I do have Figuratively Speaking, but I have found it pretty useless. (No offence to those who have enjoyed it; different things work for different kids.) the reason it hasn't worked for us is that it takes all of the ideas out of the context of actually encountering them in a work of literature. I personally really enjoy literary analysis, but for me that is because it is simply the process of reading deeper into some amazing stories. I think what we want to do is give our kids some additional tools to do that. I like the Windows to the World material because I think it is better at connecting these tools to their uses by enjoying real short stories in the process, not just talking a look at the tools themselves with a magnifying glass. It also helps kids to communicate their discoveries and enjoyment clearly in writing, which is an important writing skill. Just my thoughts- Elaine

Thanks, Fluffybunny! Just now got to see this post. Very helpful input. Elaine

Fluffybunny, what did you like better about Cothran's Logic II? We are using the Canon Press Intro to Logic this year for 7th grade and I am preparing to order for next year. I'm wondering what was appealing enough to convince you to switch curriculums. Does the sequencing still work out pretty well without a lot of gaps or repeated information? Thanks, Elaine

My son has recently quit Singulair after quite a few years of use because he has been prescribed a stronger medication via inhaler. We haven't noticed any side effects. I have, however, heard of some people experiencing depression as a side effect of USE (not withdrawal). Have you asked your doctor about it? Elaine

I loved this book. I also really enjoyed Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton. Elaine

I am so behind, but I don't want to give up on the challenge because I know I will read more if I stay involved in these threads! I love to read, I just feel like I don't have enough time. Anyway, this week I finished reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. The author is a researcher who studied the effects of shame on people's lives and the book comes out of the results of that research. It was definitely thought provoking, although I wish she had provided more specific examples from her research to illustrate the principles she introduces. I am discussing the book with some friends IRL, which makes it more interesting. Elaine

Has anyone had kids take online Latin classes through the Potter's School? We live in Asia, and I am having a hard time finding an online class that looks good which is available in our time zone. We will be finishing 3rd Form Latin (Memoria Press) this year at the end of 7th grade, and I just don't feel like I can take my ds any farther without outsourcing. I"d like to pick a program we can stick with throughout high school. Any experience? Thanks for your input. Elaine

I read Silas Marner by George Eliot this week. The book club of middle schoolers I lead is going to be reading through it together. I remember really liking it when I read it in high school and I enjoyed it this time around as well. It is an intriguing look at what it means to belong to a community and the freedom as well as the constraits that places on life. I am inspired to reread Middlemarch now, except that I've got to get through Les Miserables before I start anything else that is too much of a "chunkster". :)

I also agree that the church should ask for a certain amount per child for childcare upfront. You should be getting at least 5 dollars per child per session, in my opinion. I would happily pay 5 dollars per kid for them to havea well planned 2 hour art class while I participated in an adult activity which interested me for free! The church could use whatever money they have available to "scholarship" those who truly cannot afford the 5 dollars but would be greatly benefitted by the program. Elaine

This looks very interesting! I'll be looking at this one for my kindle. Thanks! Elaine

My 5yo ds has been doing this for about 6 months or so. I'm not sure what to tell you about how to respond, but I would like to encourage you that it is definitely getting better, so I think it is just a phase in his development rather than a harbinger of a future life of crime. ;) When I talk to him about why he does it, he just says "because it was a cool toy" or something along that line, which sounds pretty similar to the little boy in the post above who answered "It was yummy". We just keep talking through why it was wrong, how he wouldn't want someone else to take his cool toys, and how important it is to be a person other people can trust. I usually have him apologize and make restitution when appropriate. Elaine

This week I read Lake of Dreams by Kim Edward. I find her writing much improved in this novel as compared to The Memory Keeper's Daughter. The thought processes of her characters seem more realistic. She definitely underscores her themes in a slightly heavy-handed manner but the storyline was fun and I enjoyed the book. She did a good job capturing the perspective of an expat returning home and I'm wondering if she has spent time living overseas. Haven't fact checked that yet, though- Elaine

I do think, though, that if kids read too many badly written books it will negatively impact their writing skills. That is where I agree with the junk food analogy. Elaine

This is me, too. I think the combination of the two makes it hard to fit seamlessly into most homeschooling groups. Elaine

Hmmmm.....They say I am most like someone from Ethiopia. That seems strange to me. BMI is a wierd index to me though, as I am usually told I need to gain weight but I knkow perfectly well that I could stand to lose about 5 pounds. (And no, I don't have an eating disorder.) I think my build just doesn't make it a very useful measurement. Elaine

