Well said.

I bet that is entertaining. :)

No worries. I have heard people say that he uses circular logic, and maybe I'm one of those people who went into it with biased opinions that agreed with his conclusions to begin with, but I don't really see it. Imo, he was looking to see if Biblical scholars could logically back up the claims the Bible makes about Christ, and as far as he was concerned, they could. C.S. Lewis is great though, of course. I never meant to imply that Lee Strobel was on par with him.

Have you read The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel? He was an investigative journalist in Chicago who set out to prove there was no way Christ was who He said He was. In the process, he spends a good deal of time on the accuracy and reliability of the Bible itself. It's an easy read that is definitely worth your time, imo.

:iagree: with everything you've said. :001_smile:

This is what I am going to be using as well. I was looking at some other more "academic" Bible curriculum choices, but (I hate to admit) we've never really done any family-style Bible time at all, other than church, and with this being our first year homeschooling, I didn't want to overwhelm us. I felt like this would be a relaxed, discussion based time in the Word every day as a family without feeling like an assignment. I am really looking forward to it. Good luck in your search!

I agree with others that he should be put down. He is in pain, and he is not safe to be around your children.

We haven't even started homeschooling yet, and I have heard the competition thing from my mother and from my daughter's current pre-K teacher. Both are thankfully very supportive of our decision to homeschool next year, but my daughter's teacher suggested I just "give it some thought" regarding putting at least my daughter into public school kindergarten, because she thinks my daughter "would really do well with the competition." (She's pretty advanced for her age.) I basically thanked her and thought about it for a second, then moved on. :) My mother on the other hand, while very supportive, is still not completely sure about giving up all the things the kids might be missing. She mentioned the feeling of accomplishment they would get when they got the best grade in the class or got 100's in general. Or when they knew the answers to questions that the other kids didn't. My (and my husband's) feeling is that we do not want our children to base their feelings of accomplishment on whether they're able to outperform those around them. To me, that teaches them to do just enough to be better than their peers, as opposed to doing the best they can. It also teaches them that if they DON'T outperform others, then they can't take as much satisfaction in their work. I would rather they learned to do their best no matter who is around, and to be proud of what they do, no matter what others do. My boys are pretty competitive by nature though, so I am thinking about letting them earn stickers or something for each "100" or outstanding work they do. For every x amount of stickers they earn, they get a special prize/treat or something. I don't know. I just know missing out on competition with classmates is NOT a good reason, imo, to not homeschool.

I agree with others that a Lab seems to fit all the characteristics you are looking for, especially if you are looking to get an adult (at least 2 yrs old). Goldens would fit equally well, but their longer fur does require more maintenance. I prefer Labs over goldens simply because of their wash and wear coat. Both breeds shed though. A lot. Standard poodles crossed my mind as well. Another low maintenance coat (IF you're willing to pay a professional groomer every 6 weeks or so). And they were originally bred to be water dogs. Miniature poodles might work for you as well, but they're a little smaller than "medium-sized", in my opinion, so it just depends on how small you want to go. Portuguese Water Dogs are another breed I haven't seen mentioned yet. They have curly, non-shedding coats like poodles, and size-wise, they're bigger than a miniature poodle but smaller than a Lab. Do some research though to make sure their energy level is not too high for your lifestyle. Petfinder.com is a great resource. Breed rescues are great too, and the volunteers/foster homes can really help you find a dog with a temperament and energy level that fits your family. You can go to www.akc.org and search for local breed rescue organizations for whatever breeds you are interested in. Purebred Labs are usually pretty easy to find in shelters and rescues. Poodles are a little less common. Portuguese Water Dogs are pretty uncommon, but you may be able to find responsible breeders who are looking to place older dogs. Not all shelter dogs/breed rescue dogs have issues. Many of them are given up for reasons that are absolutely no fault of their own (allergies, owners moving and don't want to move the dog, dog got "too big", etc.). I adopted my now 10 yr old Lab from a shelter when she was under 2 years old. Within a year, she passed the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test and became a registered therapy dog. If you're looking to adopt from your local shelter, they may or may not have helpful, knowledgable staff/volunteers who can help you choose a dog. They work with the dogs every day, so unless the dog just came in, they will have some knowledge of the dog's personality and energy level. If not, you may be able to find a local trainer/animal behaviorist who can come with you to evaluate any potential pets. Good for you for doing your research BEFORE you bring a pet home! Good luck in your search!

:iagree:

Praying here too. That's my hometown, and I met my husband when he was stationed on that base.

