Here is my response:
Author Louis L’amour wrote, “Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child’s coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself.” It is the parent’s duty to ensure the child is flourishing under the chosen method of education. No law can secure that for the child. Restricting options will not guarantee outcomes. Testing does not guarantee outcomes.

Human beings are unique among species, in that we are born under-developed, some even say prematurely, in comparison to most mammals. Most mammals will reach adulthood within a year or two. Our young do not reach adulthood until late adolescence. Because of the vulnerability of our young, nature has given parents an obligation and responsibility to raise that child for many years.

A human person consists of body, mind and soul. Parents have the responsibility to develop each of these aspects of their children. Under their responsibility, they must make decisions about how to feed the child, how to educate the child, and how to form relationships with fellow men and God.

Our society recognizes that nature has given the parents the right to choose how to nourish the child. Right from the beginning, the parents may choose breastfeeding or bottlefeeding. They may choose a kosher diet, or a vegetarian diet, or any diet that suits them.

Likewise, society recognizes the parental right to raise children in a religion of their choosing, or no religion.

But for some reason, society has decided that educating that child belongs to the state. Why should that be? It is true that the state has a vested interest in having a population that meets a standard of educational competence. But, does it not also have a vested interest in having a healthy, well-nourished population? Yet, we do not require parents to submit their progress in growth and nourishment of their children to the state.

It is good that the state provides a minimal educational opportunity to children whose parents choose to place their children in that system. That is beneficial to society generally, for parents who feel, for whatever reason, that they cannot provide direct supervision for their children’s education or cannot afford the cost of a private system of education. This is how public education began, as a help to parents and an assurance that all children were offered a minimum standard. This is a charitable act to support parents in this way.

But it is not right for the government to presume that it is their right to enforce a certain system of education on parents, and look at other choices as optional. The standard ought to be to default to parental decisions first, and supplement with a public system when necessary.

I have raised, or am in the process of raising, 9 children. Over the course of our many years of parenting, we have made all the decisions available to educate our children. We began by homeschooling our children. After 7 or 8 years, we used virtual charter public schooling. When our oldest was in 6th grade, we chose private school. When he reached high school, they all went to public school. When Covid happened and virtual schooling was being proposed, I returned to homeschooling. Out of all of our experiences with schooling, virtual schooling was the worst. I continue to homeschool our 4 youngest children still living at home. Every year, I am galled to receive a letter of “permission” from the school board allowing me to educate my own children.

All of the options that are provided under current Virginia law are necessary to ensure the rights of parents to enact their responsibility to educate their children. Children are all unique and have unique needs. I have gifted children. I also have diagnosed learning disabled children. Homeschooling allows each to thrive to the greatest extent of their innate abilities, by allowing customized programs for each to support their strengths and build up their weaknesses. Not all of my children will be able to meet the same bar of testing in each subject. Even in the public schools, testing can be opted out of by the parents.

To remove any of the options available under current law is an affront to the natural rights of parents to educate their children. It is the parents decision for each child, what best suits their needs. Each child may need a different measure of progress according to their abilities. Testing is only a guide, and only a moment in time. It cannot guarantee outcomes. If it could, all public school kids would be excelling. Do not vote to further infringe parental rights in this proposed bill. Recognize that all children and families are individuals and all have the right to meet their own educational needs as well as other needs each family faces.

In our homeschool, I’m trying to chart a different course for my kids. Last year we used Ascension Press’s Bible Timeline for teens program. My kids enjoyed it greatly, but I think lacked the biblical familiarity to really allow the format sink in. So this year we went to the Scripture. Again, my inclination was, we need to read straight through! It is God’s Word! But, looking at my number of weeks, and the length of readings that would demand, even breaking it into two years was too much. So I did more digging. I found a wonderful breakdown at Catholic Culture (because, you know, including the Catholic books makes this sort of hunt extra tricky). I used the layout almost exactly, with a few tweaks for readings that were extra long. Some I broke up, others I pulled significant passages from and only read those. I am finding it very effective to finally get the outline of Bible history and dovetailing the prophets into their relative positions to order the scope of the Old Testament into a coherent whole.

