Just wanted to thank everyone who has responded. There is a lot of really good info here and a lot to think about! It has been really interesting for me to see how other people have defined prayer for themselves and what their beliefs and experiences are with it. I have also tried to make an effort to be more grateful, and I guess I wasn't really considering that prayer, but I am now thinking that it really is a form of prayer. So I think I have learned something new. So thank you so much for sharing! ETA: Oh, and if I say I am praying for you, I really do pray for you! But after the first time I do that (while I am reading the request), I am more apt to pray for God to give you strength, peace and well-being than to be really specific! I honestly don't have a problem with myself or anyone else praying for specific things or even asking for things, but that just isn't how my prayers seem to flow, for the most part.

Loosely in the grammar stage. We are doing WTM Grammar, Writing and Math. In the logic stage, we are doing everything WTM except SWO, the modern language (yet) and the science. I go back and forth with this, but in the end, this is how it works here. I love WTM, love having it as a resource, but feel absolutely no compulsion to 100% loyal to it! ;)

OK, I am asking because I really want to know this and am not trying to start a debate about it. When you pray, what do you pray about? I was raised Pentecostal, was Baptist for a small bit, and have been Catholic for 13 years. I know that there is no one way to pray, and I am certainly not suggesting that my way is the best way, the only way, etc. I would really like to hear how other Christians do this. When I pray, I pray for the will of God to be done, both for myself and for others. I don't assume that I know all the time what the will of God is, or even that it will turn out to be something that I personally want to happen either. I just pray for the strength to handle things in my own life and for God's will to be done. Then I trust that the will of God will be the best thing, even if I don't understand it. I am getting the feeling that some of the people in other threads assume that prayer is always asking for something (like applying to Santa Claus). So how do you pray and what do you pray for?

I hope the rest of your day goes a lot better! If it makes you feel any better, I did foster care for a rescue organization for several years, and I have never seen a dog who was crate trained properly as a puppy who was not house trained as an adult. This will happen. Give it time, and give yourself and the puppy some slack for the circumstances today! :grouphug:

Oh, and NO TOWEL might help. Sometimes dogs like to go on something soft. ETA: If you have not yet seen him go outside, I would definitely make SURE that you do that today, even if that means not crating him and sticking him on a leash attached to your belt. Maybe your yard is different from what he is used to in Australia? Some dogs are afraid to go on grass, or pavement, or whatever, if that isn't what they are used to. You may need to keep him close and reward when he does goes outside to overcome that one. Sorry about the kids being sick and DH being gone. This is not a good day for that one! Hugs!

How big is your crate? Some dogs will go in there if they have any room extra. For puppies, they should just be able to go in and lay down and no more. Having said that, my big guy (border collie mix) did go in his crate as a puppy occasionally but NEVER does now as a grown up dog. We tease that he is the largest dog with the smallest bladder, but he does not have accidents in the house. I will also say that this dog does not like to be watched going potty and will not do so on a leash. Hope this helps!

:hurray::party: Congratulations!

I second Laurel's Kitchen. I also love Beth Hensperger.

I like to make mine Catholic, so that requires some adjustments. I am also a book nut, so I always have OOP books that are too good to miss that I want added in. In past years, the tweaking has been so extensive that by the end, you could no longer recognize the curriculum! I really have to watch that for this year, because the reason I am going with things with plans is that I don't have the time to write my own and continue to make those adjustments.

I am about 30-45 minutes north of that, and if you were up here, I could really hook you up! There are several groups there. SCCHE is the biggest: http://sccche.org/homepage.aspx. It has the most activities, but it has a restrictive statement of faith and the culture that goes with that, so be aware of that. Scott Air Force Base has a really nice one, if you qualify for that. Or there is an awesome Catholic group (pm me if you want contact info for that). There are also several Classical conversations groups starting in Shiloh, but I don't know if they are going far enough up in age for your kids. Hope you find something.

Out, baby, out vibes! :grouphug: Hope this baby comes soon enough to keep you where you want to deliver!

I don't have that one. I have the Ancient World (which includes sections on the Israelites), the Greeks, the Romans, and the Middle Ages. I start using them in the Logic stage as a reader, but they very much remind me of SOTW, and I think you could use them as read alouds much younger. I have seen them scheduled in new MP catalog for 9th grade and up in the Classical Studies II classes. The books are sort of a mix between CHOW, Little History and SOTW, IMO. SOTW includes more of the "whole world," where Mills focuses mostly on Western civilizations. I actually found Mills at used books sales before I found SOTW, and I completely fell in love with the books then. They are my favorite history series, by far. I think Dorothy is a Christian, but I find the books to be more secular than CHOW and less opinionated than Gombrich. It is not completely secular, but she approaches religion, IMO, in a more informative than persuasive way. I really think they could be used secularly very well. I have not been able to get a copy of the Reformation one yet, so that I have no idea how she handles that. As a Catholic, I am always concerned about that period, but I have not found anything at all that has bothered me so far, and I am pretty sure Mills is not Catholic herself nor does she write from that perspective. The Book of the Ancient World is broken down by cultures, not purely chronicologically. You read about the Egyptians, then the Assyrians and Babylonians, and so on. I am thinking they are more arranged like the Guerber books, but I haven't read enough of those to be completely sure. The titles roughly correlate to Guerber, but I find Guerber to be a lot more religious.

