My oldest son actually started using Write Source in his writing class at the one day a week program he attends. He hated writing before that and after looking through the book it was not really something I would have picked but I stuck with it because he really likes it. It definitely looks like a regular school book rather than a homeschool book. He is doing the Writing Express one this year, it covers a lot of editing and proofreading. It is really hard for me to compare to WWE though because my girls just started the first WWE and we never used it with my son so the two books are completely different in a lot of ways but also in that they are obviously very far apart in grade level. So I would not know for example what the first grade Write Source looks like compared to the first grade WWE. I don't know which grade level you are looking at but I know several of them on Amazon have the feature where you can look inside the book at the sample pages like this one http://www.amazon.com/Write-Source-2000-Thinking-Learning/dp/066946774X/ref=pd_sim_b_2#reader_066946774X

Classical Country Mom- I have purchased other products from doorposts and have been debating over the one you mentioned. Are these examples you are listing actually in the book or are these lesson plans you are coming up with to teach the lessons in the book. I know this book is more directed towards the parents than the children, correct? What you posted is exactly what I am looking for but I also need it all put together for me for the sake of time. Thanks!

Don't worry spiritcatcher, this board is full of people who are very happy with WWE including me but nothing works for everyone. Kwikimom and Researcher, I second Write Source as another option. I use WWE with my younger two and WriteSource with my older son.

We could not do the one near us because it conflicted with a program we were already involved in. We purchased the foundations guide which is expensive but is for three years worth of memorization facts. It has week by week what facts to memorize. We write them on our dry erase board and review a little each day. I also bought the audio cd which we listen to in the car and really reinforces a lot of the memory work with music. Then I bought the Veritas Press History cards. At the CC here they memorize those set to actions and you can find all the actions on youtube if you do a search for classical conversations. We use the one from Lake Norman Classical Conversations. I was amazed at how much the kids learned just by spending about ten minutes a day on it. All of these items can be purchased in the store on the classical conversations website.

We don't have a strict budget for groceries but I do keep track of what I spend. If I am up to a lot for the month there are always snacks and stuff I can cut from the grocery list easily. Several years ago I started using grocery coupons the right way by combining them with sale prices like this website http://www.couponmom.com explains. It cut our grocery budget literally in half so now our family of 6 usually spends about $400 a month. Even though we don't have a strict budget I just absolutely can not buy certain items if they are over a certain price or it just bothers me too much. Paying over $3 for a box of cereal would probably give me an ulcer.:001_smile:

I personally do not celebrate these holidays but I think everyone has to do what is right in their heart. In other words I think people can celebrate these holidays and it does not bother me at all, but for me and my family it is not the right choice for us because it would bother me too much. For those interested though, the reason why we choose not to celebrate them is that these holidays combine pagan worship with Christian worship. Most of these holidays were made by combining aspects of both to satisfy people. Easter for example is even named after a pagan goddess that was worshipped named after Nimrod's wife, Semiramis. Many of the pagan aspects date back to Nimrod and the tower of babel. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah who rebelled against God and tried to elevate himself to a god. According to history Nimrod's wife Semiramis had a illegitimate son Tamuz who she claimed was Nimrod reborn. When he died she claimed he was eaten by a boar(one reason why historians say pig is eaten to celebrate Easter) but resurrected each spring. The easter bunny is a symbol of fertility that was worshipped and the egg was also a sacred symbol back in Babylon. Festivals began to celebrate ceremonies around the egg and many places began coloring them during the festivals. The Christian Answers website has a great article on this here http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html I agree with coloradoperkins that this means that it is a mixture of true worship with false worship and I personally do not think this would please God.