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BrandieRose

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Everything posted by BrandieRose

  1. I would love your help. There are no samples online, and I'm looking for more information on how these guides work. My rising 6th and 7th graders have done all 5 years of VP history, but are not ready for Omnibus. They would do okay understanding concepts, they just don't have the vocabulary or stamina for such difficult books. Would the transitions guide be helpful in that situation? Or is it just a simple history survey and their reading skill would need to be improved elsewhere? Thanks for any imput!
  2. You might like this website: http://likeabubblingbrook.com/recipes/
  3. "He says he believes in evolution and thats why he doesnt believe in God." This made me think of this Website: http://www.godandscience.org/ It was written by a man who was raised in an Agnostic home, but became a Christian through his study of science. He is a Theistic Evolutionist and has his degree in Microbiology. The site is well set up and an easy read. Another good link showing the reasonableness of Christianity, this time from a philosophical perspective: https://docs.google....sTq35nfqBJDIbUg It is a pretend conversation between a skeptic and a Christian. It helps atheists to recognize when they are being close minded. The first site gives scientific evidence for God. The second gives philosophical evidence. I'm not really recommending these for your son, but more for you. The more informed you are, the easier it will be to gently guide him along with little bits of relaxed Socratic conversation.
  4. We like the Zonderkids "Read With Me Bible" http://www.amazon.com/NIrV-Read-Bible-Dennis-Jones/dp/0310920086/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362259125&sr=8-2&keywords=children%27s+read+with+me+bible
  5. This book might be helpful to you. http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Fat-Fuzzy-Frazzled-Reproductive/dp/159463002X
  6. I would recommend Shurley English. The WTM recommends it if you need help on "how" to teach English. It has worked very well for my kids and me. You can easily start below level and then skip levels to catch up. We skipped every other level. Oh, and it's scripted, so you don't have to know it before you teach it.
  7. I agree with the general consensus that it is not our business. If you see a struggling homeschooler, or a struggling anybody, your first reaction should be to offer help, not make her life decision for her. Offer free babysitting, have her over for lunch. Compliment her on the things she is doing right, she could probably use the encouragement. If she's getting exasperated with her kids, notice all the good and cute things about them, to remind her how precious they are. If she is seriously a danger to her kids, well that really has nothing to do with homeschooling. If you do choose to write this article, remember all opinions come from somewhere. Our founding fathers wrote of rights we have from our Creator. Making decisions about our own children is one of those rights He gave us. As secular Darwinism works its way more and more into politics, our rights now come from the state, or rather, from popular opinion. Articles like this turn popular opinion against homeschoolers, and in so doing, take away the God given rights Thomas Jefferson wrote about.
  8. I use a lot of Joanne's ideas with my five kids, but we could never pull off the whole self-teaching thing. I know as a classical educator I really focus on history, language and difficult books. Her curriculum is a lot more simple. Good, just more simple. She also sits next to her young and/or distractable kids while they work, since she can do her own work online, but I want them independent so that I can do something elsewhere. Also, because my kids have more subjects than hers do, they just don't have the time to figure everything out on their own. Many of her ideas have been helpful to me, though. I have all my children write their basic lesson plans in their planner and mark off their assignments when they are done, and my older kids correct their own math and spelling. And we sometimes have "self-teaching days" where they just do the core subjects on their own, so I can catch up on other areas of life. One the side: I love Joanne's focus on heart training, and on how she looks at at academics as a natural outgrowth of parenting.
  9. Your daughter seems to have two misconceptions: 1. First, as others have said, God never said He didn't forgive Eve. Parents discipline their children all the time, doesn't mean they don't forgive them. They discipline because they love them. 2. Secondly, your daughter seems to have the idea that God came to save people that aren't that bad, you know good people who make a mistake here or there. But the Bible says there are no good people. We are all "bad sinners" who deserve God's judgement. This isn't just religious talk, it's logical. The thing that separates "good people" from the murderers is simply upbringing and biology. For example, let's take a boy who is beat and screamed at, burned with cigerettes and never taught self-control. He grows up, one day loses his temper and kills someone. His neighbor, on the other hand, who was raised in a stable home, loses his temper, says angry, mean things and slams the door. Big difference? Not really. They are both being angry and hateful. Their heart is doing the same thing, they want to hurt that person. But one man is in the habit of self-control because of how he was raised. He was taught the vocabulary to express himself. God looks at them as having the same sin- anger and hate , He always looks at the heart. This is why God tells us not to judge as if we are better than others. The same with Eve, she wasn't being judged for picking the fruit, but for calling the God, who had been so kind to her, a big liar. And of course, for being a thief. So, if my daughter asked, I guess I'd remind her that we would all be thieves and murderers if we were in different circumstances. That God says that if we gossip or are mean to people, God considers that murder. If we covet, God considers that theft. But if we see how ugly our hearts are without God, and our heart breaks because of it. God will put it back together and make it new and loving. And if he has done that to us we will want to go tell the rapist and murderers about it, because they are just like us and we want them to be made new too. God is a God of resurrection; he takes ugly, dead things and makes them beautiful, and then lets them into heaven. Then there are the people who think they are already good, who refuse to be changed, and they are the ones who are not allowed back into the garden, into heaven.