I own up through The Middle Ages and have used up to the Greeks. I LOVE her stuff. I find it to be conversational and not dull, very informative, and (so far) not overly religious in tone, even in the sections on the ancient Israelites. There is nothing else that I have found that I like better, and I am subbing these into History Odyssey instead of using TSOM. I am really hoping the rest of her books are as nice and as balanced.

No. I am in this position, and it is painful and sad and even heartbreaking for me. But no. I feel like it would be unfair to my DH and the three children I do have to risk my life to give birth to another child.

We used the MCP workbook for kindergarten, and it went really well. I thought it did a good job of introducing concepts and was still fun to use.

I can't remember anything specifically anti-Catholic in it, but don't quote me on that because I don't own the book any more to look that up. What I do remember of it was very sing-song patriotic, and I decided that we won't be using it. Next year, assuming we continue with HOD and do Bigger, I will be supplementing with either the Seton American history books or Our Pioneers & Patriots. I think either of those options is a lot more appropriate than CSA for introducing a Catholic perspective, and I don't think it would be difficult to substitute it. Best wishes!

:grouphug: No fun at all. I take the Excedrin Migraine WITH a Coca-Cola or Pepsi (no diet) AND use the Head-On. The sooner I take it, the better off I am. If I wait too long (or wake up with it like you did) it is hard to get rid of. And then I can't even sleep it off, which is my other remedy. I will be watching to see what else turns up here! Best wishes!

Do you have my 7 yo? ;) Mine actually will be 8 next week, but like yours has a LATE birthday, which makes a difference in some kids, IMO. Mine does well in math, so we go full force in that, but we are behind in language arts, hoping to catch up since she is finally making progress in those areas now. My advice is (if this doesn't make you queasy) to ditch the textbooks in whatever you can for her. Keep English and math, but look at alternatives for everything else. All About Spelling is a great approach for a struggling speller. And I would go as hands on as possible in science and history. We are going with Heart of Dakota this year, for that reason. HOD takes the kinesthetic learner into account very well, and she offers a lot of variety while still covering the basics, all in a time-conscious, well-planned package. My goal is to keep plugging along at her level, trying not compare her to her older or younger sister, who love workbooks and school in general. I am hoping to make the parts of school fun that I can make fun and get her through the rest. Best wishes!

I found mine in the soap section at the grocery store. I couldn't find it at any of the discount stores, where I usually buy my cleaning supplies. Hope you find some or a good substitute for it!

At least you haven't lost your sense of humor. Thanks for a much needed laugh today!

I would worry my children would just want to play with the other children instead of schooling and that we wouldn't get enough school done. I also wouldn't want to have to stop what we were doing to pick up the other kids, especially for what I think is less money than the other family would be paying a daycare. Your gas and food cost something, not to mention your time! I would also worry about discipline issues, transition issues for a child not used to homeschooling, and how to deal with the expectations of the other parent for school and daycare. OK, so I am just a worrier, but it would be too much aggravation if I didn't really need the money.

I am all for that one! Although sometimes I wonder if I am really just in category 2 on this. I think, for me, eclectic just means picking and choosing from whatever I like, be it philosophies or materials. Maybe eclectic for me is a euphemism for commitment-phobic or curriculum junkie? I am just not a big fan of drill and kill (or the four-year cycle in the grammar stage -- please don't kick me off!). I know that isn't really WTM, but the previous Catholic classical I was doing definitely felt like all drill and kill, all the time. I almost left classical completely. Something that really helped me was SWB's article on combining the kids, which for some reason I had never thought of and didn't think applied to classical homeschooling. There was NO way I was going to be able to follow a full-on WTM schedule for three kids, and it helped to realize that I wasn't really expected to do that. The other thing was applying more CM to the grammar stage and realizing that, for my own family, this did prepare pretty well to approach the logic stage in a more classical, WTM way. I may even qualify more as a CM homeschooler than classical until the logic stage, when I definitely come back around. It will be interesting to see what everyone else thinks on this one!

:bigear: I have been wondering lately if I am really classical or classical lite or classical eclectic. Guess maybe this thread will help me decide! I think of classical as a rigorous, directed approach to learning. IT can definitely still be fun, but it is well though out and very much a parent-directed process. I think the essentials are the language-rich environment and a focus on teaching children how to reason and communicate well. I hope the non-essentials are Latin and chronological history, as Angela said, because that is where we have fallen short. I am picking both of those back up in the logic stage, but in the grammar stage, we have not faithfully pursued either.

I learned to cook using Taste of Home magazine. Yes, there are processed foods involved, but not in all the recipes. All the ingredients are basic and can be found easily in your pantry or at a non-specialty grocery store. All the recipes are submitted by home cooks or created by the TOH test kitchen, and they are GREAT at teaching you techniques. TOH also puts out a Light magazine and a Quick Cooking option. A healthier option would be Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner. You can either subscribe to the mailer or just buy the e-books. Leanne is a nutritionist and uses healthy ingredients. All the recipes are easy to follow, but there is not as much instruction given as in TOH. Some books I like are the Laurel's Kitchen book series and Beth Hensperger's. I also like More With Less and The Six O'Clock Scramble. If you get Food Network, I LOVE Alton Brown. I had a Foods class in junior high, but I really only learned to cook after I had my first child. Sad, but true!

I really like the less stress and more time to enjoy goals. I have so much going on, that I am going to really have to watch this one! Anyone else want to contribute?