This is my 33-week reading plan. We homeschool 4 days a week, and one day each week we do a reading from Luke, so that’s 99 OT readings. Next year, I hope to do a similar trip through the New Testament lessons, using Acts as the launching pad to work through the chronology.

Creation of the World and Man (Gen. 1:1-2:4)
Creation Retold: Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:5-25)
The Fall of Man and the Promise of a Redeemer (Gen. 3:1-24)
Cain Kills Abel (Gen. 4:1-16)
Birth of Seth (Gen. 4:25-26)
The Flood (Gen. 6:1-8:12)
God’s Covenant with Noah (Gen. 8:13-9:1-17)
The Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)
God Gives Abram a Three-Fold Promise (Gen. 12:1-9)
God’s First Covenant with Abram: Land (Gen. 15:1-21)
God’s Second Covenant with Abraham: Royal Dynasty (Gen. 17:1-11)
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:16-19:29)
Birth of Isaac (Gen. 21:1-7)
God’s Third Covenant with Abraham: Universal Blessing (Gen. 22:1-19)
Jacob Gets Esau’s Blessing from Isaac (Gen. 27:1-46)
Jacob’s Name Changed to Israel (Gen. 32:22-32)
Joseph Sold into Egyptian Slavery (Gen. 37:12-36)
Bondage of Israel (Ex. 1:1-22)
Birth of Moses (Ex. 2:1-10)
Moses Kills an Egyptian and Flees (Ex. 2:11-15)
Moses and the Burning Bush (Ex. 3:1-15, 4:1-17)
Moses and the Burning Bush (Ex. 4:28-5:9, 22-6:1)
Moses, Pharaoh, and the Ten Plagues (Ex. 7:1-8:32)
Moses, Pharaoh, and the Ten Plagues (Ex. 9:1-10:29)
The Passover (Ex. 11; 12:1-32)
The Exodus (Ex. 12:33-14:31)
Covenant at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1-25)
Covenant at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-20, Exodus 29:38-46)
Worship of the Golden Calf (Ex. 32:1-35)
Spies sent from Kadesh (Num. 13:1-33)
Forty Years Wandering in the Wilderness (Numbers 13:17-33 )
Forty Years Wandering in the Wilderness (Numbers 14:1-45 )
Forty Years Wandering in the Wilderness (Numbers 20:1-13 ), Sin of Baal of Peor (Num. 25:1-18)
Covenant of Deuteronomy (Deut. 29:1-29)
Moses’ Final Words and Death (Deut. 31:1-29; 34:1-12)
Joshua’s Invasion of Canaan (Josh. 1:1-9; 4:1-5:1)
Joshua’s Invasion of Canaan (Josh. 5:13-6:20)
Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal (Josh. 8:1-35)
Division of the Land by Tribes (Josh. 13:1-7; 18:1-10, 49-51)
Joshua’s Final Words and Death (Josh. 22:1-24:31)
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites (Judg. 1:1-2:23)
Deborah Defeats Sisera (Judg. 4:1-5:31)
Gideon Defeats the Midianites (Judg. 6:1-7:25)
Jephthah Defeats the Ammonites (Judg. 10:6-18; 11:4-12:7)
Life of Samson (Judges 13:1-7, 24, Judges 16:4-30 )
All Right in their Own Eyes (Judg. 17:1-18:31)
Life of Ruth (Ruth 1:1-18, Ruth 2:1-23, 4:9-10 )
Birth of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1-20)
Samuel Overcomes the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:1-17)
