Not relevant to the OP really, but Chicago style = Turabian. Kate Turabian wrote the standard guide used by students at the University of Chicago. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html Just extra info FWIW. ;)

I don't have any ideas, but my 6.5 year old would love to come to that party! She's a penguin nut these days. :)

I've read volumes 1, 3, and 6. I think those are the key ones to understanding her philosophy and practice. Volume 6 in particular was written several years (decades?) after the earlier ones and so she's had time to reflect on on how things have been worked out in the PNEU schools.

:iagree: I'm 5'6.5" and my lean mass is 130 lbs, so I'd have to lose a lot of muscle for that formula to work. No thanks.

I would agree with all this and add that the end is not vocational training, or even training the mind, but training the soul for wisdom and virtue. That's why the classic literature of the "great conversation" is a key part. Along with having the mind trained with the tools of learning, so that the child can discern what is good, true and beautiful and express those things.

I think that's finally what I've learned. I was good at doing really restrictive diets for a short period of time, but then I'd have *one bite* or see the scale not go down or heaven-forbid go up, and I'd ditch the diet. Usually overdoing it to make up for how deprived I felt during the restrictive diet. This mindset plus 4 pregnancies (and never losing while breastfeeding) added 50 lbs on over a 10 year period. And I wasn't at an ideal weight even before that. But this past year was kind of a perfect storm of feelings, changes, life crises that made me just stop the "I'll start Monday and be perfect" cycle and make real changes. I fully expect to indulge in favorite treats over Christmas and New Years. BUT I also know without a doubt, that my overall lifestyle has changed and those days won't stretch into weeks, months, etc. 2011 is gonna be a fantastic year for us!

Keep up the great work, Nance!:thumbup: I'm creeping up on 50 lbs lost since last May and I've had weeks with great losses, weeks with gains, weeks with no losses. But the overall trend has been down, down, down. I'm pushing hard with my really clean eating a few more days and then I'll relax a bit while we're traveling over the holidays. Then Jan. 3rd hit it hard again and work on the last 30-40 lbs.

Not specifically about either, but I'm currently reading "10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of you Child" by Anthony Esolen and it's wonderful. Here's the blurb about it at ISI books: http://www.isi.org/books/bookdetail.aspx?id=bb314511-0f9e-40ce-a4ce-98bf96dd9eab

Thanks for sharing these! Ken Myers will be speaking at the CiRCE conference next summer. He's one of my favorite people to listen to. :)

Beautifully said. :001_smile:

But you've essentially just pushed the American college system down into high school. I think you still have the issue of students not mastering a set of skills and core knowledge before allowing them to pursue their individualized interests. I don't mind more specializing at the high school level, IF by 8th grade you have students who are prepared to write well on their chosen interests, can research and read deeply, have a foundation of mathematical skills making higher science courses possible. I'd say a general understanding of chronological history and geography are also necessary. If all these things can be mastered by 8th grade, fine, open up high school to a broader smorgasboard of courses. As it is right now the problem at the university level is not a lack of choices taught by professors who are passionate about their particular subjects, but students who have not yet mastered the skills to LEARN those subjects. Because high school did not adequately prepare them. If you make high school similar without requiring preparation in the K-8 years, interesting subjects and individualization won't make up the difference. So *somewhere* in the course of an education, there has to be a mind well-trained in the verbal and mathematical arts. A core progression of content and skills on which the student can build.

I had my first three in a hospital, very standard hospital births, the third ended up a c-section. Nothing horrible, just typical. My fourth was a midwife-attended, birth center birth. There was no comparison. Dh and I were so relaxed, comfortable, cared for and then happy to go home a few hours after our baby arrived to snuggle and get to know her in our own space. I wish I'd lived in a city and state with more options for my first three, I'd love to have a do over. But I'm so happy I got to experience such a joyful, peaceful birth with my fourth.