I just wanted to say thank you for this. We are going to start our first year of homeschooling next year. I'll be teaching our then-6th grader, 3rd grader, and K-er. What you just wrote about in your update is one of the main reasons we are going to try homeschooling. Our now-2nd grader's teachers have called us often to express concern over his lack of motivation and refusal to do his work. It's not that he doesn't understand the material, because when he does do the work, he usually gets 100's. I really think he's just bored, and it sounds like he does so much busy work/repetition, he really doesn't see the point in it. I am really hoping that homeschooling will give us the opportunity to tailor his work to his personality, so we can continue to build on his strengths while gradually helping him overcome his weaknesses. Your post sounds like exactly the kind of flexibility I'm hoping for that ps just can't provide. Thank you!

Thanks!

What does JAWM mean? I've seen it several times here lately, but I've never heard it before.

Yay for your son! I have owned and handled therapy dogs in a variety of settings (including reading programs) for over a decade. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a child's (or parent's) face light up when interacting with the dog. The unconditional acceptance dogs offer just can't be beat. Congratulations on your new bookworm!

I'm :bigear: too!

I just wanted to say good luck! Sorry I can't be of any help. We will be using Zoology 2 this coming year, but I don't have any experience with it yet. :(

Thank you very much, everyone. It really helps to see how other people make things work for them. And Ellie, thank you for that link! Her forms are very close to what I was envisioning. Normally I'm right there with the kids and all about summer starting. But this year, I already can't wait for the next school year to start, and this one hasn't even ended yet!

We're in Houston. We'll be starting our first year of homeschooling next year.

We'll be starting our first year of homeschooling next year, and I have some ideas about how we could handle daily reading, but I wanted to run them by you all to get your thoughts. Please feel free to share your opinions on whether you think this is not enough or just won't work in practice. I would like to have my kids read on their own for at least 30 minutes a day. In addition to their individual reading time, I would have read aloud time for any child who wants it. Once a month (should this be more often?), I want to assign some sort of book report on a book they can choose from a suggested reading list. Once they finish that book, they can read pretty much read whatever they want for the rest of the month. (I'm a little afraid that this would end up being too easy, but I also don't want us to be overwhelmed, especially with this being our first year.) The level of expectations for the "report" would vary depending on the child, but I'm thinking of alternating between having them: 1) draw a picture of their favorite character or scene, including the title and author of the book 2) write a "report" answering who, what, when, where, and why? type questions. For the youngest, she could narrate her answers to me and I would right them down; for the middle, he could write his answers to each question in complete sentences; and for the oldest, he could write his answers to the questions in more of a cohesive paragraph form. I have a few questions though: 1) Do you recommend using the same book the child is reading on his/her own for read aloud time, or should we use a different book? 2) Do you recommend keeping a log of all books read? Or are the occasional book reports along with casual discussion of the other books enough? 3) Do you have any other suggestions for report formats? 4) Is it ok if I don't want to follow TWTM's schedule for book suggestions? We'll be using MOH Vol 1 (the Ancients) this year, but I really think my kids are at the right age to enjoy reading The Indian in the Cupboard, Charlotte's Web, To Kill a Mockingbird, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. I am sure we'll read SOME books about the Ancients era, but I really don't want all or even most of them to be like that. Thanks in advance for your input!

As a former military wife (who loved the life, btw), this is exactly what I was thinking. But yes, he should wear the hat. Although I can see him taking it off for the kiss for sure--and putting it right back on.

Good point. Thank you!

I am loving all the feedback. What farrarwilliams said about it being extra work, is exactly why I was asking in the first place. I knew people did it, but I wanted to know WHY they thought it was worth it. Thank you to everyone for explaining it to me! And what Hunter said about really hit home with me--and made me laugh. I can sooo see myself being really bummed if something in the workbook gets "screwed up". I'm kind of OCD that way, I guess. But if the pages are turned into just loose leaf, individual sheets in a binder, it would not be nearly so hard to just move on. And with only 3 workbooks each for 3 kids for the whole year, it wouldn't be THAT much work. I guess I'll wait until I get their handwriting books in. I'm not sure if they are the kind that will lay flat or not. The math workbooks aren't too bad, but they'll need loose leaf paper to do their work on anyway, so it might be easier to have it all in the same notebook. Thanks again! Now to check out that filing thread. :)

Will do for the handwriting pages. May I ask why you like loose leaf paper and binders better? Thank you all for the continued input!

Thank you for all your feedback! We don't have all of our curriculum choices on hand for next year yet, but I think the only workbooks we will have will be for math (2 workbooks per child for the year) and handwriting. For their grammar/writing, and spelling, they'll be using non-consumable textbooks and doing their assignments on paper. Would spiral notebooks work well for this--just have one notebook for each subject? Or is it better to go with a binder and loose leaf paper?