Israel asks for a King (1 Sam. 8:1-22)
Samuel Anoints Saul as King (1 Sam. 9:1-10:27)
Samuel Anoints David as King (1 Sam. 16:1-23)
David Slays Goliath (1 Sam. 17:1-58)
David Becomes King of Israel (2 Sam. 1:1-17)
David Becomes King of Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-25)
God’s Covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:1-29)
Solomon Anointed King (1 Ki. 1:28 – 2:12)
Solomon Builds the Temple (1 Ki. 6:1-37)
Solomon’s Downfall (1 Ki. 11:1-43)
Rehoboam Refuses Advice of the Elders (1 Ki. 12:1-15), Divided Kingdom in 930 B.C. (1 Ki. 12:16-20)
Northern Kingdom of Israel: King Jeroboam (1 Ki. 12:16-20), Southern Kingdom of Judah: King Rehoboam (1 Ki. 14:21-31)
Ahab the King of Israel (1 Ki. 16:29-17:1; 18:16-19:3)
Ahab the King of Israel (1 Ki. 20:35-43;22:1-4)
Jehoshaphat the King of Judah (2 Chr. 17:1-6, 18:1-8)
Jehoshaphat the King of Judah (2 Chr. 18:14-19:7,20:31-37)
Elijah The Prophet (2 Ki. 1:1-2:18)
Jonah the Prophet (Jonah 1:1-4:11)
Isaiah the Prophet (Is. 6:1-8; 7:1-17; 39:1-8; 53:2-12)
Israel Led Captive by the King of Assyria in 722 B.C. (2 Ki. 17:1-41)
Tobit and his Son Tobias (Tob. 1:3; 2:1-14; 3:1-11a, 16-17a)
Tobit and his Son Tobias (Tob. 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-17)
Tobit and his Son Tobias (Tob. 8:4-9a; 11:5-17; 12:1, 5-15, 20)
Josiah’s Reform in Judah (2 Ki. 22:1-23:30)
Jeremiah Speaks of the Fall and Restoration of Jerusalem (Jer. 1:1-19; 21:1-10; 23:1-4)
Judah Led Captive by the King of Babylon in 586 B.C. (2 Ki. 25:1-30)
Lamentations (Lam. 5)
Ezekiel the Prophet (Ez. 2:1-3:1)
Ezekiel the Prophet (Ez. 37:1-14; 47:1-12)
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan. 3:1-30)
Daniel in the Lion’s Den (Dan. 6:1-28)
The Exiles Return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-2:70)
The Temple is Rebuilt by Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:1-13; 6:1-22)
Ezra Returns from Babylon (Ezra 7:1-8:36)
Mixed Marriages and Ezra’s Reform (Ezra 9:1-10:44)
Queen Esther (Esther 2:1-23)
Queen Esther (Esther 3:1-15; 4:1-17)
Queen Esther (Esther 5:1-14; 6:1-14)
Queen Esther (Esther 7:1-10, 8:1-8; 9:20-32)
Nehemiah Returns to Jerusalem and Rebuilds the Walls (Neh. 3:1-4:23)
Ezra Reads the Law to the People (Neh. 8:1-9:38)
Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Haggai)
Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Zech. 8)
Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Mal. 2:10-3:7, 16-4:6)
Hellenism in Asia Minor (1 Macc. 1:1-64)
Revolt of Mattathias (1 Macc. 2:1-70)
Leadership of Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc. 3:1-26)
Purification of the Temple (1 Macc. 4:36-61), Defeat and Death of Antiochus IV (1 Macc. 6:1-16)
Leadership of Jonathan (1 Macc. 9:23-73; 12:1-4, 39-53)
Leadership of Simon the High Priest and Ethnarch (1 Macc. 14:27-49; 16:11-23)

