My best response to this would be that I don't know of any scriptural proof that animals do not have souls. However, because the Bible is written to man, and only man and not animals, it is easy to see that animals are not in need of salvation. Although God created animals and also created man, he breathed the breath of life into man, and created man in his own image. Although animals are living in a different way than plants and other parts of creation, they are to be viewed as just part of the earth that God created. I am not sure if animals will be in heaven- some think so, some think not. But because of the need for man to have a Savior, and the need to be willing to accept a Savior's sacrifice to save man's soul, animals are not capable of doing that. Therefore, they have no soul. It is really the thing that makes humans unique- our spirits/souls. We are very different from animals, even though we are similarly created. The important thing to remember is what I stated above- that we are created in His image, and He breathed the breath of life into man, not animals. I hope I didn't confuse you more! Read the first chapters of Genesis to gain a clearer understanding of the difference between animals and man.

I was considering using this for kids, but now I'd really like to know what about it does anyone not like? I'd love to hear some pros and cons.

Those are so cute! I think I have seen them before, but I would never have thought to use them for this specific use. Great idea!:)

I used sticky tack when my daughter was just learning letter sounds and names and put the letters in two rows on the wall in front of her desk. You could also laminate alphabet cards and put them on a book ring, or you could very small nails and string up the cards like on a clothesline. Two very small nail holes would be simple to repair. Otherwise, I would go with testing tape or sticky tack down in the corner on your wall for about 4 weeks, and see what it does to your paint. We liked having the letters on the wall so we could see them right when we were talking about them. You could also make a book out of the letters. I think Miller Pads and Paper has blank books you could buy, and then just glue or tape the cards on the pages, and then your child could leaf through them that way. Just a couple of ideas for you.

Take a look at Artistic Pursuits. I wrote a review of it here: http://ramseysathome.blogspot.com/2011/03/tos-crew-reviewartistic-pursuits.html We like it because it's once a week, and very easy to implement. Two other popular programs are Atelier, and Barry Stebbing's art books. Here are the links for those: http://www.homeschoolart.com/index.html http://www.howgreatthouart.com/ Hope that helps!

I have only used BiblioPlan with my older son, but I have a friend who used BiblioPlan Ancients for her 1st grade daughter this year and they loved it. She only used SOTW and MOH, and she only used the BiblioPlan schedule. She chose to use the SOTW activity book instead, but has chosen the entire BiblioPlan program for this coming year. She really like the schedule, and also liked that she could just pick and choose which books they would read, and how involved with it they could get. I know she really likes it, and plans on using it all the way through. I used the BiblioPlan America and the World 1600-1850. I loved that it had readings and assignments for all ages. We used the whole plan- the schedule, questions, mapping, timeline and coloring pages. I had two kids, one 14 and one 7 and I was able to pull them both in together. With my daughter, I lightened the load and only read one or two books form the library. I have never used Sonlight, so I cannot compare, but I have used MOH, and I would say it's best for over 3rd grade kids. BiblioPlan has now re-designed their program to include questions for "Littles" for those in the K-2nd grade range, I think. So that might be a good option. We really liked it, and I don't think you would could go wrong with choosing it. The important thing to remember is that you have to pick and choose your readings. Sometimes, the SOTW and MOH readings overlap, and you have to just pick one over the other, especially with the younger ages. But as long as you pare it down, you should be fine.

.....for the coming school year: http://ramseysathome.blogspot.com/2011/07/2011-2012-school-year-plans.html

Legally, this girl is an adult. Does that make her an adult emotionally, mentally and spiritually? Of course not. Any child, regardless of age, who is still in 12th grade or under, and still living at home, should be considered a child. Of course there were no laws broken here, because it states that the intercourse was consensual, and that she was not his student. But seriously, how sleazy do people need to be? I would hope that I am raising my daughter to understand what is appropriate, and what is honorable and upright, and that men like this can learn to keep their pants zipped regardless of how tantalizing a situation is. If this were my daughter, I'd be heartbroken, but I would still love her. I will still be there for her, and help her to understand that there is so much more meaning in a relationship, and that sex is so much more special than to be used in this way. In our society, we have defamed sex so much, that it means nothing to so many people, and it's not as special as it should be. I only hope that this young girl moves on and doesn't choose this behavior again, and that this man learns to be a man who understands what appropriate behavior is and is not.

