one more thing~ my daughter didn't seem to think the books needed to be read in any order. maybe she's wrong, but she said they had some similar characters but completely different story lines.

i'm currently 1/2 through reading Redwall with my children. They love it. there is fighting and death and descriptions of injury/death, not gory, but still i would want to know. there are words like idiot, stupid, etc... no swears yet, but i usually skip idiot, etc.. however my eldest daughter has read three other ones on her own since i started this aloud so she's seeing it anyway. i have no issue with it, obviously overall.

we are tech-geeks and book lovers. we have ipod, itouch, shuffles and mp3. shuffles are good for younger ones who don't care if it starts in the same spot or that they cannot see the album/book. our two girls are using Sony mp3 from Walmart online. they are perfect. now, if i had money to burn, i would get them nanos or itouch (games and books) b/c it's small but has a screen and is perfectly compatible with itunes, which is what we use. the mp3 can work with itunes, but it's set up to use windows media player with the cd it comes with. we have macs, so anyway it can take a few steps, but we do it. also you can easily buy a pair of $10 speakers and plug the mp3 into it at home. you can also buy an audio plug and plug it into your car speakers or if you have a tape deck in your car buy a $10 adapter kit. very versatile and takes up much less space than a bunch of cds.

Look online and see if you can see inside the book. I would not start at the beginning. The books are phonics related and go through letter groups. The children read in them and write. I think they are a nice compliment to our work in OPGTR.

Since she's your step daughter, I would defer to your husband. IMO, I think I would host this party and then later on in the week discuss with her that it's not polite to host a party at someone's home for yourself.

my daughter is ahead of him, but not where my other daugthers were at the same age. I think twins are different than singletons.

Reading/Language Arts- Rod & Staff Phonics- Rod & Staff Math- Singapore Handwriting- A Reason for Handwriting History- SOTW w/ siblings Science- Apologia w/ siblings Our CC community covers Latin, Geography, Fine Arts, along with additional History, Science, Math, English

I think 'quirky' is an appropriate word for this. I have five children and my last two are b/g twins, delivered at 37 weeks, w/ no nicu time either. my other 2 are 'normal' developmentally and my eldest is 'gifted' by technical standards, just to give you background. at around 14 m i had my b twin evaluated at our peds b/c he wasn't developing like my other children in gross motor and exp/rec speech. she said he was at the level of a 10 m. and i agreed. i am kind of a child development nerd and read all sorts of books on the subject just for fun, even before i had kids. i wanted to make sure that i wasn't being blind to my sweet boy's needs. she said that as long as the gap doesn't widen as they progress then things are okay. i could tell that she was fishing for autism with the questions that she asked b/c i had read several books for a friend years ago. i did not suspect autism, but i also wanted to see how he 'measured' up. i'm glad that i did not follow up w/ any other appointments b/c he's progressing just fine. is he where my other children were? no. however, he understands most of what i ask and he talks more bit by bit. i see progress. he is a quiet child who wanders around a lot, but he's always listening, even if he doesn't seem like it. however, he is difficult in many of the same ways you describe. there is a lot of screaming when he cannot communicate. he does not understand reasoning at all, yet. he is sensitive to sensory type stuff. however, my dad and father in law were both ocd. my husband has anxiety and my eldest daughter had several sensory issues that she has overcome/dealt with/keeps secret now that she's older. my eldest is my most 'difficult' child b/c i never know what might send her into hysterical tears, clothing has to be a certain way, etc... but she's my brightest child. you need to do what you feel is best, but be careful not to box him in at such a young age. if you are homeschooling then 'labels' for the sake of services is not nearly as important as when a child is in school. one of the smartest kids i know didn't talk until he was 3. no exaggeration.

My opinion, and it's just that, an opinion is that he is either really stubborn and trying to get out of work or there is another issue that you need to have evaluated like eyes, ears, attention, etc... I have never known anyone who hasn't learned their letters if they watch The Leapfrog DVD. Even if he's just in the room while it's on, something should be penetrating because it's so repetitive. It is the way each of my children have learned their letters and most of my friends as well, starting at about age 2 for most. Although I find it unnecessary to know your letters that young, the younger siblings would just absorb it. Have you tried bribing him with candy/prizes to make sure that he's not pulling your leg? My 2nd dd would not give me the satisfaction that she knew her letters until one day she busted out knowing all of them. Stinker.

buy a cd player with repeat and a 'sleep' function. set it for the 2 hr period and just say that is the limit. it saves you from having to go back in there. i would change it up to a book on tape, if were me. if they are going to listen to something at least it could be teaching them as well... :) the library has tons of choices. choose ones above their reading level. for years i put music/books on tape on for my children at bedtime. once my children can independently read then they cannot listen to their cd players at bedtime. they can either read for 30 mins-60 mins (depending on when we got them in bed) or go to sleep. however my 2nd dd still would prefer a cd, so at least once a week i let her listen to a book at bedtime. i debate on whether it would be better for her to listen to more challenging books at bedtime or read her level books. however, i'm afraid she will never read for leisure if i don't set it up now. also, mp3 are a great choice for trips. headphones in and everyone has their books. you don't have to go the ipod route-walmart has great inexpensive sony ones.

this is tricky. if there were some way to let her know that if this $ is lost she is on her own, that might be an option. however as far as informing her to abandon her dreams, i think that is a bad idea. i think that parents should be the 'soft' place to fall. she will discover on her own if her plans will work or not. i think that our children should believe that we believe that they can achieve whatever the Lord has planned for them. i don't think that her failure means you should pick up the pieces, but just be there to support and direct, if she asks. this is just my opinion. obviously you are her parent and you will do your best b/c you know her the best.

