THis afternoon I: 1) Cleaned out one dresser drawer 2) Cleared and wiped down my desk 3) Cleaned out one more dresser drawer 4) Cleared and wiped down kitchen island 5) Cleared and wiped down bathroom vanity top Lookin' better!

We use SE, and I don't use the All-In-One resource for anything but an answer key. At times in a co-op setting, I used some of the alternative chapter assessments and rubrics. I didn't find it confusing, and I am not a trained teacher, so perhaps the All-In-One is more streamlined? What is helpful in the SE series? -Web Codes - love this aspect! -Online Intenet Linked Texts -Interactive Text CD ($1.25) that has added features as well as extra worksheets: Review and Reinforce as well as Enrichments -At Home and Discovery Activities - these use simple things and make the chapter reading relevant -Lab Zone Planner - I love this resource! All labs in the series PLUS extra labs and activities with discussion points and discussion ANSWERS. For 19.99, it is well worth it. For a home setting, I would just buy the SE student text, the SE workbook, and the Lab Zone Planner. The TE and All-In-One are only mildly helpful to a classroom setting. I found it just as easy to buy my own workbook and work through the problems creating my own 'answer key.' HTH!

Yes! I am reserved and very private by nature. I tend to be very shy. Times I've been hurt by other women don't help. :confused: However, in the past few years, I've decided to put myself out there. I choose to be really transparent, without attempting to seem better than I really am. I am just MYSELF, and try to be around other women who share interests and who are like-minded and see what happens. In our homeschool group, for example, I started being real. VERY real. One dear friend in the group decided to do the same. The Lord used it, and soon more and more women were letting go of the Perfect Homeschool Mommy facade and being free to be honest. Transparency coupled with a commitment to encourage other mothers has rocked my world! It kinda turns off the snobby, fakey-bake moms, but who cares? And yes, occasionally you are going to get burned. They key is to shake it off, and move on, rather than condemning the entire human race for what one person has said. ;) Blessings!!!:grouphug::hurray::seeya:

I haven't read the other posts, but I love dressing feminine. You can dress more feminine in 5 easy steps: 1) Swap your t-shirt for a tailored blouse that accentuates the waist. A few ruffles are especially feminine. This type of blouse can be worn with your favorite jeans, or dressed up with trousers. 2) Swap out clunky shoes or tennis shoes for a stylish pair of ballet flats or strappy sandals. 3) You don't need lots of accessories - but try wearing either one bracelet or one necklace (make sure it is a current style!) every day. 4) Wear a little blush, lipstick and mascara to look polished. 5) Go to a good stylist and request something youthful and feminine. Let your stylist have free reign instead of getting the same old, same old. The most important accessory you have is a good, fresh haircut. It goes with every outfit! Just a few steps that I hope may help you invest in yourself!

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I am convinced that Workboxes are great for older children working more independently too! Yes, they are great for moms who are organizationally challenged, because workboxes give you a framework and a method to stay accountable. Please post pics when you get yours set up - I love seeing what others are doing!

Karen, That's really neat. I wish you well in your search for healing and forgiveness. Once you take that step of faith and let it go once, it will get easier and easier. We also like this movie about Jesus, as it follows the Biblical text pretty closely. It changes everything to pray for one's enemies, irritantants, and Difficult People. It is absolutely life transforming.

If you believe that abortion is a neutral choice and if you vote pro-choice, what do you do to help the women who are emotionally and psychologically damaged by abortion? Just wondering if you are aware of the trauma and stress that this causes many women and that in most cases, the women are not informed of this at the abortion clinic. Abortion is presented as an eraser; a simple plan - which it is most certainly NOT. Will the abortion doctor or clinic be there for the woman who is in grief and paralyzed with guilt over the loss of her child? If you are pro-choice, would you step up and help?