He had the courage to expose his greatest weakness to his wife. The darkness of sin. Can I? There is so much never said.

This goes back to the issue of distraction. Thoughts need release. One huge heartbreak can’t be overcome in a day, in hours. It returns. Every prayer returns to the pain. Looking for guilt. Is it there? Where do I find release? Make an appointment, have to explain? Finally, broken, I turn to my husband. My mind quiets. I can move a little farther on.

Vulnerability akin to treading on an icy lake in March. Is it safe? Try one slow step. Wait. Maybe another.

The couple started with 15 minutes of quiet prayer in the morning together. Gradually increased. Fed a desire, a longing for the presence of God. What I want. I desire to desire the Lord. That’s where I’m at. How did they start? A novena, but not just for 9 days. A novena … the Sacred Heart. Easy. Then, listening. That’s it! Right there. Not able to listen with all of life happening all the time. All noise. I need intentional quiet. I can’t do it every day. But I can do it some days.

Carmelite prayer…handing over broken bits of my self. Completing the circle. Setting it aside. I’m not sure what it means, but it’s a path forward. A template.

I’ve been thinking about writing more. I think I can combine these two goals, writing and thinking more, and see if it bleeds over into a more focused prayer life. November has become a month dedicated to writing challenges, so I will begin my own and see where it takes me. Today was long. The night is already late. But I wanted to get something down and out.

Happy feast of All Saints, everyone!

I think the best I can do is describe what we do and have tried and what has worked. My educational philosophy is Charlotte Mason method. I don’t know what you are familiar with, so I will describe it. The core ideas of CM are living books, short lessons, and wide variety. It has some elements in common with Classical method, but the approach is different. It suits special needs kids well, with modification for accommodation. We use real books for all our core subjects. The through-story line keeps the mind engaged and on topic. It ties one lesson to the next week. The magic is in the narration. Each lesson is narrated by the child restating what he has heard or read from the book. In the beginning, you might need to stop frequently as the child adjusts his attention span and develops skill in narration. Or if it is a particularly tough reading. This improves over time.

The living books are necessary, because what you get in a textbook is already the editor’s narration of a topic. It just doesn’t have enough interest, scope or style to offer material for narration. The act of narrating actually moves the material from the active mind to the longterm memory of the child. That is why this works so well for Special Needs. My LD daughter has trouble moving her knowledge from short- to longterm memory. So making sure she narrates is vital. These core subject readings are kept short so that the child does not lose interest in the middle of the lesson and his mind is stimulated to continue thinking about his readings…what might come next, can I act this out in my play, etc. With a typical 10 year old, you’d aim for 20-30 minutes. With a struggling learner, less.

Between core subjects, we also study the “riches” art, music, foreign languages, copywork, recitation, mapwork, etc. We pack a lot in a day, but everything is very short. Some of these are on daily rotation, some weekly. Some are group work, but most are independent. They usually only take 5 or 10 minutes, but offer a break for the brain to switch gears and use a different part.

So our day goes something like — Prayer, singing (we have a folk and hymn and then I incorporate memorization songs for math or whatever), Bible (about 30 min for all three combined), Math (30 min), one of our group subjects (30 min), a poem, copywork (maybe 10 min for both), core subject reading (20 min), select something from riches list (10 min), and basically alternate the last two items until complete for the day. We have a movement break in the middle. We start at 9 and the youngest is done by 12 or 12:30. The older ones, by 2.

We use Ambleside Online as the starting point for our choices, but I tailor it to meet our needs. It is rigorous. All my kids are placed a year behind. If my LD daughter wasn’t a twin, I would have placed her two years behind. She does some of her work with her younger brother, who is three years behind her. I believe he also is dyslexic.

To address our special needs, I used Dianne Craft’s Brain Integration Therapy last year.  It has made a world of difference! I was lucky enough to get it from my sister, but it is unfortunately pricey. I also have her reading materials, but didn’t have the time to really learn how to use it. We were also given All About Reading, which I used level 2 and 3 with my two youngest last year. It’s a bit pricey, too, but breaks down phonograms with techniques to understand why words behave the way they do. These two programs combined have helped to get my daughter over her hump and reading more fluently. She says the letters stopped moving around on her. This year I am using Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, because I have it. That will get us through the letter combos we haven’t gotten yet.

For Math, most of my kids are using Life of Fred. There isn’t enough repetition in that for my LD daughter, who needs constant repetition to move her learning to longterm memory, so she was using Saxon. We’ve taken a bit of a break to really solidify her math facts for the past few weeks though. She really can’t understand the concepts if she has to use all her mental energy on her facts. We use https://arithmetic.zetamac.com/ and https://home.xtramath.org/ for fact practice. If you need paper there is https://www.math-drills.com/.