I've never used MUS, but I have used Singapore with my children from the start. My children do not struggle with math. My middle dd can be difficult sometimes, but she gets it. It is usually more of an attitude problem than a math problem. I like it and my kids do well with it. They have the 'US' edition, so it's not 'Asian' Math.

I don't have the evidence you are looking for, but honestly, unless that family member is going to financially support your child in later years, why should he/she care? Maybe your child is going to work in a hospital in later years and this sleep pattern will benefit him/her. Only the Lord knows our future. He gave you to be the parent of this particular child for a reason.

I agree. It ALL comes down to parenting, unless there is a biological issue that cannot be helped as easily. (I always add that b/c I have a close friend with an autistic son who 'looks' his age, but has some social issues.) Poor parents are in every realm of society. However, considering the flack HSers get, I would like to think that we would step up the game and try extra hard to defy the stereotypical behavior. We should be above reproach... :)

Question- what Biblical evidence do you have to support that the 'saints' can hear you once they have gone into heaven? it just seems to me that i would rather spend my energy praying to Jesus because I know He can hear me. Even if I'm just asking the saints to intercede, it seems like a wasted effort if I have no idea if they can hear me.

my fitness pal determines your BMR based on your height, weight, etc... that is what is nice about the site. it does the figuring for you. i'm only supposed to intake 1200 as well, which i don't have that much issue with, as long as i make good choices... still not losing weight however. mfpal does give you the 'extra' calories from exercise to eat.

i use my fitness pal too! i am also trying to lose 20 lbs w/o much success. are you eating too little? you know the body will go into 'starvation' mode if you are eating too little. you need to at least eat 1100 calories. i work out daily, stay under 1200 calories and have only lost 5 lbs in almost six weeks. i'm plateaued and don't know what to do. if you figure it out, share the knowledge. find me on mfp=cincomama...

do you have a CATO's near you? They have size 7 and up for girls with cute, dressier clothing for inexpensive prices.

We are about to wrap our families' fourth year of CC. I'm actually taking over our campus as the director next year b/c our director is adding on Challenge and will tackle that from now on. I concur that is a lot of money. However, considering it breaks down to about $13 for 3 hrs, per child, per day. It's less than most people pay for city league soccer practices. For me, I'd rather spend money on this than anything else for my children. Joining a CC community is not for everyone. If you are a disciplined type that will practice memory work with your children without having to have accountability then maybe you can save your money and do it all at home. When I first joined CC, I didn't even know anything about classical education. I have learned so much about classical education and become such a better teacher for my children and I have a degree in education and an extra certification to teach gifted children! I enjoy being part of a community that has expectations for learning. The tutors are trained and paid, but they are committed. I would not want to be part of a co-op where the subjects that are offered change every six weeks and we're struggling to figure out who's going to teach what each rotation. I have enough confusion in my own life... :) Maybe this is just my personality, but I like being a part of a community where the moms have a similar focus and we can relate on that level. The moms are Christian Classical Educators who have paid for their children to join this community. When people pay for things usually it will increase their participation because they do not want to 'waste' their money. So, we have a great experience because people are prepared and excited to be there. On the Essentials note... Although the grammar is tough, I will say my daughter has learned a ridiculous amount of grammar. She could run circles around me. Her writing is so wonderful and I love the IEW program that Essentials incorporates. Having to turn in her paper to someone else keeps all of us accountable, even though I read it and have her make corrections, etc... Maybe it's the competitive nature of it or pride, but whatever it is, she gets it done. I could do everything that CC does at home with my children. However, it would not be the same experience. At some level you are paying for the experience of learning it together. It is a wonderful time for the kids and for mom, while learning great things. Memory work is more fun when it's done in a group setting with songs, movements, competitions, and crafts. Also, they do art/music and science experiments weekly, so that's take a load off my guilt train since I don't always follow through with art/music. My kids LOVE it. They will be so sad when it ends in two weeks.

That is quite the literal interpretation. I believe the verse means more of what some said about 'honoring or worshiping'. I am not giving my couch honor. :)

interesting... and well written. my mother is Catholic and goes to church weekly. Maybe it is her perception, maybe she has been incorrectly taught the correct Catholic way (her father was a deacon in the Catholic church), but she prays to the saints and pray to Mary, believing that they can do something. I can see why people have misconceptions.

it doesn't say 'graven' images b/c of your version of the Bible.

okay, so i agree that the statues, crosses, necklaces, might not be 'idol' worship as per the old testament examples. however, if you bow before anything that isn't Christ or pray to anyone who isn't Christ, isn't that idol worship?

i was raised in the Catholic church, but I did not have a personal relationship with Christ until I was 22. I would like to see what responses you get to the 'graven images' because I have to say that I agree with your husband. yikes!