  10. There are Bible stories in both the history and Bible programs, so at first it might look like overkill, but they serve different purposes. The Bible stories in the history program serve the purpose of integration. They want the kids to see how Bible stories they are already familiar with fit into extra-biblical history. The purpose is not an in depth Bible study, that's what the Bible program is for. It has many more stories in much more detail, and studies overarching themes in the Bible. For example, the history program will tell you that Moses went to Mount Sinai and where that fits in compared to, say, Hammurabi, but only the Bible program is going to go into the details of the wilderness wanderings. The history program alone will give you the integration, you really don't need the Veritas Bible, you could use something else, but it's a good program.
  11. Rod and Staff (through Milestone Ministries) has really cheap planners that have worked for my three oldest kids. They're nothing fancy, just the typical two page spread for each school week. I think they're under $4. If you want pretty you'd probably like the Well Planned Day planners, but it'll cost a lot more.
  12. We celebrate Sabbath evening and morning. We have a big meal with table cloth, wine, candles, etc... and chocolates and candies strewn down the middle of the table for the kids. We always have a dessert. Sabbath meal is when the kids show off their memory verses for Papa. We like to sing psalms with friends, especially if there's a few cute toddlers who can twirl around to them. :) The kids like playing Bible memory games, Jeopardy style, and get candy tossed at them when they answer correctly. On Sunday, there's church and then getting together with church members afterward. We usually eat leftovers (from the night before) for one meal on Sunday and a crockpot meal for the other, on paper plates - that way mama can rest too. A major theme for us on Sabbath is God's goodness and generosity, it's because of this we can rest. : ) During the homeschool year Sabbath meals tend to be simpler.
  13. My state has made homeschooling more difficult for me. I must become a member of an umbrella school and that costs $200. So instead of $400 budget to spend on my kids' books, I now have $200 -for 5 kids.
  14. My first two children had similar issues to what your daughter is having. I thought my oldest would never learn to read. (Their reading great now, though). I agree with everyone else about the AAS. If her visual memory is weak, the AAS will help by using her other senses. With the "b" and "d" issue, I always write the word "bed" on a index card for my kids. I draw a bed frame and pillow lightly on the word to look like a bed. Then I clip the index card on whatever phonics page they are reading and have them look at it when they don't know if a letter is a b or d. Sometimes, it takes awhile, it'll come. I wouldn't push her forward until what she has learned is fairly well mastered. She can't build on what she doesn't have. Out of my five kids, two of them have had a hard time memorizing. I found adding an extra 10-15 minutes of memory and review at the beginning of each lesson really helped. Of course, adding the time means she'll need extra breaks, preferably complete with a snack. : ) Oh, and my littles always like sitting on my lap for phonics. It's often the first time they feel pressure to do something that is hard correctly. Sitting on my lap helps them feel secure. I use a lot of games to review. Some games my kids have liked: -They stand on one side of the room and I hold up a flash card. For every flash card they say correctly they take a step toward me. When they finally reach me I make a big deal about it, hugging them and spinning them around. -Pop the balloon: I draw a bunch of balloons on a whiteboard with phonograms in them and they choose a balloon a say the sound. If they a right I yell "Pop!" If wrong, i tell them what it is and they repeat it. They can then try "popping" it again. -Crocadile: I draw a mean crocadile on the whiteboard and move the letters over it. They must say the letters before the crocadile eats it. The missed letters go to the bottom of the pile so they get another chance, until they have said them correctly. Of course, I don't use the whole pile at once. You get the idea. Just make up games and make sure she knows those phonograms well before moving on. I found doing games and review first, helps with attitude, and a good "I can do this" feeling. Hope this helps! Brandie
  15. I would like to switch my rising 6th grader from Shurley's 4th grade to Rod and Staff English. I'm afraid if I put him in at grade level he'll be ridiculously behind. Does the 6th grade book review from previous levels? He knows parts of speech, plural, possessives, phrases,etc...but he has never diagrammed. He's also shaky on punctuation. Would it be better to put him back a grade? I'd appreciate any experience you can share with me. Thanks!:001_smile: Brandie
  16. Our family almost moved to Chicago recently and had similar issues. We were finally able to find a rental agent, who being from a large family herself, went out of her way for us. She even haggled with home owners to get us a lower rent. If your interested in contacting her, her name is Vivian DiTommaso. Good rental websites are Zillow and Padmapper, along side a Chicago crime map, of course. And you've probably found out there's lots of scammers in Chicago. Good luck!