For foreign language, my sister discovered we can get access to some online tools for that through our public library. So you don’t have to know a language to teach a language. My kids do about 5 min a day in French every other day. The alternate days they do Latin with Lingua Latina. You learn naturally, by using the include maps and diagrams to figure out the English equivalent. My kids love it, because it is like a puzzle. Youngest doesn’t do that yet, but even my LD daughter gets it with a little help.

Our first year of homeschooling, we used https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/ for Language Arts and History. It’s really open and go. CM inspired. But not exactly wholly CM and lessons can be on the long side (especially History), so I changed over to AO. It’s high quality, though I didn’t like the way the history bounced around. It felt disjointed.

A lot of people use https://allinonehomeschool.com/, which is free. If you are budget-conscious that might work well, for you, too. We’ve used parts. I have my twins doing the Grammar parts of their LA as part of their ‘riches’ assignments. I believe it is meant to be more self-directed, but adjust it to suit your needs.

The AO that we use is distributed freely, but you must acquire the books you choose to use with your child. Many are public domain, on https://gutenberg.org/ or other similar sites. A lot of other families use the library. I use https://www.abebooks.com/ and ebay to find used books. I used most of our inflation-causing stimulus money last year to buy several years worth. I have a list I take to estate sales and thrift stores, too. Many of our books I’ve gotten for $1-2. It’s probably comparable or cheaper than textbook type curriculums you might purchase.

If you are using a Gutenberg book, you can have your child read along using https://librivox.org/. Reading along is preferable to just listening. I read most of my daughter’s books to her, because she just isn’t up to reading level yet. As she progresses, I have her read to me or read on her own what I think she can handle. Last year, she had access to https://learningally.org/ through the public school (long story there). This service provides audiobook access even to newer titles and often has some on-screen follow along reading combined.

Finally, as you investigate different curricula, I have found https://cathyduffyreviews.com/# to be really helpful to know what to expect from a resource, and to compare between different things. Ambleside also has forums to help figure it out, including a special needs forum, but you need to request special access to that one. It isn’t public. Now that you are completely overwhelmed, feel free to ask any questions!

You have stated that the man you have moved in with is unwilling to marry, because he has been hurt emotionally in the past and his divorce was difficult and costly. Let’s unpack this. The man you have chosen is emotionally unavailable for marriage. In what way is pseudo-marriage protective to him? Would separation from you, at this point, be somehow less painful? Since he found it favorable enough for himself to get close enough to you to live together, why is it unthinkable to take one more step and make the commitment permanent?

The second reason he is unwilling to marry is that the previous divorce was costly. What this implies is that he desires a method of separation which will not negatively impact his finances or possessions. You have sacrificed everything that allows you to be independent to be with him, yet he cannot make a sacrifice which might make his possessions vulnerable? He expects your trust that he will not turn you out, having left your job and your home, separated yourself geographically from your friends and family, on his word, yet he cannot place the same level of trust in you to pledge a vow to him?

Where is the self-sacrifice in his emotional commitment? Why does he value his possessions over his commitment to you?

Likewise, goodness is not a nebulous word, but one that is defined as morally excellent, virtuous, righteous and pious. Goodness is a measure of God-likeness. God has revealed himself to mankind in many ways, most directly and explicitly in the Bible, but also in nature. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 states,”Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” God’s law is even written in nature, in which we can know that man and woman were designed to come together in a permanent relationship, by the length of time it takes for the offspring to reach adulthood. We are not a species that births an independent being, nor one that achieves adulthood in the span of a year or two like most animals. Our species requires nearly twenty years to reach adult independence, requiring handson parenting and direction from both parents. This requires a permanent relationship of at least twenty years between the parents, working together in harmony to raise healthy offspring. So by natural design, we can infer that human beings are designed for permanent commitments, which we have come to know as marriage.