I would have a meeting that includes the BILs. Sorry that communication has been challenging and hope it all gets worked out soon. :grouphug: Elaine

Welcome back, Aubrey! Thanks for sharing your story with us. Elaine

One thing that worked well for our book club was to give each participant a limited number of tokens which would be tossed in the middle each time a comment was made or question posed. This encouraged the ones who wanted to jump in right away with the first thing that sprung into their minds to think through a bit more before responding and also created more space for the quieter ones to join in. We didn't do this everytime but found it to be a helpful exercise. The kids thought it was fun. I also try to create different formats for response: small groups, drama, writing, games, etc... in addition to the traditional large group discussion to relate better to different learning styles and mix things up a bit. Elaine

I finally finished Death Comes For the Archbishop by Willa Cather this week. It certainly didn't have an action packed plot, but she did a wonderful job of conveying a sense of place. I felt like I could see and experience New Mexico as it was just after the United States added it to its territory. Her main characters were likeable and also realistic. I would recommend the book. I am currently reading 2 books: The Habit of Being, which is the collected letters of Flannery O'Connor, and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Les Miserables is about 1500 pages, so I think it will be awhile before I am done reading it. Elaine

This has been a very busy week which has included my youngest son's surgery to take out his tonsils, so I haven't done a lot of reading. I did, however, finish How to Read Church History by Jean Comby. It was a very interesting overview and I particularly appreciated the inclusion of so much primary source material. It will be a great jumping off point for further study. I did find her presentation of the Crusades a bit disturbing, in that she made it sound as if they were a bit of a reasonable thing to do. Of course, I suppose they would have seemed that way to people at the time. It is written from a Catholic perspective, so post-Schism most of the text is focused on the Western church. This week I am continuing to read Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. So far: 1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter 2. How to Read Church History Elaine

This past week I finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. The story line is intriguing and i thought she did a good job developing the main characters. I like that they are not "good people" or "bad people", but just people who make good and bad choices and then live out the consequences of those choices. I appreciate the way she fleshed out the challenges and joys of parenting a child with Down's syndrome. The writing is definitely best at the beginning and the end. The middle gets a bit repetitive and I think she tries to accomplish too much through flashbacks, lending an unreal sense to some of the elements of the story. She also hammers a bit hard on her imagery. It is apparently her first novel, though. I liked it well enough to pick up her second one. I am currently working on finishing How to Read Church History by Jean Comby. I am planning a personal challenge of reading from the Church Fathers this year, and I think it will provide a great framework for that. I have also just started Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Elaine

Not my life long favorite, but one I have recently discovered appropriate to this time of year: Year's End by Richard Wilbur Now winter downs the dying of the year, And night is all a settlement of snow; From the soft street the rooms of houses show A gathered light, a shapen atmosphere, Like frozen-over lakes whose ice is thin And still allows some stirring down within. I've known the wind by water banks to shake The late leaves down, which frozen where they fell And held in ice as dancers in a spell Fluttered all winter long into a lake; Graved on the dark in gestures of descent, They seemed their own most perfect monument. There was perfection in the death of ferns Which laid their fragile cheeks against the stone A million years. Great mammoths overthrown Composedly have made their long sojourns, Like palaces of patience, in the gray And changeless lands of ice. And at Pompeii The little dog lay curled and did not rise But slept the deeper as the ashes rose And found the people incomplete, and froze The random hands, the loose unready eyes Of men expecting yet another sun To do the shapely thing they had not done. These sudden ends of time must give us pause. We fray into the future, rarely wrought Save in the tapestries of afterthought. More time, more time. Barrages of aplause Come muffled from a buried radio. The New-year bells are wrangling with the snow.

I dropped out pretty early on last year, but I think I will try again in 2013. I am in the middle of a couple of books right now which I won't be counting as I started them in 2012. My first book for this year is The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I am about a quarter of the way through and finding it intriguing. Elaine

One of my guiding principles is that I want violence to remain horrific. I don't want violent and abusive acts to start to seem "normal" or " ho hum, that happens". Yes, we live in a world awash in violence, but we should all retain the inner knowledge that it is not the way things are meant to be and retain, if possible, an instinctive sense of horror and grief that such things take place. Given that, I pay the closest attention not just to the blow by blow description of what is portrayed but to the context of the story, the characters response to the acts described, and the ultimate effect they are shown to have on the movement of the plot and the lives of those involved. Elaine

Does anyone have any experience purchasing a gift certificate through GiftRocket? We live far away from my parents and I wanted to send them a gift certificate for a restaurant close to them. I feel nervous using a company I've never heard of before, although it seems like a good option. Experiences? Thanks, Elaine