The pace depends largely on the age of the student. For middle school kids, the MP guide is fine, but I would not consider only two units of Henle I to be equal to a full year of high school Latin. I'd aim to get through at least Unit 5 in the first year if you're looking at high school credit.

Many happy returns to everyone who shares this birthday! I just discovered that sons of two friends are also 11/6 babies. Enjoy your day!

Wow - thank you, everyone! It's been a great day so far. :D I grow old … I grow old … I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. ;)

My dw and dd love Dahl. I don't care for him and never have. Even as a child, I wasn't a big fan of comedy or satire, and Dahl is heavy on both. I think it's just a matter of temperament and taste.

The smell of Play-Doh gives me an instant headache, so we have a rule that it never gets played with in my presence. When dd gets some as a gift, I make it disappear as quickly as possible. :glare:

We do this for our non-core subjects (history, literature, science, geography, religion), but we do the core ones every day. Our core consists of classical languages, math, and writing. HTH!

How beautiful!

I remember carrying bread and cheese around Europe in my backpack for days at a time. I'd say you're safe!

Our Halloween post is up - link below. :)

It's covered in our catechism. We emphasize personal responsibility for actual sin along with the fact that God gives us the grace necessary to keep His commandments (Deut. 30:11, Phil. 4:13). We also talk extensively about God's mercy and forgiveness toward us. Kids can be very legalistic in their understanding of right and wrong, so it's important for me to make sure that grace and mercy get enough air time to counter the tendency toward scrupulosity. In that context, I also talk about the idea of "the weaker brother" (I Cor. 8) and how we must be careful that our behavior not become a stumbling block to others. My dd also sees me go to confession, and ask for forgiveness from people I've wronged, including her. Thinking back on my own life, I'm betting that will teach her more than any number of talks about sin! HTH!

A piece of candy corn. :D

Any card. :)

Our local supermarket just started carrying Peet's, which I used to get in San Francisco. Good stuff.

Honestly, if they really have everything, I would think in terms of giving shared experiences rather than things: concert or theater tickets, museum passes, dinner out with a favorite older relative, tickets to Six Flags....

I had a Pyrex dish do that once. Yikes! Glad you're okay.

Another vote for "it's that time of year." I notice that the cottage school kids are more restless. The novelty has worn off, and they're getting into a groove. Sometimes that groove leads up each other's noses. :tongue_smilie: This too shall pass.

Thank you for this! So many of the articles on this topic are polemical in nature; this one was much more balanced, imo.

This probably doesn't affect you directly, but for information's sake: The Sacrament of Holy Orders (ordained ministry) in the Catholic Church is open only to men. Women can serve as teachers and leaders in many other capacities, however.

Dd does nature study through the cottage school we're involved with. Each child selected a square foot of land to observe and draw through the seasons. Since the group is in one location all the time, this was a good approach for them. They're on a farm, so they visit the animals and observe the wildlife. They've also collected acorns and pine cones for a seasonal craft.

I also don't put much stock in endorsements. The political views of mainstream journalists are usually miles away from my own, I couldn't care less what some actor or pop star thinks, and I can't help but think about the log-rolling aspect of politicians endorsing each other. At the end of the day, I hope that voters base their decisions on their own reasoned analysis of the issues and the candidates' qualifications for office.

When she worked for a big computer company, my dw had a PDA (which I still read as "public display of affection" ;)). It was easier for her to carry than a big agenda book, and she could play games on it on the train, but I never had any desire for one. I watched her lose data repeatedly due to battery problems, software glitches, and damage to the machine itself. You can imagine my amusement when the Hipster PDA and Moleskine notebooks became all the rage in her field. I feel rather the same way about the Kindle. From a publishing standpoint, I can see the appeal, but as a consumer, not so much. I'm sure it would be useful for certain types of reading - college textbooks, definitely - but it doesn't fit into my reading or buying patterns very well. Besides, I can't figure out most cell phones, let alone a digital book readers! ;)

I think we spent around $50, including shipping, on the one stroller we used for dd. After we were done with it, we gave it to some friends, and they used it for another three years. It's still in great condition. Granted, we only had the one child, and we undoubtedly would have spent more for a twin stroller had we needed one. But no way would we have spent even $300, let alone more.