Finally, the arrangement you have agreed to has put all the power into your paramour’s hands. What security is there in it for your future? He hasn’t made a lawful commitment to you. If he should change his mind, or the worst should happen, what will you have? He has laid all the plans to secure his possessions against a poor separation. Have you?

If your relationship fails objectively at being either good, or loving, why defend it? Is it wrong to expect a relative to be treated with true love and respect? To be dignified to be held as an honorable wife? Should you be required to suffer the consequences of the injuries of a previous woman? For how long will you remain penalized?

Our love and prayers for you will not change. I hope your heart will be drawn back into truth and love, and that you will demand to be treated with true self-sacrificial love by a man you have sacrificed much to be with. We know that our time on earth is numbered and tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone. I pray that you will considered your destiny as well.

In the last week, we suffered a moderate setback when Brian hit a deer on his way home from work, the first time in 13 years of driving the 45 minute commute. The car was old, but reliable. It was old enough that keeping comprehensive insurance on it didn’t make financial sense. The added expense was too much, the probable payout too little to replace the car. With this amount of damage, I expect our insurance would have deemed it too costly to repair. So, I gave Brian the keys to my Yukon and chose to wait upon God.

I made a willful decision to wait upon God, and not in a “God will fix this for us,” sort of way. I mean, I didn’t place any demands, I just chose to wait and see, which is totally out of my character. I am a problem solver, by nature. We could have tried to make all sorts of decisions to fix our situation. But I have learned that trying to care for ourselves without waiting on God’s will and timing is disastrous. I offered God the opportunity to work, if it was his will, and chose to look forward to a few months in the future when we’d have the finances to do something more, if that was his desire for us. I made plans to work with the situation instead of around it. I invited his presence with us, but didn’t hold onto expectations which would only lead to desperation, hurt and despair.

Our daughter’s truck took this opportunity to drop the drive shaft.

Now, how is a family of 10 at home, with a working outside the home father with a 45 minute each way commute and often 10- to 12-hour workdays, a daughter with a part time job, and a school that does not bus children within city limits supposed to work that out? I really don’t know. I knew we didn’t have the ability to snap our fingers and resolve the whole situation. I re-committed to wait and see.

So, Brian pushed his day back 90 minutes or so, to drop the kids off at school. The kids walked home. Daughter got a ride to work, then waited until he finished his day, to pick her up 30 minutes after her shift was over. Kindergarten teacher called the first day that my daughter ran out of changes of clothes. I couldn’t bring any to her, but they had some spare pants. There are challenges. So far, we have survived.

God stirred my dad’s heart to offer a plan. Worried about my inability to tend my kids in an emergency, he called to see what we could do about the situation and work out a way to replace our car sooner rather than later. The next day, Brian’s boss suggested he keep the work truck here at home until we get our vehicle situation resolved. That will enable me to keep my truck here every day.

These things are God moving within the situation, to care for us and give us good gifts. These things are not the miracles.

The miracle here, is God’s movement in my heart — to teach me to place my trust in Him alone, and show me that I am much more valuable to him than sparrows, but I have to be still and let him be God.

Why is it so vital that Christians bring salt and light into the public square? Secularism is an invasive species, whose end is to enslave the human person, calling good evil, and evil good. Once the government ceases acknowledging our Creator, we no longer have human rights, just privileges that are granted or extinguished on the whims of our government. Christians must vote for those who acknowledge a Creator, a power bigger than themselves, without which they serve only their own judgment.

Isn’t it time we put down the divisive Conservative – Liberal labels and unite for Liberty? Darrell Castle understands that personal freedom requires a tiny federal government, so that we can be free from intrusion in personal decisions. Both Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s platforms will provoke new wars and continue to endanger American lives overseas. Our Constitution did not intend for a continuous state of war, carried out by the President without a Congressional declaration.

Who says it’s all about winning? In the grand scheme, a single vote does little to add to a win for a candidate, but can indicate a lot about the voter’s values. For a third party, just trying to secure 5% of the vote can be a major victory.

It is Christian principle that the ends never justify the means. Voting FOR something instead of voting AGAINST something is more in line with Christian action.