:iagree:

:iagree: Give me short, hard, intense workouts over long hours of boring walking any day of the week. Intervals of sprints, circuit training, weight lifting--just hit it HARD and get it over with.

Having a trainer or guide in this process can make a huge difference. I knew how to lose weight too, plenty of head knowledge. But working with a personal trainer over the past 4 months has added the encouragement and accountability that I needed to get. it. done. I don't want to waste her time or let her down. I hope you find that this is the key thing to your success too!

We're not to Year 6 yet, but I thought I'd chime in with how we use AO in case it's helpful. :) I use the Veritas history cards for our general pegs for a time period and then use AO history and biography selections to flesh out that information. So far this has worked really well for us. And it should make it possible for me to add in my younger ones as we progress into later years, while still keeping them in their own levels for literature, nature readings, and so on. So this year is middle ages, Renaissance, and Reformation for us. We've read from Our Island Story, Trial and Triumph, Child's History of the World, Lamb's Shakespeare and many other AO Year 2 and 3 selections. Next year as we move into Year 4 we'll use the VP Explorers to 1815 cards. I think I'll be using the Guerber books for American history, perhaps the combined volume that Memoria Press has recently published, or the two volumes from Nothing New Press. When we get to Year 6 and back to ancients, my older two will continue with AO readings (and perhaps some Omnibus essays and book selections) and my younger one will start her VP history cycle with Egypt/Greece/Rome and we'll read from CHOW, 50 Famous Stories, D'Aulaires, etc. to complement both AO and the VP cycle. We have loved the AO book selections so much, both for history and literature.

If you didn't know, "Norms and Nobility" written by classical headmaster David Hicks provided direction for HEO Years 7-12. It's definitely a rich, classical program!

:thumbup: Great job, Michelle! I've had several friends (virtual and IRL) have great success with C25K this year. Well done!

He left a chocolate orange in each shoe here. And a letter in response to the letters the kids left him. :)

I've heard really good things about Laura Hillenbrand's (author of Seabiscuit) book Unbroken. http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163

I won't add more books, I'd just repeat many of the ones mentioned here. ("Norms and Nobility" and Charlotte Mason's Vol. 6 are my annual reads) But the Memoria Press website has many excellent articles. The Circe Institute website has great information, blog posts, and CDs/mp3s from their annual conferences. http://www.circeinstitute.org/ WordMp3.com has tons of downloads from the ACCS and Veritas Press conferences, some of those can be encouraging and helpful. I just keep in mind the audience is usually classroom teachers and adjust accordingly. http://www.wordmp3.com/search.aspx?topic=yes&search=Classical+Education+Conferences Andrew Pudewa has some really good talks available at his site. http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/catalog/e-audio?page=3 And don't forget SWB's excellent MP3s available at PHP. I love to have talks to put on my iPod so when I'm feeling a little less than motivated about classical education I can fold clothes, go for a walk or drive, wash the dishes, and still be encouraged while I listen.

Here's one of my friend's Etsy page http://www.etsy.com/shop/SugarPieChic?page=1

It's Katie Fforde's "Stately Pursuits" I think. http://www.amazon.com/Stately-Pursuits-Katie-Fforde/dp/0312206763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290911106&sr=8-1 I went through a Katie Fforde phase a couple of years ago. They're all very similar (to each other and other British chick lit) but fun. :)

Vol. 3 and 6 are my favorites and the ones I re-read on a regular basis. I think 6 stands alone well and since it's written 20 or so years after the earlier ones, there's more clarity of ideas I think.

I've found Linda Fay's blog invaluable: http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/ http://higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/ I've also recently discovered Nancy's blog: http://sageparnassus.blogspot.com/ And then ditto to read Charlotte Mason's original writings. The book "When Children Love to Learn" is a helpful modern application of CM's ideas. The authors are teachers in schools founded on her ideas, so there is a more "schoolish" application I suppose. Still, very helpful.