I used this years ago with my oldest son. It is very rigorous and I wasn't even considering it for my nonmath daughter. Well, I read many threads here and decided I wanted to use it again. So here we are with the whole enchilada. I was reading over the "Read Me First" and the "Quick Start Guide" and am getting fired up and ready to go. The instructions actually reminded me that the dvd IS the instruction (not the text) and we should actually watch it twice. We are going to do that. I know it will cement the concepts for dd. He also suggests only doing 25 problems per section from the text AND only doing math for one hour at a time. My daughter will be jumping for joy if I actually let her do math for only one hour and do only 25 problems! Each section will take 2-3 days. This seems so doable for us and I just wanted to share the Chalkdust methodology according to the instructions. It also said Mr. Mosely is the instructor and mom is "the supervisor of the learning process". The instructor (Mr. Mosely) connects his teaching style with the learning style of the student. I really like that. All of these instructions are also on the web site. Hope this helps some of you with questions on Chalkdust.

:iagree: This is what we are doing with Lingua Latina which is considered "immersion" or a "purely inductive" method. (This terminology is used by Jeanne Neumann in A College Companion) Too bad they don't have this type of book for other languages.

:iagree: I also agree with you that we are all sisters in Christ and we certainly want everyone to believe in Christ.

We bought a futon about 3 years ago from California Futons. It has an ultra spring mattress and it is actually pretty comfortable when it's laid down flat. We didn't even get the most expensive one. The other thing I liked about the futon is the covers are less than $200 and I could easily change the decor by just zipping off the old one and putting a new one on.

Am I the only one here who thinks that dog is um....well....dead? I have had some success with listening to Bible teachings on the cd player, not too loud. It seems to keep me from thinking too much and I fall asleep within 10-15 minutes. I haven't tried this yet but my doc told me to take fish oil capsules; build up to 4 caps a day (1000 mg each). This is supposed to help with sleep and lots of other benefits too.

I am using TOG for my 9th grade daughter because I want her to have covered history thoroughly from beginning to end, no gaps. I want the history to correspond with the Bible and literature, with a little geography thrown in. TOG provides all of that and more. I love the way it's organized and I can pick it up and know what to do. It's all there! We have been doing school for 3 weeks now and all I can say is, WOW.

Lisa, I think videos for the younger ones esp. if they're independent will save you a ton of time. You can just be there for questions. Chalkdust is great isn't it? You will also get your money's worth being able to use the videos more than once. I even watched Chalkdust with my oldest son and it saved me time.

:iagree: I haven't gotten through the whole thing but I liked what I read. I guess this is the kind of book because of the length that you would have to pace yourself.

Mine is like the Hashbrown casserole except you put crushed ritz crackers with the cheddar cheese instead of corn flakes. Make sure you thaw out the hash browns or they will never get done. This is delicious.

We left our church after 24 years, not for doctrinal reasons. Without going into the reasons (it would take days there were so many) we felt like never going to church again. We found a church close to us that has shown great love to our family even though we do have differences in doctrine. We are making the best of it and trying to have a good attitude and not be divisive. We try to find what we have in common and keep our differences to ourselves for the most part. My daughter attends youth group and we have some pretty lively discussions afterward about what we believe. We are not interested in searching anymore because every church we look at has something goofy going on right now with following the latest books, seeker-friendly ideas, and especially emergent influences. I am grateful for stability right now and feeling no pressure whatsoever from these people even after being there 2 years. They actually tolerate our beliefs and are pretty open to discussions and questions. This is rare. The internet has been a great source for us for listening to teachings we agree with and attending church on Sundays for us is for fellowship and corporate worship. Mostly we feel the love of God there and that is very important to us. If you leave your current church, the relationships with those people will be gone. That was our experience even though I homeschooled with many of them. But we found relationships can be made with new people and that has been rewarding too.

Stacey, Those crockpot pinto beans look awesome. I have been looking for a good recipe. Thanks for posting this.

I 3rd Diane Keaton. Love her but thought she was such a goof in "The Godfather." She has definitely improved with age and I loved her in "Something's Gotta Give". Also, Jessica Lange is gorgeous in "Big Fish". Wish I knew how to download pics.

Confetti Bean Soup 1 lb. package of dried 9 bean mixture (or something with a combination of beans, black beans, northerns, red kidney, pinto, split peas) Seasoning: 3 bouillon cubes, use vegetarian 3 tbs. dried chopped chives 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. dried savory 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 bay leaf Directions: Rinse beans, cover with water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse. Cover with 5 cups of water and add seasonings. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add 16 oz can of tomatoes with liquid. Simmer 15 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf. Another thought. Could you use a bit of liquid smoke to get that "ham" flavor?

It would be good as a spine to supplement with literature. It is a little dry. I am using it as a supplement for my 9th grader with TOG. I am also using Human Odyssey. HO is really good. Mystery of History is also good. I don't have experience with it but several of my friends have used it in high school and loved it.

