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BBG580

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Everything posted by BBG580

  1. I think some of it has to do with the obsession our culture has with planning the perfect wedding, the fantasy extravaganza in which every detail is perfect. I've known a bride who demanded one of her bridesmaids lose weight because she thought she wouldn't look "good enough" in the photos otherwise. I think it is easy enough to make accommodations for young children, have some sort of easy plan established so parents can slip out if their child becomes loud or restless during the ceremony. I'm probably being uncharitable here, I am just so tired of image driven wedding planning instead of the focus being on asking your friends and family come see you make the biggest commitment of your life. It is more than a gown and the right flowers for goodness sake! I understand wanting to have a great experience and beautiful memories to cherish but the quest for wedding perfection (and the expense of it all!) is just out of control.
  2. I've found that contact paper can actually work better for things like flashcards because they don't stick together the way laminated cards do! :)
  3. I ordered the full first grade package and it arrived today. I am so excited about teaching math now when before it was the one subject I was the most worried about. I'm not a mathy person but the IG is very clear on how to teach and the workbook and manipulatives look fantastic. OK, so I haven't used it (or anything yet) but I am still excited! Thanks to the few moms here who pointed me in this direction, though at this point I can't remember your usernames!
  4. Hmm, wow, you've gotten a lot of great replies. My parents never paid car insurance for me, not even when I was a minor living at home. I was told they had already provided the only transportation they were going to provide - my feet - and if I wanted to go faster than than I'd have to get a job. And so I got a job, bought my own car and paid for all the gas and insurance. You are not doing your daughter any favors by allowing her to treat you so poorly while also expecting you to shoulder her financial burdens. If she wants to be treated as an adult - moving out is part of adulthood - then treat her like an adult. You may want to give her as a launch gift into adulthood the Financial Peace series by Dave Ramsey. What she chooses to do with it is her own concern but YOU are not responsible for her choices, financial or otherwise once she is on her own. Hang in there, I can only imagine how hard it would be to put this kind of tough love into practice. :grouphug:
  5. Thanks everyone! I've not lesson planned before so it is intimidating. I am not sure of the timing of it all and planning a full year out is probably asking for trouble. I think I will just do our first quarter, 9 weeks, and see how that goes. The truth of the matter is that I am making myself nuts trying to be as prepared as possible. It is more reactionary to my mom and sis believing that I am ruining my kids' lives by hsing (they are public educators, of course!). I feel the need to be as prepared and ready as possible so I am sure to not screw it up, though the truth of the matter is that file folders and lesson plans don't necessarily mean success. Then again, it is only 1st grade. :chillpill: And it is fun to plan and dream about all the things I've picked for us to work on. Lots of hands on projects, baking, gardening and fun unit studies. It will all be OK, file folders or not, right?!
  6. I'm sitting in a sea of stacks of curriculum that I've printed, books and empty lesson plan sheets for 36 weeks. I've got my file folders ready, I'm going to tackle lesson planning for one subject at a time and get the folders stuffed with added craft lists and library lists for the following week. I am feeling overwhelmed. Gulp. How long did this take you? I can't imagine trying to do this for multiple children - especially older children with a lot more curriculum!
  7. Good grief. :) I know this is a long thread but I feel like I've (and others) have addressed this over and over again! I simply meant that most of the curriculum that I select has no religious underpinnings and is "secular". Which is why I defined that as secular homeschooling. Signing out, thanks everyone for your thoughts.
  8. I'm not sure how you could have read through this entire thread and got the impression that we are all promoting "Sunday only" Christianity! :)
  9. We're doing Handbook of Nature Study with the seasonal guides found here: handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com I need some sort of curriculum framework, don't think I could fly by the seat of my pants and I've printed out all four seasons and they look not only do-able but I think I can get my 3 year old involved as well in little ways which is a bonus for me. I have two little ones as well and I thought the outside time and nature journaling would be the easiest for me, though I am worried about the winter months! The plan is to just use what is right in our own backyard and really, it should only take 15-30 minutes 2 or so times a week. The Shining Dawn nature unit study supplements also are giving me an additional curriculum for each season and a lot of that can be done inside, with books and drawing and things like that. (Fruit and Nuts, Butterflies, Snow and Ice and Plant Cycle) (I haven't actually used this yet, it is just a plan, so take this for what it is worth!) Good luck choosing!
  10. I think a good, solid Catholic school is hard to find. I've looked and found none that met my criteria for a rigorous education as well as offering acceptable catechesis. My home is also decidedly Catholic, my life is lived as an ardent lover of Jesus and my will is in following Him and His teachings through my actions in my daily life and my participation in the Sacraments of our Church. Hopefully "show" vs. "tell" will matter more to my children in the long run, if that makes sense. They will each go through CCD at our parish and that will be the backbone of their catechesis. I am a Catholic convert and I am adherent to the CCC. Most Christian homeschooling materials I've found seem a little sunshine and rainbows to me, obviously I am just basing this on viewing the occasional sample so I could be off. And I still strongly believe that the best education a child can receive requires them to be independent thinkers, have the ability to synthesize and process all sorts of information and beliefs and be able to come out on the other side with either knowing the factual information that is necessary or being able to form an opinion based on sound reasoning. I desperately want my children to be active, practicing Catholics as adults - I just don't want them to be rote practicing Catholics, I want them to think it through and accept the theology or not. I am using ToG which is decidedly NOT Catholic but once again, if we homeschool through the Dialectic and Rhetoric years and choose to use ToG all the way through I can see the Church History portions of the curriculum giving me a jumping off place for thorough discussions about Christian history and the Protestant Reformation.
