to like it. It's just too dry and my kids were not retaining anything from it. So, I'm using it as a framework for what to study and when but using other resources for our reading. Again, more work. But, it's working so far. I'm using the maps in AAH but not the personality profile sheets. Instead I have the dc do a notebook page per unit on one person or event. We use a lot of pages from History Scholar (LOVE them!).

Not annoying at all! :001_smile: I appreciate your explanation. I still can't quite reconcile reading the creation account as "figurative" yet not the rest of scripture. Maybe I'm not making sense. But if I can take pieces of the Bible and interpret it to fit into my own, personal (human) way of thinking then the Bible to me (personally) loses all Truth. All validity. The Bible even warns about adding to or taking away from the Word of God. IDK...I'm just stumped, lol! I can't see any "wiggle-room" for anything but a YE view. That's just me. Again, no fighting...I'm really just curious. Thanks for your explanations!

Would anyone mind if I asked a question of OE believers? I do NOT want to cause a fight. I'm too tired. :tongue_smilie: But I am honestly curious about this. How can the story of creation be read and interpreted as 7 "general periods of time" and not what the text says...7 actual DAYS (24 hours)? I've studies this out. I've read what the word day was in the original Hebrew and where it was used elsewhere in scripture. Everywhere in scripture the word "yom" (Hebrew for day) followed by a number (as in Genesis 1) was used to mean a literal 24 hour period. I realize the word has "other" meanings but nowhere else in scripture does this word, followed by a number, refer to something other than a 24 hour period. And the text itself..."there was evening and there was morning, DAY 1, etc.). I've heard people say they look at the creation story as something more figurative or symbolic. But how can you look at this ONE part of the Word of God as symbolic but not the rest? Again, NO FIGHTING...I'm not picking one. I'm truly and honestly JUST curious. My MIL is catholic and is also OE. To me, it always seemed like she was trying to fit the Word of God into the framework of the "world" instead of STARTING with God's Word (what Christians refer to as the TRUTH) and fitting the "world" into that. Does that make sense? Science CAN be wrong. Carbon dating IS (and has been proven on many occasions to be) fallible. Anyway, I don't want to hi-jack so if you are OE and have time to PM me your thoughts, I'd be very appreciative. Thanks! And to the OP...you might enjoy the CKE series...it isn't as overtly YE as Apologia. At least it isn't "in your face" like Fulbright can be. ;)

We just had a thread on this a while back, but: 1. We buy our milk from an Amish farm a mile from our house. :) We know and love the family...I do a bunch of driving for them and their friends/family nearby. 2. Their price just went up to $4/gallon. It was $3.75. My friend (the owner) said it was b/c the rising cost of supplies and fuel. I don't mind the cost...so much better than store bought!

#3 was conceived while nursing (tandem nursing #1 and #2). Singleton.

Ok ladies, I need some help figuring this out! I've been charting for 6 months as we are ttc. My charts are fairly consistent...ovulation around day 17-19 and a lp of 10-11 days. This month I ovulated on Day 19. Dh and I had teA the day of ovulation. Around 10 dpo my temp dropped .6 degrees. I expected af. I always get af the day my temp drops. No af! Next day, temp rises .3 degrees. Today temp rises another .3 degrees. Today is 12 dpo. My bOOks are sore, but they get that way before af. I tested yesterday (way too early I know) and of course it was negative. What could be going on? I NEVER have a drop in temp w/out af coming the same day. I'm hopeful this might mean I am pregnant (implantation drop in temp). What do you think?