That is a very good approach. I love Essentials, but I agree 4 years is too many. The Potter's Writer's Workshop is amazing, and it's something I would like my kids to do.

I have been advised by my dr to avoid soy because it's estrogenic. I have to laugh because I read this really fast and read "I have tried to get used green tea because ....." I thought first ICK "used green tea" and second if used tea tastes different just use it once yourself? :lol: Then I reread it...

I wonder if that could have been a result of the falling to the ground.

My kids love Draw Write Now.

That's great news!

Very well said.

Edited because I was wrong about being good. While I still believe that there is a difference between being good and Godly (my org post.) I asked a wiser person.... Dh came home. He said that there are no good deeds outside of Christ period - all deeds that may appear good aren't truly good deeds. They may be done with selfish motives or other sinful actions. But apart from Christ no deed is deemed good or worthy by God. (That is the reformed belief.) It's the Gospel of John so just John. The thing is that none of the verses that I have ever heard in support of the Arminian view contradict the Calvinist view. But many of the Calvinist verses do contradict the Arminian view. It really isn't a "draw" with equal support on either side.

But the thing is a dead man can't sign a check - he is totally depraved. It's only God who can sign it for us. That's the real issue. Calvinists believe the sinner is dead to the things of God because his heart is wicked. The Armininians believe that man is sick in sin but still well enough choose Christ. The heart of the issue is more whether fallen man has the ability to go toward the things of God without being regenerated first. Here are some verses that indicate we are totally depraved and no capable of "choosing" God. Romans 8:7-8 "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God." No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:44 As for limited atonement - there are many passages that speak to this. Whether it's something that we like or want to believe it's discussed in the Bible in many places. "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." John 17:9 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world" John 17: 24 And Romans 9 is a great passage to read. Here is a piece of it starting at vs 14 - I bolded some passages to take note of.

:iagree:

Yes. Yes. Yes. No. It's worth it because it makes my life easier all the way around. Having the books instead of having to go to the library really helps us. I buy a lot used, so cost really isn't an issue. Since we are schooling several, it seems silly to check out the book over and over. Having lots of books around teaches my kids books are important. Having them on hand means they always have access to great books. Having them on hand means they reread certain books. I don't buy every book they read because some aren't worth having, but I buy the ones that all my kids will read, the classics, the ones worth rereading etc. We love having a vast library of books on hand. It gets a bit hard to keep up with, but it's worth it in my opinion. But yes having the books have been worth it. We did a year of depending only on the library. And I will never do that again. Keeping up with library books for me is more work.And when I figured out I would be doing that same thing every year and keeping up with everyone's books. And we'd be checking out the same book over and over and over. It just seemed too much work. And I found they read more and more often when we owned the books.

Did you buy the guide new? There are maps in my new one. The older version had them seperately. And I agree their maps are terrible. Use Uncle Josh's!

:iagree:

There are people who drop it mid year. You don't have to let go of the assignment to "lighten" it. Challenge is roughly an hour a day per subject. So it's about 24 hours of week during the week. Or 6 hours a day. Some kids need more some kids need less. I personally don't have a problem with work being left until after dinner. I figure at this age sometimes that is needed. I have one in Ch A, and we are generally done in 3 days. (She takes 2 outside classes as well.) The first day is usually pretty long and full. It just makes our week easier. What is it that is stressing him? That's what you need to look at first. Not having any idea where the issue is here are some ideas to alter the load - IEW -the assignment is 5 paragraphs but that isn't what you want your student to do. Change it. Have him write more or less - 2, 3, 4 or 7. It's up to you. But IEW is done for the year. Take a look at the literature for next semester. If reading is a problem, start now or get the books on CD and have him read along with them. If writing is a problem you can redo the assignments without any detriment to him or the class. Have him tell you what he'd write or something. I don't know the specifics. Science - use one source and write a shorter paper. This is changing as well. So look at what he will be doing next semester. Latin - skip some of the "writing" and drill orally. If he's struggling with the material and understanding, talk to the tutor. Math - unless Math is a struggle you don't need to do every problem. If he is struggling to keep up in math you need to look closely at that. I am not a believer in pushing them through math. But really Saxon is a lot of review, so some problems can be skipped to save time. Rhetoric - if reading is a problem, read it with him. If it's the writing, discuss the questions orally and you write the answers down. My student usually gets all the rhetoric done in one sitting on the first day of the week. This just helps lighten the load the rest of the week. Help with the catechism drill. We drill this about 10 minutes a day orally. Geo - I don't think you can back down on Geo or he will be lost, but what about skipping the terms - just do the map. There are great games you can use to drill the countries/capitals/locations so it's not all tedious.

Simply answering this question in bold (but not answering it "personally")... You asked about other religions and what they think of Catholics. And yes there are those who do believe this. And the last question - Yes, to some a statue of Jesus would cause a stir. There are differing opinions on this, but there are those who absolutely believe this. I won't say this is a prevalent belief among TWTM forums but I could be wrong.

Toaster over and stove top for nearly everything. Some things go in the oven.

What would you do if they weren't brothers? If ds treated a friend this way how would you respond? That's the guide I always used. Granted sibling relationships are different, but thinking of it outside of a sibling relationship helped me to address sibling issues with great success.

I received mine with an incorrect invoice, but I was charged the right amount. This was probably more than they could handle volume wise.

I have looked this time of year for jars. Stores like Walmart tend to not have them because they carry so many seasonally and rotate their seasonal stock. They clear them out - you may find some on clearance. But I have had the best luck this time of year stores like Big Lots or other surplus type stores or dollar stores or the grocery store. Smaller ones that tend to only carry small amounts often have a few boxes left sitting around. I often call around. Sometimes asking them to check the back. I have always been able to find a few boxes. Or you can order online, but shipping is usually high.

Just seeing this now, I have 2 Young Marines. They love it! What would you like to know?

There was a deal at Target once turned about to be a computer glitch, and they issued store credit to everyone who had their order canceled. It was a nice compromise to a tough situation. And it bugs me to no end when people abuse these deals by doing it 39 times and such. It's only going to hurt all of us in the long run.

I have an 8 1/2 quart one - I think - and it's great.

Do people really give cars as Christmas presents? Yes they sure do. And I am glad they do since that makes my Christmas merrier. :auto: :tongue_smilie: I have never gotten one, and I don't want to or expect to get oneBut I am glad others do. Sometimes they are paid for in cash and sometimes they aren't. To me a gift doesn't come with a monthly payment though. :001_huh: So when it's not paid for, I don't see it as a gift, but a lot of people do. Sometimes they are picked out together and sometimes they aren't. Dh says often when a spouse buys a car for their dw/dh they know what the other person wants because they have been looking for awhile or talking about it. In one case, they (a couple) were shopping for a car, and after the dw choose the car, the dh stalled. And it was sold out from under her. So she was the only one they had was already sold. Dw really wanted that car. But she couldn't get it because it was sold. What she didn't know was it was sold to her dh. :D So it was the car she choose - he surprised her with it for Christmas. They were buying it anyway....but it was fun.

I have gotten some great books - they quality is has always been good. I like that I can add all the books I want and just wait. It's a pain to send the books. But it's nice to get them. What I list and get varies widely. I list whatever I have that I don't want. I like that I can list it, and if no one takes it, I sell it later at the next booksale or something. My wish list is full of out of print books as well as lots of other books, curriculum etc.

:lol: I would have to agree.

:D