Thanks for posting this! I completely agree with him. "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

I took a look at the new Bible curriculum on-line and decided it wasn't for our family, and, FWIW, we are young-earth Reformed Baptists. :D That said, I think it is outrageous that Ken Ham is doing this! The entire reason we homeschool is due to reading The Well-Trained Mind when we were panicking about our horrible local public school. Furthermore, I'm so grateful to have read Susan's article "A Neutral Education?" a few years ago because for it encouraged (challenged?) me to not get my doctrine from curricula companies and to get it from my local church. I'm so angry that I feel like a riled up momma grizzly ... The female of the species is more deadly than the male... :) We took the family to the Creation Museum a few years ago and thought it was pretty neat. I just told dh about the controversy and we will definitely not be going back there or supporting AIG anymore. Urgh!

Dh and I have been fantasizing about moving to a warmer state. The long, cold, never-ending winters are starting to get to us! I lived in NC for two years and CO for one year as a teenager, but other than that we have both always lived in WI. Has anyone completely started over in another state mid-life? What should we be looking at to prepare for this? We currently have our own small construction/remodeling business. Is this a favorable industry in the South? Should we be trying to cross train for a different field of work? What can you tell us about SC? Great place to live or run far, far away? Please tell me it's a warm, sunny, magical place with friendly people, cheap housing, plentiful jobs, and wonderful schools. :D

Hi! My oldest is 3/4 through the way 8/7 now, too. I definitely would put the brakes on now! Do you have the past lessons that she's completed or did you throw them away? With our ds, we go through each problem in detail on our chalkboard that he's missed if he scored less than an 80%, if it's a type that he's frequently missed, if I can see from his work that it's a conceptual problem and not just a sloppy error, or if it is a test question. I would start right now reviewing everything that you mentioned that she is getting wrong. If you have the past work, it's easy, just sit down and go over every single problem she got wrong on however many lessons you have. Then, change up the problems slightly on your own to make sure she gets it before you continue on to the next lesson. I'm not Jann or a math teacher IRL, so I'm not suggesting you either stay with Saxon or don't switch to Lial's, but I would at least make the attempt to work with what you know are her weaknesses right now.

Thank you!

LOL, yes I changed my avatar, Colleen. :) I was really surprised by the score. He reads above grade level fluently with comprehension. In the past year he's read and we've discussed Ender's Game, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Animal Farm, etc. He "got" the books and we had great conversations about them.

We already do that plus one level outlining. (5th grade) :) Thanks, American Mom. This is really helpful. He is a great reader and narrates/outlines well, so I was baffled by the low score. I'd like to have a look at some test prep books. Also, thanks one|Michele for the heads up on the Reading Detective software. :) Any recommendations for good test prep books? It looks like there are a million choices on Amazon!

We just received the results of a standardized test our oldest son recently took. He did wonderfully on the math, science, and English (grammar/rhetoric) portions, but bombed the reading comprehension section. Surprisingly, his reading comprehension score was significantly lower than it was last year. I'm considering adding in a Reading course for next year, like BJU Reading 6 or ??? Thoughts?

My 3rd and 5th grade boys read Famous Men of Greece as a supplement to our studies of Ancient Greece and are currently reading the Famous Men of Rome to supplement our Roman Studies. (We also use SOTW, the Kingfisher & Usborne Encyclopedias, and a ton of other books.) I wouldn't use either book as my sole history source.

:iagree:

I am, too. :D

Peek is back! :)

I think they're quite different.

Well, you're absolutely right, Ester Maria and Faith. I suppose if the alternative is Andrea Yates or terrible emotional abuse, then it probably is better if the mom walks away. These two particular moms bug me though. They seem to be really selfish, and are presenting their choices as valid for anyone who feels unfulfilled. One even calls herself a "spiritual advisor". Did you see her website? :tongue_smilie:

I saw her on The Today Show, too, and she came across very unsympathetically. Her whole thing was how she realized in Japan that she had "lost herself" and that she had never really wanted to be a mother. I think some people are confusing the women in the article; it is about two different women. The first mom didn't have any issues with the dad (at least what she stated on tv). In fact, she thanked her former husband for encouraging her to go to Japan. This gets me. Love is not some wishy-washy feeling. It is action. Do I love doing 3 loads of laundry every day, changing diapers, potty training, wiping noses, or reading the same inane book one hundred times? Not really. But, this is love. Love is being patient, kind, and gentle when I feel frazzled and burnt out. I know this time will soon pass. I know I'm raising human beings and everything I do right now is affecting the man that my boys will become. I certainly don't want to raise men that believe it's ok to walk away from their families to pursue their own goals or to find themselves!!! Sara R, oh my gosh! I was :lol: after reading the Mompetition response!!! Thanks for the giggle!

Oh my gosh, we just finished watching this a few minutes ago. My eyes are still squinty from crying. We watched it as a family. My oldest hugged me afterward and said, "I'm so glad that you can afford to homeschool us." And ,that made me tear up again! I feel so bad for those families that didn't get in. And, I feel so angry that we have gotten to the point in America where we have 600 people competing for 35 spots in order to get a decent education!

My third grader is using Rod and Staff Grade 3 Penmanship . :)

In WI, at least at the virtual academy I checked out earlier this year, you are issued a laptop, books, and all supplies needed for the K12 program.

I don't know, but I think this is a really good question. I honestly believe that while the majority of homeschoolers may be Christian, I don't think the majority fall into the narrow ridge of fundamentalism that seems to be in charge of many conventions. The main WI homeschooling convention falls into this category, which is why I've gone to conventions in other states. I know a ton of homeschooling families and maybe only 5 went to the WI convention. A few others went out of state, but the vast majority just stay home. Funny story: my cousin-in-law and her husband went to the WI convention a couple of years back. I guess when they brought a beer from the bar to one of the evening sessions, it wasn't looked upon too happily. :lol:

:iagree: We're a Christian family. My oldest can answer "What is the chief end of man?" through "What do we pray for in the sixth petition?" Even my 5 year old can answer "What is justification?" This doesn't mean that I want to attend a convention where I am told that I'm not a "real" Christian because I wear pants or don't wear a headcovering! :tongue_smilie: On the other hand, I don't want to be banned because I believe in God as the Creator. :D :iagree:

I let my ten year old read Animal Farm for free reading this year. When I first handed him the book, he asked if it was about animals. I said no, it's about Russia. A few chapters in, he turns to me and asks, "So ... Napoleon is Stalin, right?" That was an awesome "YES!" moment for me. :)

I read the book and am not a fan. "A Thomas Jefferson Education" reflects neither the education Thomas Jefferson received nor the type of education he advocated. Here's a review that I recommend to people that are interested in it: http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2008/05/a-thomas-jefferson-education/

How about a "It doesn't matter, we're coming no matter what" choice? :D

This is what keeps me going, too! Seriously! :) Also, seed catalogs. My garden is completely planned out and I can't wait to get out there. The 4 foot snow drifts can't last forever, right? :tongue_smilie:

:lol: Whisky, blech. But, I'll bring Fat Squirrel! :D And, yes, this will be a convention that dh and I are both interested in! I'll book the grandparents tomorrow!!! :)