This is similar to us except no ILL at this library. So we have to go 25 miles and pay fees. So buying is easier than doing this 4 times...

Whatever the reason is doesn't matter!! She may be in her 11 year old mind trying to figure out what makes her uncomfortable. It may have nothing to do with your beliefs. Or it may. It could be her beliefs are being offended or it could be that there is something about him and the teens that she isn't "comfortable" with. Teach her to trust her God given instinct and discernment. When I was about her age, there was a man at our church who I couldn't stand. He lead our children's programs and everyone loved him. He was well respected and trusted. He was young, handsome, energetic, charismatic, well dressed, etc. He wasn't creepy or weird at all. He was your boy next door all American type of young man. There was something about it that bothered me. I honestly thought something was wrong with me. I tried to like him, but I couldn't. I tried to approach him and talk to him in Sunday School because everyone else did. But the man repulsed me. It was weird. I just didn't like to be near him. My feelings were dismissed. A couple years ago, I found out he was convicted of molesting many of the kids at our church. :001_huh::eek: I spent years not trusting myself and my instincts, but once I heard that, I knew I was right. And I started trusting myself again.

That's what I have always wondered....

My response is that I want my kids to be civilized not "socialized."

My only comment is never insult someone in person when they have a fanny pack. That pack can serves double duty as a holster. My father (a special agent) and my of his friends carry their trusty handguns in fanny packs. This way it's not obvious they are carrying a weapon. So don't insult them in person - they might just pull it out on you!

Yep! Stock up when it goes on sale!!

We have a similar situation at our church. They have requirements for taking communion that I believe are extra Biblical. I don't have a problem with the requirements themselves just that they are requirements. KWIM? Dh's POV was that choice this church (we did consider leaving) and that out of respect for the leadership of the church we'd abide by their requirements. Have you talked to dh about whether or not he agrees? My dh wanted to go along with it even though he didn't agree. He did that out of respect and submission to the church. But we also told our children what we were doing and why. We felt it was important that they know the requirements weren't in the Bible. We also felt they needed to see us submit to authority when we didn't agree. And we felt they needed to understand the process that goes into deciding when to follow when you disagree and when to not to. We talked about when things like that are a signal to leave. Sorry I can't help you other than to say I have been there too!

Writing isn't a weakness here - but it may be for some. The above is my experience as well. I have been tutoring a friend's daughter who is in PS (6th.) And while she writes more and longer papers/essays and reports than my daughter. My dd's are a much higher quality, and she knows what to do. M's papers are a train wreck! They are the same age. She doesn't know what makes up a sentence or the parts of speech or anything. I said something about her subject in a sentence - she said that can't be a subject because it's a noun. :001_huh: So I make sure I call them subject nouns. But then she thought all nouns were also subjects. I tried to explain that nouns have different jobs in a sentence - nothing..... She can't spell, write quality sentences or identify anything other than a noun and verb. And get this - she was placed in the advanced class. She can write a decent length paper, and she is very creative. She may write everyday, but her papers are horrible! I can't imagine what the regular class is doing.

And the health benefits of it are far better than store bought.

Yep! Same here. The bread I make costs very little. I will have to figure it out. Definitely less than a dollar.

:iagree:

I think that classical education is the perfect way to educate in a location such as this. Classical education was the method of educating before there was paper. Leigh Bortins founder of CC always says a parent should be able to educate with a stick in the sand. Here is an article that I love. You have received some great and practical advice. My only advice would be to keep it simple and choose your resources carefully. Very little of what we use at home is consumable - that really helps. We have some great books/references we use a lot. The wonderful thing about classic books is they can be read over and over again. Choose some good ones to take with you. I agree about chalk/white boards!

We just have a system for doing it that really helps. Any system will work. When they are trying to learn it, they need to review it more often. Once it's solidly memorized you just review it less often. We have a cycle that we do review and new memory work that works for us. We also sing the songs all the time when we are in the car - they have them on Mp3 players. I got them each a $6 Disney mix stick. We play games. Once you set up a system, it's not hard. Sometimes we do a subject a day. Monday is Latin, Tuesday is timeline, etc.. Once it's systematic, it's really not bad.

I think this is a key point - I flew 3000 miles for my sister's wedding and she did the same for mine. Ironically, we both had small children to travel with, and it was expensive. I didn't have to go, but I wanted to. I declined being in the wedding because of the added expense. But my girls were in it. Selfish or not really doesn't matter. Their motives may be wrong, but it's their day. If I couldn't afford to go or didn't want to, I would simply skip it.

:iagree: Exactly what I was thinking about the $. I agree about the HIPPA and have the same question about the conference.

Wow some great feedback!! Not sure I can offer a lot, but we just did this assignment on a very similar topic for our IEW class (my dd is 12 as well.) And we did the research seminar with Andrew Pudewa last month. Can I ask a couple questions first? Are you teaching her at home or is this part of a class? Have you done the IEW Teaching Writing Structure and Style? Is this your first year doing IEW style writing?

I agree - say nothing!

