I agree, Kathy! I do think that, as a mother, it is my job to help my sons {and my daughters!} not be slaves to their appetites, but absolutely a man should be responsible for his own virginity.

My recent post Merry. Healthy. Reading. Organized. Survey. THM. Blogoversary. {Seven Quick Takes}

I will say that that was the part I struggled with in the article, even though I thought it was great over all, and I'll tell you why. At that point, his philosophy diverged greatly with mine. He sounds like he's bought into the progressive idea that there is no canon -- it sort of flies in the face of CM's concept of choosing the best books. A child, by definition, cannot know what the best books are. I would take it a step further, though, and say that children don't usually understand what education is for. So they will make choices based upon their interests or passions, both of which have the potential to not fall into line with the end of education, which is to produce right thinking that results in right acting.

So that means that I don't often let my children choose their schoolbooks, and I do this unapologetically.

BUT. :)

I was trying to think about the choices they *do* get to make, in the context of their education, while understanding that many of these choices might only work in a homeschool setting. So things like order of events. I have a time set aside with the girls for their formal lessons, and they choose a lot of the ordering -- when copywork happens, when math drill happens, etc. These things are set up in a way that allows them to be self-directed. With my oldest, there are a lot of possibilities -- what form his written narrations take, his entries for his notebooks, etc.

One thing I did last year was teach him to make New Year's resolutions. He set educational goals for himself, like trying to get to a certain lesson in Latin. So even though we've time set aside for things like Latin and math, he sets his own pace.

In the article he mentions how restrictive the CLASSROOM is and I think some of that is just the nature of the classroom -- of crowd management. But in homeschools, we don't have to tell our children where to sit {for most things} or how to sit or what is on the walls {because they have a measure of control over their own bedrooms, right?}.

I just remembered that I did write a series on independence in homeschoolers. Ha.

I think CM's idea that all education is self-education really combats this, and narration is a tool that doesn't allow passivity. Choice is only one aspect of taking responsibility for one's learning, I think.

With that said, I do think that house available for choosing their own free reading and pursuing their own interests is key. I'm offering them the best books {I hope :) } but I don't think that gives me the right to dominate their free time.

My recent post Merry. Healthy. Reading. Organized. Survey. THM. Blogoversary. {Seven Quick Takes}

I can't find the one I used last year! It was actually on the NASA website. We are at approximately the same latitude, though, right? I feel like you told me that once. So my guess is that your area is similar to mine.

My recent post Some Examples of Charlotte Mason Notebooks

I recently heard that for the first time, Heather!

My recent post Tips on Turning Reluctant Notebookers into Keepers

Interesting. I definitely run low on stomach acid. But I also struggle with anemia, so beef and liver are essential. My solution is to take HCL pills with those meals. :)

I have thought I handled grains just fine, so that is fascinating to me.
My recent post Let's Talk About Notebooks

That is a book I've never read, but keep meaning to. I have a friend who really loved it. My type is A+. I always tell my husband that it's A-plus, just like my GPA. ;)

10000 IU! That's great! I love taking D3. Totally makes a difference for me, too. Last year was the first year that we took it consistently, and the first year that everyone wasn't sick on Jan. 1. So nice! Have you looked into your area and how long you can make D3 with your skin? I checked it out and here we cannot make it from mid-October to mid-March.

My recent post Tips on Turning Reluctant Notebookers into Keepers

I really do not see why THM works when other things don't. I mean it's *different* but I don't get the mechanism. I guess there are a few possible mechanisms. Anyhow, I was very dubious that it would work with my thyroid issues. The reason I tried it is because my cousin has an active goiter and yet lost 50 pounds on THM this year. My sister is hypo, like me, and also has thyroid nodules, and yet she's lost something like 20 or 25. They both started way before me, and so I had a chance to watch and see that it was working for them. That is why I decided to try it.

I know what you mean about Armour. I took Synthroid for a very long time -- maybe 15 years or so -- until I was concerned about side-effects. So I switched to Armour, and now I've been on that for a long time -- maybe five years? Anyhow, I have had times where I've run out, and that helps me to know how terrible I'd feel without my medication. :) But certainly I still have symptoms (like slow metabolism, including being cold to the touch).

Anyhow, I use a Vitamin D by Anabolic Labs called Mega D. This is the one my husband uses at his clinic. The one I linked is one he's okay with that is available on Amazon. The type he sells is only available from clinicians. What is the name of the type you use?

My recent post Let's Talk About Notebooks

I updated the post and added your discount code. Thanks for that!

THM *can* be done without artificial sweeteners. My sister uses monk fruit extract, because she's allergic to stevia. That's just an extract, not artificial. Another friend I have uses coconut sugar. I know you're not on FB, but there is a group called THM with Whole Foods. I joined, and I hope to maintain that way. For now, I've made my peace with stevia and erythritol. :)

My recent post Some Examples of Charlotte Mason Notebooks

Ooh, Kelly! Thank you for the pronunciation help! I need it {as you can tell}.
My recent post 3 Steps to Getting Started with Notebooking

They make me cringe sometimes, too. I'm so relieved it was okay for you! I have been toying with video only because there are certain things that I don't mind *talking* about that I don't feel very compelled to *write* about, if that makes sense. So I thought something like this was better than ignoring the issues, and it takes me less time because I just record and go {especially now that I know what I'm doing}.

My recent post 3 Steps to Getting Started with Notebooking