  11. You're right! Great point. :)
  12. In this instance I mean that my homeschool is not going to be focused on a specific religious indoctrination of my children via curriculum. I will present curriculum that teaches them what is necessary to become well educated and I will model in my daily life and actions my faith, but I will not seek out curriculum that tells them about that faith in a structured way. I'm not saying my children will not receive a religious education - we attend Mass a few times per week, we read about the saint for each calendar day, we say our prayers, pray the Rosary often, etc. My kids will all participate in CCD at our parish, volunteer, participate in various parish co-op activities, and my son will serve as an altar boy. Our lives are structured by the liturgical year, are lived on the principles of my religion and the actions it demands of me, and I think that is enough.
  13. I had to tell my 5 year old tonight to NOT EVER PEE IN THE BATHTUB AGAIN! Yuck.
  14. Once again, I meant for a one year cycle of instruction, not an entire homeschool career! I was wondering about jumping ship midstream during a year. I can only imagine that I will make curriculum changes on a yearly basis as I see fit, but I do hope that I will stick with a program for a full year unless it is such a disaster that zero learning is taking place. I do not think tears and boredom will move me, but I am NEW so what do I know?! :tongue_smilie:
  15. Yes, totally agree. I am always a little surprised to see how ardently so many Christians cling to the idea that "the Founding Fathers" were Christians when that is not necessarily the case and a read of even a brief biography of one or two of them would make that pretty clear!
  16. Nope, doesn't offend me at all, however, I need some basis for scientific belief to be more than "the Bible says this is so". I do not personally believe that the Bible is the sole source of inspired revelation, the Church compiled the Bible and also has sacred Tradition. I am free to believe that the creation story in Genesis is allegorical, and I do. :) Ken Ham is the guy who is building the Creation Museum: http://creationmuseum.org/
  17. Thank you! Yes, we are also going to be focusing on past vs. present and helping her understand time and human history in general. I specifically chose the historical period we are starting with (Colonial American/Am. Revolution) because we live right where it happened and I think she's going to need tangible, in person visits to "get it". At this point there is no difference in her mind to Colonial Williamsburg as a living history museum and Disney World and meeting Princess Aurora. Which I honestly don't think is such a bad thing at this point, but by the end of first grade she's got to have a better handle on human history vs. human fantasy. :) Now that I am shopping for curriculum and trying to plan our years ahead, let me tell you there is SO MUCH I want my kids to know and I just hope the 12 years I've got to formally school them is going to be enough time!
  18. Yay or nay? My kids love, love, love the Berenstain Bears so I thought it might be worth the $25 just b/c it would interest them, but still looking for thoughts before I order.
  19. My oldest is too little for "meaty" science yet. She still believes Mary Poppins is not only real but is going to show up at any moment to take her flying in the clouds with her umbrella. :D Fact vs. fiction is going to be a big part of our homeschool focus next year with history, science and geography! Thanks for explaining the positives of Apologia. I'm really surprised that there isn't a secular alternative that is similar. In this one area, I can really see just going for textbooks and adding our own experiments. For first grade we are using Harmony Mom's Handbook of Nature Study seasonal unit study series with Shining Dawn unit supplements (Fruit and Nuts for autumn, snow and ice for winter, butterflies for spring, plant cycles for summer). It is going to be very CM style science for the kids during early elementary ed, probably until 3rd grade or so. I'm tying in Little Acorn Learning and Seasons of Joy's monthly/seasonal Waldorf curriculum with songs, finger plays, crafts and things here and there. We've used the Waldorf preK/K curriculum for several years - long before I discovered WTM and I love it so much I cannot let it go for my littles. That gives me a few years to figure out "meaty" science. I am also looking forward to getting BFSU in the mail and seeing what it has to say.
  20. So what did you start with and what did you switch to? I understand that learning styles and preferences affect what works but I am curious!
  21. I have to admit that I haven't even allowed myself to look at Apologia because I've read of the Ken Ham association... and I just can't personally go there yet. It does appear to be the only science curriculum really promoted around the WTM forums aside from BFSU (which Amazon is delivering tomorrow!) but that will only take us so far. I'm sure I will check out Apologia at some point but if it is in any way, shape or form Young Earth I'm just not certain I can tweak it enough to work for us! This is total ignorance about the curriculum writing here, so take these thoughts for exactly what they're worth. :tongue_smilie:
  22. I'm Catholic, adherent and actively practicing. I did not choose to homeschool for religious reasons and I can't say that I am selecting curriculum in order to integrate Catholicism into our homeschool. In fact, I am almost trying to avoid religious homeschooling materials (like MFW or HOD) simply because I don't want the hassle of trying to tweak the religious instruction that is included. I suppose I also feel that science should be based on scientific investigative principles and not anything else - what do we know from what we can observe and learn from our environment, and so on. I want my children to be Christians, of course, but I also think they have to want and seek that for themselves. I can hold a candle and try and light their way a bit but I can't force them into faith. Is there anyone else like this out there?
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