Is he getting an entire week's worth correct? If he can do it, it's worth the experiment. (And he can get some graphing practice, maybe, tracking how well he did before vs. how well after.) For subjects I like, I prefer to do large chunks. For subjects I don't, I prefer smaller chunks. And think of college all-nighters to finish papers and projects. LOL. Of course, we want them to learn to plan ahead better than that ... but clearly a lot of work can get done in a day's chunk of time. :-)

There's a cute picture book called "Sea Squares" if you want an early introduction.

I'm curious (and coming from a perspective of never having looked over Sonlight, so no bias one way or another) ... But ... assuming that the quoted statement was meant as fact, do you suppose a concern is that teaching parents how to Christianize secular materials is not as good as getting straight Christian materials to start with? I have no problem with using the occasional Usborne book or anything, but I do get tired of constantly having to skip things or discuss things or whatever. At these young ages, I'd simply like to teach it as I believe it. And it's not as easy to find materials as I thought it would be. Maybe they think something labelled as Christian ought to be more Christian? Just pondering ... not trying to inflame ... I've never been to the convention in question or looked closely at Sonlight or anything. Just going on what's been posted here.

I can't compare, but I have several of Mark Kistler's books. I probably found them in a bookstore around upper elementary. I recall being so glad that something was finally teaching me how to draw! I never finished a book, just skipped around a bit, but some of the lessons stuck with me. Maybe I was just ready to hear them.

So here's a question (and I'm truly asking!) ... if you made a meal for the person, and assuming they took it graciously and tried it, would you want to know if they didn't like it? Like, for future reference? I've got one friend of the meal-bringing variety (meaning we would cook for each other if a need arose, and have occasionally done so). We have pretty different tastes and cooking styles. I would NOT want her to think that I didn't appreciate her effort, but I wonder if she'd want to know if something was enjoyed or not. And I'd want to know, too, so that we can adjust in future. Because we wouldn't want to serve something the other truly didn't enjoy. But I'd be at a loss how to convey such things without it coming across wrong. (Actually, I tend to think of her as a better cook, so I'd be hesitant to offer too many meals anyway. LOL.) I am about to need to start a notebook, because I have vegetarian friends, friends with allergies, friends with intolerances ... and I'd want to graciously accomodate what needs I could, but I just can't juggle it all in my head anymore! And I've got food issues of my own, besides. Sigh. I guess I'm making this too complicated.

Niffercoo, I'd never thought of Rhogam as being a contributing factor to my kids' mercury intake. I didn't even know it had thimerosol in it. And I had it with all three of my pregnancies, because of a threatened miscarriage in my first one and not being sure of my dh's blood type (I'm negative for sure). Ack. And I've been told (for what that's worth) that mercury was in 'silver' fillings too, not sure if it's still true though. Or if it even was true. But I've got fillings, and so does just about every adult I know.

Heather, you are really good at summing up the confusing questions!

I would wonder too, even if it's not technically a vaccine that triggers autism, if the bit of mercury in it would add up with all the other places (like the corn syrup). Aren't heavy metals like mercury the things that stay in your system forever? So, technically, any of these sources could claim to not be the cause of autism, and technically they would be correct ... but if you add them all together... I do think there are more causes for autism than just mercury, but I also think vaccines are related ... I was trying to slow/delay my kids' schedules, but not having a lot of success with it ... and then my daughter reacted badly to one of her shots. I put my foot down right then and there. She's not autistic, thank heavens, but the months we went through following that vaccine ... no way was I going to risk adding more trauma to her system. Not till she's a whole lot bigger. Was it ever reported as such? I doubt it. I don't know. I'm not even entirely sure which vaccine it was; I'd have to get her records. One of those multiple things, anyway, that you get right around two? I haven't looked closely at our HFCS consumption (never realized I needed to till recently) but it's something I'm going to consider. Gosh, it is SO HARD to be a good parents these days. Everything we do turns out to have a dark side.

Michelle is right. :) I'm a United Methodist, and I do happen to lean toward a young earth philosophy, but I'm the only person in my congregation that does, to my knowledge. The church doesn't teach it one way or another ... or at least, I've not encountered the teaching ... it's left up to individuals in Bible study to figure it out for themselves. (Which generally means it gets left up to the schools, but that's another issue.)

As someone who doesn't do much organic, and having looked at the prices, I would be horrified if someone spent that much money on a meal for us! :) I do want to learn to eat healthier, and we make babysteps, but budgets are tight everywhere ... I would feel guilty if someone spent more on a meal for us than I normally would. Does that help? Another option ... are there good take-out or delivery places in your area? Someplace that you can get gift cards to? I know, after our first baby was born (and I was still sick as a dog and very finicky about food), some folks got us meal gift cards. That was actually a GREAT gift. It was a fun place that we don't usually order from, but still probably cheaper than if they'd gone out of their way to get the pricey store ingredients. A sort of compromise.

Wow, those are expensive! $21 for one book? Am I reading that correctly?