Chalkdust is wonderful and goes all the way through Calculus. I could rave but I'm sure others will.

Wow! There are so many flood stories it would take me all day to scroll down the page. Yup, I think there was a flood.

Thank you, Beth for starting this thread. I have been wondering about this book myself because nearly all my friends and churches have been reading/recommending this book. I think discussion about this is healthy. Thank you Ronette for your indepth study and review. Wow! It was very helpful. Also the links that others gave were very informative. :iagree: with Melissa Especially the part where the book could foster a wrong belief in who God truly is. The descriptions of the Trinity and each person of the Trinity are really out there. Also I would be concerned that a person could be confused as to how to receive Jesus as their savior. The thing that concerned me the most was the quote from The Shack about scripture. “In seminary [Mac] had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects… Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges?†That is really a slam of the Bible and I have been hearing this from people who are Christians but aren't sure the Bible can be absolutely true and that it contains serious errors. I will probably not read the book, but I certainly won't judge those who do. I would "approach with caution".

:iagree: Human Odyssey is a great resource and interesting to read. I using it to supplement my Tapestry of Grace curriculum.

:iagree: I just got through reading the Answers in Genesis article. It was good and seems to provide a good explanation. I have said this several times before that I believe the Bible first by faith, without scientific evidence. In a previous post on evolution and the flood I think it was, I stated that my husband found shell fossils on the top of a mountain in Montana. It stands to reason that the mountain must have been covered with water, and that there must have been a flood. I believed the Bible first about the flood and evidence came later. Actually we weren't Christians when he found the fossils and we scratched our heads as to how they got there. Now I guess we know.

This is a link from ch. 4 of this book. Scroll about halfway down the page and you will see an Ice Age discussion. Climactic changes causing an ice age can lead to advancing glaciers. They can happen quickly and then disappear in a matter of hundreds of years, not 10 thousands, not millions. http://www.creationism.org/books/TaylorInMindsMen/TaylorIMMd04.htm Ice ages have happened in the recent past leading me to believe that the ice ages are recent (in the past 5000 years) and climactic changes leading to another ice age could happen in the future. Evidence of ice ages does necessarily have to lead to the conclusion of eons of time passing. An ice age can be catastrophic (sudden) and have devastating effects on life on earth. Check out this link on the Little Ice Age lasting from th 16th century to the 19th century. This link is not from a Christian view point yet proves my point that glaciers are recent, sudden, and fairly short. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_ice_age

Banana Bran Muffins (low-fat, no sugar) 2 cups Kellogg's All-Bran 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1 egg 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 large banana, mashed 2 tbs. oil 1 1/4 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt Pour buttermilk over bran and let set for 5 minutes. Add egg, applesauce, mashed banana, & oil. Mix together dry ingredients and add buttermilk mixture until just moistened. Bake in muffin tins at 350 for 15-20 minutes. You could add the soda to the butter- milk before adding to the bran. Banana Bread 3 large ripe bananas, mashed 1 cup sugar 1 egg 4 tbs. butter, melted 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda walnuts or pecans, optional chocolate chips, optional Put into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Something that hasn't been brought up is how to reduce the risk of buying used. When I'm buying something used from Amazon, many dealers come up and I buy from the ones that have the highest rep. It is harder on a board like this because there is no buyer/seller rep., at least that I know of. I sold some curriculum and really don't even know if the people who received it were pleased with it. I sure hope they were but how is anyone else to know that a person has had a good experience with a seller. Maybe a buyer should post to the for sale ad after receiving the curriculum and the proof would be there. They used to do this on homeschool board I won't name and boy I always checked that before buying from people. I buy most of my things new but have only had one disappointing book (a little paperback that looked like it had seen its better days) sent to me that was completely misrepresented. I think asking questions from a seller and getting as many details as possible before buying. Paypal has made things easier and has saved our family from getting ripped off. Another risk reducer for me has been to purchase insurance on items over $30. I figure that if someone was displeased with something or it was damaged, I would refund their money rather than have my rep. ruined.

:iagree:Just wanted to say I like Paul Johnson and I like the Marrin books. Sounds like a great combination.

I have a view out my back window of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I can see Mineral King Bowl. My husband loves to climb them. Homer's nose aka Bill Clinton's nose(so named by my daughter when she was a toddler) is staring at us when it's not smoky/smoggy.

4 large apples 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 2 tbs. flour Dot with a tbs. butter Pie crust (makes 2 crusts) 2 cups flour (sifted) 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup Wesson oil 1/4 cup cold milk Stir lightly, make into ball. Divide in half, roll between waxed paper. This crust works best if you handle it right away. You must sift the flour, that's the trick esp. with oil crust. It's a little healthier than the shortening/ butter one if you're looking for lower cholestrol. That shortening/butter one that was posted a week or so ago looked pretty darn good. I don't make pie too often but this is my dear mil recipe and I am able to make this without too much trouble. It's in my family cookbook.