I agree with the other posters, be as vague but informative as possible. So no titles/publishers, just a general overview of what your goals/studies are to be. That way if you don't get to something specific, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I looked over my edition of Homeschool Tracker which is the basic, and I do not see a way to change the week. Maybe some other moms can help you with that. I would call Homeschool Tracker or email them and ask about it. Here is a page that has a link for the User Manual: http://www.homeschooltracker.com/tracker_basic.aspx Here is a link for the Get Help page: http://www.homeschooltracker.com/support.aspx

Sounds like a plan!!:001_smile: Are you talking about the books from Lamppost publishing? Or am I thinking of the wrong thing?

What do you mean by "required homeschool accountability organization"? Is this a co-op type group, or is this your state's mandate? Or are you talking about a curriculum provider that keeps records?

:iagree: You could also do 2 of the Apologia books since he is older. You might be able to squeeze 1 into each semester. Depending on how you schedule it. General Science is typically grade 7-8 and Physical Science is grade 8-9. You might be able to give high school credit for the Physical Science. You would have to check with Apologia on that one.

Maybe something like Easy Grammar that focuses on just grammar? Or perhaps Shurley English since it is very intense and includes lots of reviews?

We are planning doing The Rainbow this year. We are spreading it out over two years, because I don't want to do it every single day, and when I plan out the schedule, we have quite a few other subjects that take up a lot of time. For history, we are doing Notgrass's America the Beautiful, which is 5 lessons per week, so doing science every day on top of LA and Math, plus electives is a lot. However, there are about just enough labs to do Rainbow every day of the school year- 180 day school year, roughly 120 lessons, 1 lab every two lessons so approximately 60 labs for the year- it probably could be done. You will want to make sure that the comprehension is not lagging because from what I understand, the content is very deep even though the lessons are short. 6-7 hours per week on science is a lot, that puts you at 2 days a week spending 2 hours per day. I would say to just prayerfully consider the work load, and your child's learning style, and all of your other subjects and make the best decision after that. My son is also going in 8th grade, and we are giving 2 high school credits for The Rainbow. There is a document about giving high school credits for it on The Beginnings Publishing Website. Because we'll be doing extra library reading and weekly written reports, he will be getting the 180 hour requirement for a credit for this course. Whatever you decide, blessings to you!

I quickly viewed the new samples for ALL, and I've used R&S 5. I would say, just from seeing the samples, that the conversational style is probably the biggest difference. R&S, as you know, is taught from the TG's, and the SWB's language lessons are more conversational and engaging. I'm sure that the number of exercises would differ as well. ALL probably is not going to have the same number of exercises that R&S does, which we always skipped over half, or did only every other because of the repetition. I think choosing which one you would use would depend on the style you would want to go with. With ALL, if it's anything like FLL, you will have to use WWE or some other writing program. (Am I seeing something about Writing with Style on the boards here? Levels 5-8?) With R&S, you won't need a separate writing program, as you already know. I would imagine that both are extremely thorough in grammar and diagramming. I think whichever one you choose, you can't make a bad decision. They both would be a great choice, I'm sure.

I personally would choose R&S over Shurley Grammar. I do not care for the scripted approach with Shurley, and as you get to the older levels, some lessons are 4-5 pages in length, and a lot of pre-reading and para-phrasing was necessary on my part. I ditched it with level 6 this year and chose another program. R&S is very thorough, and is considered one of the best english programs. If you decide to stick with Shurley, why not try comparing the scope and sequence charts, and make your decision based on that? Here's a link to the scope and sequence charts. I think you can access on the Shurley English website, but I got this link from Christianbook.com: http://g.christianbook.com/netstorage/pdf/scope/610440.pdf I used level 4 and 6 with my son, and used R&S for 5th. I noticed that with the two levels of Shurley, it was a lot of the same information, maybe just a bit deeper. I would think that in the younger levels, you may be able to skip a level, but I'm not completely sure on it. It can't hurt to repeat anything in LA, because repetition is so valuable for retention.