I've had good luck with ebay. Depends on your needs though, as to how cheap you can get. I can get by with a pretty minimal Mac, because dh is a PC programmer and so we have those too (meaning I don't need great internet capabilities on my Mac). My 'newest' old Mac is a ten year old laptop and I love it. :) It was very cheap. Dh wanted me to get it so I'd quit tying up the family computer during writing projects, and I didn't want to spend a lot till I knew if I'd even like a laptop. Next time, I'd get a newer one. But this one is serving me very well.

Thank you for sharing! I'll have to try that sometime soon! (And I'll definitely get back to you if I find questions!)

Are there any Christian counseling centers in your area? They might be small and not well advertised. I see a counselor for anxiety issues, but he and his colleagues do a lot of marriage and family counseling. (I've seen a variety of folks over the past few years, and some of them really aren't very good at it. And some are great. It does take some looking.) In the interim, maybe you can read some books or something. I was finally convinced to read the book Boundaries, which I hadn't read because I didn't think it would apply to me, and it turned out to be great. No matter which way things work out for you and your dh, appropriate boundaries are going to be essential. The Five Love Languages can also be a good read. Was your appointment a joint one or just you by yourself? Which kind are you looking for? My counselor tends to function like a coach. Sometimes he just does a lot of sitting and listening, because sometimes I just need to talk, but most weeks we're planning out how I'm going to cope with certain things. Other weeks he has me practice coping strategies (like deep breathing) which help with anxiety. And he asks a lot of questions, and tries to help figure out where my thinking/expectations go wrong. (Which may not be the sort of stuff you do in marital counseling, but anyway.) A good counselor will both listen and coach. Hugs to you. I hope you find the help and support you need.

I have no answers for the Calvinist perspective (I'm a Methodist and my church-friends look at me crazy if I even consider the ideas, LOL) but I love how clearly you spelled out all the questions. I totally get where you're coming from. The 'limited atonement' thing is the biggest stumbling block to me. Enjoying reading the answers here!

I find deep breathing hard when I have a panic attack, because mine often make me nauseated. If you can, though, it does help! I've taken to pedaling like crazy on my exercise bike (5 minutes wears me out, LOL) when I have a jittery panic attack. Alternated with lying down and watching TV and trying to fall asleep, that sometimes works. Best is if I can occupy both my body and my mind ... like watching TV and playing Cat's Cradle. (If only I could knit, this would be great! Busywork for the hands.) Reading doesn't work so well, because I can't focus well enough at those times. I hope you're feeling much better this morning! Panic attacks are scary and no fun at all. :(

My kids are still little, so pictures with captions work for us. We are lucky enough to have a really long back hall where all the doors are on one side, and solid blank wall on the other. So we stretched an entire timeline (I forget what company it was from), laminated, all down the hall, at the kids' level. We've got family birthdays and special things like Jesus' birthday marked, and then we add stuff for the school year (like Olympic trivia and stuff that goes with our FIAR studies). Pictures mostly, from clip art here and there. I will say, the twentieth and twenty-first century seem to get crowded really quick. Under it we've got our U.S. and world maps for our FIAR picture disks. When they're older, a big notebook for each of them would be nice.

Ooh, I LOVE the one by McGovern! It's great ... retains the flavor of the language, but simplifies the stories, just using some of the best episodes. I still reread that one!

I only read the series as an adult, but I would not have considered them as children's reading. I thought they were adult books, particularly the last one (since a primary focus is the marriage relationship between Jane and Mark, or whatever their names were). I could see an older teen, maybe. Guess I need to go reread 'em!

I have no idea, but I'd love to see the recipe. I let my Amish Friendship Bread starter lapse a couple weeks ago and am going through withdrawal. LOL.

Shingles is something you are prone to get if you've had chicken pox. They go together .. once you had chicken pox, the virus is dormant in your system and can erupt later as shingles. So I understand. It can be pretty painful, too... my sis had shingles as a teen (we both had chicken pox as kids). I would imagine, the vaccine being what it is, it makes it more possible to later get shingles. It's a no win. Sigh. I did know a fellow who got CP in high school, though, and he was thoroughly miserable for a really long time. I will consider the vaccine for my youngest (who didn't get the shot yet) if she hits ten or so and didn't get it anyway.

You mean you actually consulted with a group of moms of GIFTED kids and they gave you that advice? Wow. Usually parents of kids of any kind of special need are less quick to advocate PS as the catch-all solution, because they've run up against the rougher side of getting accomodations. Unless your area really does having a rockin' gifted program. Ours doesn't. It was okay when I was in elementary, but has had serious funding cutbacks in the interval. Unless it's changed yet again, it totally wouldn't be worth the bother (except as a boredom reliever from the regular classroom). Let's not even talk about my high school, which at the time only had 2 AP classes. I'll give them credit, they've worked hard to fix that.

I don't know about California, but I thought a refund from one (state, federal) was taxable by the other. I know I've seen this on ours before. I forget which way though. I don't think that the state can tax what they already taxed (which was your refund). That's just mind-boggling.

Wow, I'd never heard that version. (And I didn't watch the show.) Thanks for posting. I can say I learned something new today! (FWIW, I also think 'wine' makes a lot more sense in the story context.)

What kind of project are you working on? Is it a language arts curriculum? (Sorry, I'm not totally sure from your post.) E-books seem a popular way to go these days, and there are lots of places that carry e-book items. If that's what you're asking.