  17. Thanks, ladies, for all the feedback. I am planning on calling some of the local churches for possible leads, but we're beginning to realize my husband's probably just going to have a long commute to the suburbs. As far as legality goes, a realtor told me landlords in Chicago are not allowed to ask about family size. I never verified it, though. Thanks again!
  18. You might be in a better position than we are since your kids are a little older. Plus your husband's work is already a little ways from the downtown, so you can plausibly live further away then we can.
  19. Hi ladies, I'm hoping for some good rhetorical ideas. I've been trying to find a rental in Chicago for several weeks now. I've called hundreds of landlord and no one will rent to a family of seven, not even four bedroom duplexes. Chicago is too expensive for us to rent a house. If I tell them I have children right away, they will suddenly remember all the applications they already have and promise to call me back, and of course don't. I've tried to delay telling them, but then I end up losing my credit check and application fee money as soon as they find out about our little tribe. I've even tried bringing a couple of kids so they can ease into the idea and see how well behaved they are. I have been searching for a month and only have two weeks before my current lease is up. Oh, and I know it's technically illegal for them to do this, but it is easy for them to get around. They simply don't contact me back until they find someone else and then say they are sorry but someone beat me to it. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas? Thanks!
  20. I had a similar issue with my oldest son. I was pretty sure he was the world's worst dawdler and an attitude case on top of it. He was taking about five hours to finish one math lesson (with a scowl on his face the whole time) and then getting half the questions wrong. He was often up till eleven doing work. Now he finishes his math in about an hour and gets A's and B's. He's still a "high needs" kid, but we're moving forward now. Here are some ideas that have helped him. I bought the book "Raising Real Men". A homeschooling family who taught their six boys through high school wrote it. They suggested adding competition into the school day. My boys now compete to finish math. Whoever finishes first with a B or above gets a small reward and a lot of honor. I was suprised at how much this helped. We keep dad on skype all day so he can be a part of our homeschool day. I've found my boys care more about his approval than mine. I also realized that in an effort to make everyone happy I had dumbed down our curriculum a little. This caused two problems. One, my son was being rewarded for doing badly, and he realized it. Bad attitudes equaled less work. Two, he was in a no-win situation. If he did well, there was no honor in it. He wasn't proud of himself. I also found my boys do better if they are in charge of their own day. I make out a weekly schedule with them, and then leave them alone. No nagging. If they're not done with their work by 3:00, no video games, etc... and they're not allowed out of their seat or to talk until their done. Oh, and "being done" includes correcting wrong answers. If I get upset with him, he wins because he had the power to make me upset. So, I try to be very sad for him and matter of fact. I also go out of my way to hug, encourage, compliment him throughout the day. I feel funny writing these suggestions since your kids are older than mine, but it's hard to find advice online on this topic. I highly recommend the book "Raising Real Men", "Future Men", "Preparing Sons" and "Created for Work". They've all been helpful to me in different ways. Hope things get easier! -Brandie
  21. Although Genesis doesn't specifically tell whether Adam and Eve ate from the tree of life, I assumed they did because of what it symbolizes. We know that the Garden of Eden symbolizes the Church. The entrance is on the easy side of the garden, just like the temple. Four rivers pour out just like the waters of life in Ezekiel that bring life to the earth (the gospel). The tree of life is Christ (or the communion table). As long as Adam and Eve were in communion with God the had eternal life. When they sinned against Him, They were excommunicated from the "table" and kicked out of the garden. A cherubim was stationed at that east entrance just like the cherubim sewn into the curtain on the east side of the "holy of holies'. The only way Adam and Eve could have that communion with God again is if someone died for them and covered their sin, and of course the first animal died to symbolize just that. Jesus came as the real sacrifice to die on a tree (the cross- the real tree of life). Of course, when Christ died on the tree, he became our new tree of life, and our new living water. As soon as He died the cherubim curtain on the east side of the temple ripped in half. We were now allowed back into the garden. We were again invited to the communion table. We're now invited to eat of the Tree of Life and to live forever. The Bible is beautiful. : )
  22. Melatonin, Valerian Root, Benedryl...one per night, of course. If it goes in "phases" you might check your progesterone level.
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