I recently spoke to a friend of mine about Jensen's. I was considering using it for my rising 8th grader. Here is what she said: It is even possible to spread it out throughout his 7th and 8th grade years -- that way he will be ready for all those high school essays he will be writing. It starts off slowly by just writing one paragraph and builds up to writing 5 paragraph essays. Take your time with it and let him get as much practice in writing those paragraphs as he can. This book is very thorough and make sure you read the stuff in the beginning about how he recommends teaching it (he gives time parameters and number of times he thinks the paragraphs should be practiced). And, use the grading sheets that are in the back (to copy) to grade the papers --- VERY, very helpful. I highly recommend this book because it covers all the things that are required on the essay writings on the ACT tests. I have not found any other book that does it better and I have looked at everything!! (copied and pasted from my email) I am seriously considering it for my son, who is 14 and terrible at writing. He hates it, and doesn't do it well. But I think this could be very good for him.

Well, I hadn't really thought of goals for my dd7 other than getting through the next school year, know what I mean? But if I had to nail down some specific goals, this is what they would be: 1. work from workboxes this year. She has a serious issue with wanting to be done all.the.time. I cannot get her to stop asking for "play breaks" every 10 mins. or so. This year, I will be pushing her toward 25-30 min. work sessions. 2. She is reading fluently at a mid to late 2nd grade level, so I will be encouraging the reading to continue, and hopefully do more with narration this year. We did a little narration this year, but not nearly enough. I plan on using CQLA, and I think it will be great for her language development. 3. Get her solid in math. We struggled through Abeka 1st grade math this year, and it was not for us. I recently bought Alpha to solidify math facts, and get her used to doing MUS, and we will start Beta in/around September 1. 4. Encouraging better handwriting. She is definitely capable, but I will be looking for marked improvement this year in letter formation, size and spacing of words. She's getting a lot better with it, after struggling with handwriting this past year. Thankfully, she seems to be coming out of that. 5. Mostly my goal is to have fun with her. I want her to enjoy learning, and to have fun with all of our school work. I will be using MFW Adventures 1st edition with her, and she's already looked through her science books and seems pleased with my choices. :lol: So it should be a good year. Well, I think those are good goals!

It looks like the TG's will be available on or about 7/20/2011. Alternatively, try the publisher's website: http://www.prpbooks.com/inventory.html?target=cats&cat_id=37&session=baae0e7ca020833ac037ca985818a593 Also try Rainbow Resource. It looks like they have a TG available: http://rainbowresource.com/searchspring.php?sid=1308704613-241124&q=classics+for+young+readers

I would say it depends on your daughter's skill level. Evaluate her progress, and see where to pick up. My first inclination would be to finish one of the phonics programs you have, just so you have a complete phonics base to start from. You said you enjoyed the phonics museum, so why not pick up where you left on with that one? I would imagine that the Calvert 1st grade math and phonics would go much more smoothly if the K stuff was finished. On the other hand, if she's beyond the K stuff, and can easily move into the 1st grade Calvert, just skip all the K stuff and move on. I think it really depends on where her learning level is. I wouldn't rush it, you can start her 1st grade year with her at any time she is ready, so it's not like you have to have a deadline to start it in September. That's just my take on it!

:lurk5: Anyone??

Also, you might look into the 101 series, though I think it may be for high school. It still might be something you could use. I believe it is more a living book approach. It is a DVD series, but from what I understand, it comes with printable PDF's that give lots of living books to supplement the dvd's. http://www.the101series.com/index.html