I'm not sure that I know any Christian women who feel bad about sex. Purity and holiness are inward characteristics, manifest in the way we go about making daily decisions not only about about sexuality, but about treating one another with kindness, and fulfulling our requirements to God. Obedience to God in the sexual arena is an act of worship. One does not need to scratch every itch because we are wired as sexual beings. Studies and polls show over and over again just how active and satisfying Christians find sexual intimacy within our marriages. (Woo hoo and A-men!) The Christian life demands purity and devotion to God, rather than fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and is a life-long pursuit that blesses those who acquire it! We could all use a little more of this, especially in this day and age of "I want it NOW!" Parents using Biblical language are not promoting the idea that sex is dirty or that it is bad to be a sexual being. We are teaching stewardship of a very good and precious gift, and the greater lesson is obedience to God, respect for self and others, and delayed gratification. Some scriptures: Matthew 15:18-20 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' Romans 13:12-14 (New International Version) 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13"Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. # 2 Corinthians 11:2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. Galatians 5:18-20 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 1 Timothy 5:22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Titus 2:4-6 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Revelation 14:4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. There are many more, but I have to stop somewhere!:D "Purity" is a Biblical word, and nothing to get wierded out by. A prostitute can be washed white as snow and be "pure." See Hebrews 11 and the story of Rahab, who went on to be included in the geneology of our Lord. If Rahab was not considered "pure," then good Jew would have never married her. Apparently, she WAS "pure" and went on to have children, and even the blessing of being a descendant of the Lord. Also, remember Mary, a sinful woman (prostitute?) who annointed Jesus' feet with her tears. Her repentance made her "pure," and Jesus commended her. There is also Gomer, the Samaritan woman, and on and on. This is not a choice between "pure" or "damaged goods" - that is man's POV. I believe God sees "pure" as devotion and repentance and "defilement" as pride and resistance to Him. It (the word "purity") is not something to get real hung up on, and sexual sin is not the unforgivable sin, after all.

That is too funny, Maria! Just one word: H-O-B-B-I-E-S!!! All work and no play....

I don't wash dishes, my husband does. My dd or I will wash our own dishes as we go during the day, so they don't build up. I meal plan, shop, and cook, but don't DO dishes. ;) I am thankful that he doesn't mind doing dishes because I HATE that job.

Yes! I have never been happier or more content in my life. My 30's were good, but 40's are awesome! I attribute this to two things: I have become accomplished at the things that are important to me, and the Lord has enabled me to have a servants heart. The more I serve and help others, the happier I am. When I chased "happiness" while in my 20's, it eluded me. Happiness is like that - the minute you think of pursuing it, it eludes. As I have made better and better choices spiritually, physically, and emotionally and have cultivated a servant's mindset, I have become happier and happier as the years have gone on. I am married to the greatest guy in the world, and I love my work both at home and outside the home. I hope this isn't too corny, but I'll share a little poem that comes to mind from my dd's memory poems for fall: Beautiful Beautiful faces are they that wear The light of a pleasant spirit there; Beautiful hands are they that do Deeds that are noble, good and true; Beautiful feet are they that go Swiftly to another's woe. -author unkown

Yes, this is absolutely essential for me. I have a U-shaped desk that I share with dd. My space is effectively an "L" and I have 3 drawers and a file drawer under one end. I keep all my files, office supplies, teacher's manuals, ideas, inspirations, and planners in or on my desk area. Try Craig's List! That's where I got mine and I LOVE it!

Interesting thread. I haven't read all the responses but we believe that God's design for couples is PURE sex within marriage. We believe in supervision for all ages, especially teenagers, and would encourage but not REQUIRE a courtship model. That will have to be dd's decision. Dating would be chaperoned, if she chooses that. We will teach about STI's just like we teach about any infectious process tranmitted by human contact. We cover human sexuality casually, beginning whenever there were questions. It just seems natural to talk about if you watch Animal Planet or if you have ever bred animals. :D In middle school, we begin the "God's Design for Sex" series and go from there. We will talk about various birth control methods whenever the topic seems needed, and will talk about our family's ethical issues with abortion and early abortion-causing birth control methods. I have not idea when this will be, but certainly by the end of her senior year. In the end, each person must decide what to do with his/her gift of sexuality. As much as we would like to, we cannot decide this for our daughter. If a teen really wants to have sex, they will find a way. We can lead and guide her, and we will be there to love her no matter what happens. It's not something I worry about, but it is an issue that I place in God's hands.

FLYlady has changed my life!!! You wouldn't believe how my house looked before I started FLYing. I would follow her Zone of the Week, and work your way out of the clutter one Zone at a time. It's very do-able, and there is lots of support and humor to be had with FLYlady! EDIT: To directly answer your question, I GIVE IT AWAY. Either to other homeschoolers, or to the Salvation Army. Keeping stuff for sales paralyzed me, overwhelmed me, and kept the house cluttered. I decided I need the space and the peace more! Release the clutter and let it find a new home with somebody who needs it.

It helps me to have a Desk Day every week. On Desk Day, I sit down and do my menu planning, homeschool planning, household misc, send out birthday cards, do planning for any classes/co-ops I am in, etc. It helps me to have pre-done menus on hand that include shopping lists. I love the Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way, and have used it for years. For around $10, all the planning and list-making for a year is done for you. Martha Stewart's Every Day Food http://www.marthastewart.com/grocery-bag?lnc=1e07cafb74ece010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=leftnav_food_menus and Clean Eating magazine also have some menu plans with shopping lists. On Desk Day (Wed), I decide if I want to put together my own menu plan and shopping list, or if I want to go with a pre-done plan to save time. It really helps to have a choice, depending on my energy level and how busy I am. I also have Shopping/Errand Day (Friday), and dh knows I go shopping on that day. After I wipe out the frig and put groceries away, I hang up my menu plan for the week on the inside of a cupboard. I breathe a sigh of relief! Dinner is taken care of for the entire week, and I no longer have to think about it. My dh or dd can look at the menu and prepare a meal if they want to. All the ingredients are in my kitchen and the recipes are together. Menu planning is a means of bringing peace to my life! My advice is to have some pre-done menus on hand. Use them or not, depending on the week.