No advice - I understand. I had MIL issues too. But after dh's eyes were opened, he put his foot down. It got so much better after that. It only took him about 7 years.... :glare: But I wanted to share - My family let go of a lot of things with my grandmother under the mistaken idea that well she's not got much longer to live and we could lose her anytime - that was their entire mentality. She got away with a lot of crap. I recall 25 years spent that way. She lived to be nearly 100. Do you really want to do deal with this for another 20 years? And by the time she died, my children didn't like her, and I was relieved. (My kids didn't have the exposure to her like I did - and they didn't hear/know all the excuses and stuff. If someone had just put their foot down, my whole life would have been different. This greatly impacts the kids - no matter how much you try to protect and shelter them. My sisters and I and our cousins really have had to deal with a lot baggage from her. I think this why dh finally dealt with his mom -he saw the issues in my family.) What ever route you go - it's tough!

Very normal at first. Sometimes it's confusing as to why they need to do it. Here is what we do: Do it together - so much more fun! Write them physically for him. I tell my child if they pick the words I will write them. It helped a lot. Alone - have him highlight/underline the words and you later write them or have him do it later. Do it orally - write them on the white board and let him copy them. When they are doing short pieces it's seems very strange - it's like it's so easy it's hard. When they get further along and are using longer passages, it will make more sense. But it could be the passages are too long so back down to smaller ones. (So basically it could be either to hard or too easy. :tongue_smilie: Try both.) I have a friend who always says make it fun time - have a smoothie with it. Something to look forward to one once it's done! And lastly do it yourself! This is great for helping the kids understand it's important. Compete with him for who can do it first/best or whatever would work for him. Sometimes just doing it too helps. It took us time to get used to it. But once it's mastered it's a great skill!

You are welcome to have an opinion, but it's not going to be the same as mine. I can see why it's not offensive to you - that's all I was saying. You don't believe it, so there is nothing be take offense to. Just like I wouldn't find it offensive to call Siddhārtha's teachings silly or something like that. Or if I said no importance should be placed on those teachings. That wouldn't bother me, but it could bother someone else. You are welcome to have and express your opinion, but it's not the same as someone who is a Christian. Does that make sense? The fact that you claim to "have been" a Christian is just further evidence that you don't understand Christian beliefs. (Not said to be snarky or unkind - just pointing out that's all.)

I can only speak for myself, but yes it's the wording the part I bolded. To say what I believe is silly is something I find offensive. I was a toddler who made a profession of faith. I can't imagine being told that was silly or someone saying that there was no importance attributed to it. It was and still is the most significant day of my life. 3 of my 4 children made professions as toddlers (2 at 3 and 1 at 5.) Again that is a very significant event for us. Huge! I don't think you can comprehend how significant (and that's okay.) To say the single more important day in my life and my children's life is silly and/or unimportant is hurtful/disrespectful. Maybe those are better words than offensive because offensive can mean attack. I don't think you were "attacking" anyone, but it was unpleasant to be told that. Make sense? Laura may not feel that way. But that's how I feel. Can I add that really appreciate that conversation is kind?!! Thank you for that. I would be happy to S/O and talk more. I love good kind respectful and challenging conversations about different beliefs and opinions!

Agree with what's been said - want to comment on the books... Yes, reading them ahead of time is helpful!! The reason for those seemingly simple books is for discussion purposes. Take a look at Teaching the Classics - he recommends going below their reading level to analyze literature. Good discussion and analyzing come from having a solid grasp on the book. It's not about their reading level - it's assumed these are below their reading level. Don't let that put you off! As far as rules, as a parent you can pretty much do whatever you want. You can have some in school and some in CC. A lot of parents, do CC through 8th then put their kids in school. Some have kids in another program. (There are additional rules for directors on this, but as a parent, you can have each in a different program.) One family in our group has: DD in College DS in PS High School DS in Ch I DD in CH A DD is PS DD is Foundations DS in preschool DS in nursery What you can't do is have them with you during the Foundations day if they are Foundations age. So you can't do CC with 3 and have your 4th say your 9 yr old sit with you in class or even sitting in another room. You will have to make arrangements to have him/her off site. (Younger kids are welcome though.) You can do an extra year of Foundations if your community is able to accommodate that - talk to the director about the details.

Well, I can't help you cause we are sold on IEW. I wasn't sure for a long time, but after going through the whole thing with Pudewa in person and using in our home for years. I believe it's the way to go....

More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell is one of my favorite books for this. I read this when I was at the age of wondering these things years ago. People being to doubt the Bible when they think truth is relative and there is no absolute truth. A study in apologetics would be very beneficial for you and dd as well as any other kids. I agree with using some Answers in Genesis material too. They have great stuff. I would personally read More than a Carpenter and then start with AIG. And I would go from there and dig into the Bible from a historical stand point and a scientific one.

Well, as far as I am concerned your opinion is welcomed, but I am not the OP. I love hearing others POV. (And I am not upset or being snarky - I hope that this post doesn't come across that way.) I have to add that I agree with Laurie your one comment in that post is offensive to Christians. You aren't a Christian therefore it makes perfect sense that wasn't offensive. On this point Ester Maria, you are incorrect when it comes to Christianity. You may believe that but it doesn't line up with Christian belief. You can defend this POV, but from a Christian stand point it's incorrect and offensive. The fact of matter is Christians believe that children can and do make a profession of faith that is as real and valid as an adults. Whether you agree or disagree doesn't matter because it's not what Christians believe to being with. So a Christian would take the approach that this is a crisis of faith.