I didn't see the following reviewed - if it was, I apologize. There is a lot to look through. A woman in our homeschool community is offereing labs and help for the following but I have been unable to review the book yet (not that I'd know much if I did). CONTEMPORARY CHEMISTRY: A PRACTICAL APPROACH http://www.amazon.co...ctical Approach It has a book, teacher's guide and lab manual. I have an opportunity for other coops, all Apologia, too, but I am still planning on The Spectrum since I'm looking for oppotunites to go out less often plus I tend toward Old Earth creation or possibly Creation Evolution. But I'd like to know about this one, too.

My dh was interested but dfd was not. LOL

These are beautiful. I have always thought Islamic architecture and design was beautiful. I have a respectful question, if you don't mind. What is the Islamic feeling about drawing things, or does it vary from Muslim to Muslim? I have heard conflicting things. I assume you don't believe in depicting God. It seems you are not supposed to depict Mohammed, although he is not divine, but a most holy Prophet. Then, I've read that the more geometric artwork in many old mosques was made so beautifully because of a prohibition on painting the human figure but many of these painting do have human figures (though I don't know who the artists are). And of course, no modern day Muslim objects to photographs, at least not that I know of. I am just curious, having heard different things.

triple post!

Like another poster, I think the main problem with Ken Ham is his insistence that eveyone see the bible the way he does and if they don't, they are either not Chrstian or on the slippery slope toward perdition. You can take any issue in the bible and say, "If you don't believe this part the way I do, you must not believe the bible." My dfd was raised Eastern Orthodox. The first time I took her to our Evangelica Covenent Church, we had communion (she didn't partake by her choice). Afterwards, she asked the pastor, "Do you believe in the Real Presence?" (this means, do you believe that the blood and wine actually turn into the physical body and blood of Chrsit?" Our pastor very graciously said, "No, but If you do, we respect your opinion." To which she responded (being an asperkid) - "well, then, you don't believe the bible!" Afterwards, after I explained why the pastor was being polite, loving and inclusive in this situation and she wasn't in this situation - I talked to her about metaphors, a concept she did understand. I said that the disagreement was not over whether the bible is true but whether "This is my body and blood" was metaphorical or literal or somewhere in between. I think the same is true of the creation debate. We can all beleve in the bible and interpet it differently. Elsewise why are there churches that baptize infants and some that baptize believers? Why do some churches believe in 5 point Calvinisim, some in 4 point or 3 point, etc? Why do some have open communion and others closed? Should a Nazarine accuse someone in the PCA of not being a Christian? The two don't disagree on whether the bible is true or on the essetials of the faith (such as in the Apostles' Creed). They disagree on an interpretation. Unity in essentials Liberty in non-essentials. Love in everything.

trip post

I called my father daddy until I was 8 or 9; then I wouldn't have called him anything but 'dad" because I thought "Daddy" was childish. But he died when I was 17 and I find that when I think about him and talk about him to my siblings, it's always "daddy."' I do think it is a cultural thing, though .. as in regional. However, since people move so much now, regions are becoming more irrelavent and it may just be a family thing. Kind of like women/girls/ladies. Once we had a discussion on another forum about the use of those terms. Many people are offended by ladies and girls. I am offended by girls. I mean, I am not a girl. But some people found lady/ladies to be insulting. I was never sure why. No one was insulted by women but some found it too formal or too oldish. So, I think your freind is probably saying what is natural to her but sound unnatural to you.