I used Story of the World + Activity Guide during the first time around, and am using Diana Waring's full curriculum the second time. We did more of a Charlotte Mason-style six-year rotation. Diana's curriculum is designed for 6th grade and up, and it is wonderful, outside-the-box, God-honoring curriculum. Research, delight-directed learning, and multiple intelligences make Diana's curriculum a breath of fresh air for both learner and teacher. Her curriculum is so much more than just CD's. I have MOH and find it dry and too schoolish, or something, for my taste.

I just set up a workbox-inspired system for my 7th grader this week! Here is a SLIDE.COM show of my workbox system that I am calling dd's "Office." Since she is older and can manage, most of the boxes are set up with books, materials and a check-off list in a page protector for the entire (10-12 week) term. A few of the boxes have things I will rotate daily like SURPRISE ME!, Ph-Ed, and Practical Life. Since she is older and has always been good about following a schedule, I didn't do velcro numbers, but simply taped the box numbers on. She will work though a box, check off what she did from the box's checklist/instructions/schedule, return the materials to the box, and put the box back for the next day. This system reminds me of my Montessori teaching days, only we used trays instead of boxes. Organization and structure is great for kids, no matter how it is implemented. We have always been pretty organized, but this system is Super Organized! This is fantastic for older kids, too. All materials they need are in each box, the system will keep the element of surprise and fun, and a change like this can be a breath of fresh air from those paper checklists. I like that each subject and materials have their place and that she can work independently. I am excited to put fun things, treats, and surprises in the boxes too. Older kids need some fun in their school day too. ;) I will switch the order and content of the boxes randomly to freshen it up, but right now I have: Learning Time Begins at 8:00 am (we have had that start time for years). Box 1- History Spine reading (M/W-Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, T/Th Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt) Box 2- Language Arts (CLE and Megawords) Box 3- Math (CLE) Box 4- Devotional Reading Box 5- Music and Poetry BREAK Box 6- Rotating Subjects (pick ONE each day: Fallacy Detective, Art in Ancient Egypt, The World of Chemistry, Nature Study) Box 7- Memory Work (3-ring binder tabbed for Scripture, Poetry, Science Vocab) Box 8- Diana Waring Unit Study LUNCH and Listen To Diana Waring CD's Box 9- Phy-Ed (different each day - dance video, weights, tae-bo, ball skills, etc) Box 10- Science (Prentice Hall) Box 11-Literature Box 12- SURPRISE ME! (treat, game, cooking project, craft, something different each day) Hopefully seeing the SLIDE show will help. Seeing pictures from the various bloggers is what really helped me envision how this could work for our family. Blessings to you!

Yeah, I am on some lists where members keep posting that Classical isn't the "Christian" method to use. The say it will turn us into pagans. :lol:

Of course two wrongs don't make a right, so if you have an unpleasant husband, tecnichally it doesn't justify YOU being unpleasant. In real life, you would not be expected to handle this on your own. The husband would be typically confronted and the husband's response would guide further action. Many times, the wife and kids will be offered a place to stay, if that is what she wishes, until safety and repentance from the husband's end can be established. Treating a wife poorly is considered a serious sin - it is a violation of the marriage covenant and a violation of the chief and highest law our Savior left us - the Law of Love. Christian principles, such as submission, can become perverted in the absense of love. A wife would not be left to deal with such a thing alone, at least not in our community.

Yes, I felt the very same way! I was on Cloud 9, and suddenly the troublesome passages of Scripture made perfect sense to me. Enjoy the journey! :grouphug:

"I'm not organized enough!" I laugh with this one. I mean, can you ever be perfectly organized? EDIT: If you are a "Cleanie," DON'T answer that! :D

Yes, even Kitty loves them! :D I have a page in some of the drawers with a schedule, requirements, and/or directions to follow. I am psyched! Here's a pic of my "Rotating Studies" box - choose one per day.

On a forum like this, I have not idea what all the dynamics are. I do know that both spouses are imperfect adn that both are likely needing help and healing. In a Christian marriage, we are called to love our very imperfect spouses. It can be a dangerous trap to be a wife always having to jump through hoops to try and EARN the other's love. Unhappily, I've seen that happen in a couple of cases, and it was heartbreaking to watch. The husband's demands only got greater and greater. I hope that this is not going on here, but I share my thoughts for what they are worth. This seems like a situation that needs much more than a book on submission. This marriage needs a touch from the Lord and the power of a hands-on, praying community. With God's help, we can make it!

Well, well done! FWIW, you are probably going to swing too far for a while before finding a happy balance between being submissive and shrewish! Give yourself a break. Q: Is your husband a "proper" husband? Respectull? Prone to power trips? I am hesitant to tell you to give up the keys to the kingdom if you husband isn't submissive to a church body. We are ALL under authority, and it's important to have checks and balances so that things don't swing too far the other way. Would you pray about getting involved with a local church that is a healthy, well-balanced community that will help guide the both of you into harmony? Q: How is your spiritual, emotional, and physical health? It is impossible to be a proper wife if you are weak in those areas. Would you consider praying about greater wellness - spiritually, emotionally, AND physically? Pray whether the Lord would have you fellowship with other ladies, focus on greater physical health by making a nutrition and exercise plan, and by picking up with old friendships that have gone by the wayside. I would recommend counseling RIGHT AWAY. I also recommend reading "Love and Respect" and seeing if one of the "Love and Respect" marriage conferences is coming to your area. It sounds like "Acts of Service" might be your husband's Love Language. If you haven't read "Five Love Languages" I HIGHLY recommend it. It opened my eyes so much to the way my husband feels! I'm having a hard time with the making lunch illustration and I'll tell you why. Now, maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds a bit demanding to me. Will your husband threaten to divorce you if you don't pair his socks correctly, or have dinner on the table by 5:30? Will this become a manipulative type thing? Your husband is called to love you as Christ loved the church, laying his life down. You are never going to be the perfect, proper wife. I'm not the perfect, proper wife, and my husband serves and loves me so much more than I could ever deserve! He is truly Jesus with skin on to me. I find it troubling that your husband is talking divorce, if the only reason is that you are not making his lunch and otherwise pampering him. I would wonder where he is at emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I would make an appointment for counseling ASAP, and enlarge your circle of Christian friends who can encourage you and mentor you along the way. How it works in my marriage, is that I feel a great deal of love and acceptance from my husband. It changed my life, and made me blossom in all areas, to tell you the truth. I am grateful. It is easy to me to be respectful and submissive to my husband, because he does not demand it. He is in full submission to our church elders, and to the Lord. It is restful to me to give him respect, and joyful to me to surrender to him. Again, the key for me is that he is so strong and yet so gentle. I trust him implicitly. This is something that has grown over the years, and I pray it will be that way for you and your husband. I think you have gotten some good advice, so I won't repeat what has already been said. I did want to point out some thoughts I had, and hope you consider them. Blessing!

When you mention "unschool" and "organized," I automatically think of the Workboxes system. It can organize your kids and you can put as much formal or informal materials in the boxes as you like. This could make it more schoolish or more unschoolish. If you wanted to get even more unschoolish, instead of numbering some of the boxes, (perhaps just number the boxes of the subjects you are going to REQUIRE, such as math or reading) you could merely fill them with activities and specify that your children need to be doing something from their workboxes between the hours of blank and blank. As a variation, you could fill the boxes for the entire week or for longer, depending on the maturity level of your children. The boxes effectively become mini "stations." The element of surprise and change is a wonderful aspect of the workbox system. I think it could work for you! Here is what is in the boxes for my 7th grader. We are CMish with a dose of unit studies. 1 - History Reading (course contract with check-off boxes) 2 - Memory (small 3-ring binder with sections for Science Vocab, Bible Truths and Poetry) 3 - Devotional Reading (index card with M/W and T/TH directions) 4 - CLE Math (no directions needed - done daily) 5 - Composer Study or Poetry (course contract with M/W and T/TH directions) 6 - Rotating Subjects - Art History, Science Biographies, Logic, Nature Study (directions to choose from one of the options each day: Art in Ancient Egypt, Fallacy Detective, The World of Chemistry, Eyewitness Life) 7 - Science (course contract with M/W and T/TH directions) 8 - SURPRISE ME! - a variety of fun and goofy things, different each day 9 - Language Arts - (index card with M/W and T/TH directions) 10 - Diana Waring's Ancient Civilizations and the Bible (course contract with check-off boxes) 11 - Literature (course contract with check-off boxes for Book A and Book B) 12 - SURPRISE ME! - something different each day: dance dvd, cooking project, game, noteworthy news item, craft kit, some type of treat, phy-ed ball skills, etc As far as scheduling, FLYlady is really helping me stay organized. Because of this, I have a Desk/Planning/Errand day one day per week, and it makes such a difference in how smoothly my week goes. When I am organized in Life, Homeschool goes much smoother as well.