My dd is good at maths, science and Spanish and is poor at writing. She has proper grammar and spelling and sometimes, she can even write a decent story but she can't write a decent essay, let alone to a research paper. One day, we were doing an exercise in Spanish that gave me insight. She was asked to write a letter for pretend newspaper, encouraging people to recyle, use less non-renewable products, find aternatives, etc. She has the Spanishocab and grammar to do this but she claimed she just didn't know what to write. The fact is, she hadn't been exposed to much about ecology where she lived before (she has been with us less than a year). She wasn't in the habit of reading news stories (although I did subscibe to a news magazine for teens which she now reads). So, she didn't know what to say. This reminded me of IEW. I have just bought the course to start next year. I really wasn't planning on trying to put it across the curriculum except when I ask for a paper in history or something. But it occurs to me that using IEW methods for Spanish is a wonderful idea! Find a poem or story in Spanish; use the IEW method to rewrite it. Who else is doing this? Do you have any good sources? She is finishing up Yr 4; next year is supposed to just be writing and speaking. We are thinking of either reading Don Qixode or 100 Years of Solitude in the original and poems by Naruda and Reuben Dario (my fave).

Sorry, I can't tell you anything but can you tell me why you chose NROC? I am looking ahead - I am a non-scientific mom with a math/science foster daughter. She has done Earth Science with labs, Biology with labs, using secular books. We'll be doing chemistry (The Spectrum) this fall. But I have wondered what I will do for physics when the time comes. I do not like Apologia. I think it would be good for her to do something that is at least partly online, but I don't have a lot of money for it. So...what were your criteria and how do you feel that NROC fills them better than other possibilities?

I didn't mean to imply in my post that no one did research and educated themselves. It seems likely though that some did not, though, if they thought love and discipline could immediately help any child traumatized by war and neglect. Some kids to respond well -- but too many, esp. of the older ones, are RADS. And while people do adopt RADS knowingly and i'm glad they do -- it tends to be a tough journey. Not one every parent is equipped to take. Although...sending back kids hurts me so. That can't be right. Would you send back your own if s/he started having mental problems? I guess maybe some people would. But Jesus wouldn't. I think it is wonderful that so many of you and others have adopted. Most people adopt out of love and if they don't know the answers about how to help their adoptive kids, they try to find them. But if people were encouraged too much they may have felt that if they were spiritual, they had to even if they didn't really feel equipped.

triple post.

I see several people here who do not like IEW. Bad reviews online and real life have been hard for me to find. The only bad review I read was someone upset that they were having to rewrite stories but that is a very classical approach. Why did some of you dislike it? I've considered getting if for DFD (the upper level) because here ability to write and organize is not good. It is so expensive though, that I vacillate. More info would be helpful.

100 Easy Lessons - I have always said my youngest son, now 28, learned to read with that at age 3 but actually, he learned after about 5 lessons- he just went from "cat" and "duck" words to all kinds of sight words. Reading just clicked for him. But now that I think about, probably he would have learned with anything at that point. I also bought and intensely disliked Apologia Biology, Edition 1. We ended up using something else. It was very frustrating. I also tried buying all those math manipulates when he was younger --- he hatedthem and understood math just fine without them. My biggest flop this time around has been Excellence in Literature. I'm sure some people like it but my student and I found it soul deadening. OH, yes, I also hated ABeka History. My older son had been using a lot of Abeka things in Christian school before we went on the road and took him out of school. They sold us the next year's books for little or nothing. I started reading it and immediately went out and got the most liberal history I could find and used them both just to balance it out. And mind you, I was voting Republican back then!

I requested records from my fd's school. They are good to have for several reasons - you see not just grades but things that have been said - some of which may be valid others not.

@Hoppy: A sad and familiar story <hug> Groups like cbeinternational.com are finally coming out with resources and seminars for Christians who are not patriarchal. Hopefully, child rearing stuff will follow. I think one problem with the adoption thing is that so many unbelievers just consider it a new way Christians are building the "army of the Lord." Like quiverfull. Like when we make people projects in hopes of saving them instead of just loving them. And sadly, in some cases, I think it is true. Another big problem in the adoption thing is that the parents were not prepared - they all did it in a fervor. The evangelical church is fervor- driven. You know, when a pastor falls into ill repute, most people say s/he should sit back for a while, just be humble and not try to lead. Well, the entire evangelical church is in ill repute with the world, for various reason. I think the only way to get back any ability to be a help and witness to the world is to sit back, be humble about our mistakes, and demonstrate a quiet life of service.