His twin has a little bit of sensory issues and low muscle tone. He developed normally with motor skills so he wasn't tested.

Time-outs just don't faze him at all anymore. Sometimes he will become angry but most of the time he just gets up and does whatever again. He KNOWS he isn't suppose to be doing XYZ but does it anyway. He will tell you he knew he wasn't suppose to. And I don't think he just can't help it. You can actually SEE it on his face as he is figuring out whether to do XYZ again and is the consequence worth it. And he completely ignores or tunes you out. You could call his name over and over and he doesn't respond until you yell or sound like you are getting angry then he responds with "what?" It drives my husband up a wall. And if it can be dropped, broken, moved, or messed up he is the one to do it. We went to the sports store to get gloves the other day. He knocked over all the bats, knocked the gloves over, ran into the bikes. He is like a bull in a china cabinet. I feel horrible talking about him like this. He IS a very loveable child. he is always hugging and kissing me and his sisters. He is also VERY maternal for a boy. When his younger sister was born we thought we would really have to watch him around her but he was always so sweet with her and would come over and lay his head on her and tell her he loved her. And he LOVES babies. So where can I go to see what are "Normal" behavioral expectations for a boy of 5?

Oh he is smart alright. The kid is teaching himself to read. I sit down with him to do his reading lesson (phonics for 15 mins which we just started because he was crying that he couldn't read the books he was looking at) and he squirms and cries that he doesn't want to do the lesson and he "can't". Then I tell him he gets a treat at the end of the lesson (they are able to play starfall and get a sweet at the end) he perks up and reads every word on the page like I am an idiot for trying to sound them out for him. :glare: The I "can't" I get ALOT! he says it about just about anything he doesn't want to do. Drives me crazy.

I read my last post and it seemed kinda short and know it all ish. I'm sorry if I came across that way today has been a pretty stressful day.

My oldest DS is ADD and was diagnosed really early (he started hurting himself) and I am ADD as well. I am not sure if he is an Aspie as I have no experience with that. It is possible that he is ADD though. I made an appt with his Ped for next week and will discuss it there with her. I just wanted some insight from others. :) After reading the symptoms of Aspergers I don't think that is it. he has some fine motor trouble but had an eval done and he is normal. He is in speech therapy but does well if she can get him to cooperate. We have to use ALOT of positive reinforcement to get him to cooperate. He likes to know what he is going to get if he does something or how many pages or things he has to do before he is done. He has alot of empathy and really cares about others. He likes to play with other boys and makes sure he talks to everyone. His drawback is his speech and maturity. he told a girl today that she had a nice shot (she hit the ball). She didn't get it until a couple times he said it.

Up until now I tried to think it was just a boy thing. But his t-ball coach and I talked after his practice today and now I am thinking differently. My DS is 5 (turned 5 in Nov and has a twin sister). He is very defiant and will do exactly what you tell him not to. I can't leave him in a room without him getting into something. I went outside just now and left him in the house when I came back in he had an entire glass of Hershey's syrup and was eating it with a spoon. He is very stubborn and doesn't want to do anything you ask unless it benefits him. You can see him thinking when you ask him to do something whether it would be better to take the consequence so that he can keep doing whatever he is doing. If you ask him to put down his bat (as in T-ball today) he will freak out and have a meltdown. With crying, whining the whole 9. If he wants to do it he is good as gold. Transitioning is horrible. If we have to leave to go somewhere and he doesn't expect it he will melt. Seperating him from his sister and he will melt and worry himself to death. Moving from one activity to another and he will melt. Totally addicted to TV and games. I have had him on "detox" where he can not watch any tv or play any games during the day and very limited in the evening if at all. He seems to be doing better with it but if I let him watch or play even just a little more and that is all I hear and he cries and begs for. He is a a very sweet kid. His probably the most inherently smart child I have. I just don't know how to get him to listen and do what he is asked. Time-outs don't work at all they actually make him worse. Does anyone have something similar with their child? Any advice? I know he is a young 5 and boys mature slower than girls but compared to the other homeschool boys on his t-ball team ages 4 and 5 he is much worse.

Maybe he does need 1-1. he is the quickest to pick up things and can do math and reading with no problem. I got pre-k math and reading books and he flew through them. That is why we went to PAL and singapore. Not because I wanted him to do more but because we had already done the pre-k stuff. Maybe it is the writing portion of the curriculum? My girls are fine but my DS is just learning to hold his pencil correctly. Maybe I could drop that and do it for him. If he was in a formal pre-k situation wouldn't he be expected to sit and do the work? I know that is one of the reasons we homeschool but it really makes me feel inadequate that he acts this way.

My DS is 5 we are doing pre-k/K work-- singapore K, PAL writing and reading. We don't start K officially until fall. He has a twin sister and a little sister that is 3.5. We are all doing work together. The twins doing singapore and DD 3.5 doing a preschool workbook. We are all doing PAL together and everything is done VERY slowly. My problem is my DS doesn't want to do ANYTHING. When we sit down to do school work he immediately says he can't do it and shuts down with all the whining and crying which takes away from his sisters time because I am trying to get him out of his funk. He crys during story time, hides under the table during morning board, and falls out of his chair and cries that he can't hold his pencil when we try to trace letters. I am ready to pull my hair out. He can do this work. And please no comments about him not being ready for school work. If I can't get him to do anything my DH will send him to PS next year in a blink of an eye and I don't want that. Any good ideas/strategies on engaging him? Do you think it is just a discipline problem? when I put him in timeout he cries to do school work. I get so frustrated when he acts like this and I know he feeds off that. Any book suggestions? Just help me get him to cooperate! :bigear:

Yep thats us!!!

Let me add a little more information. My 10th grade son is mine from a previous marriage. My DH adopted him but it was just him and I until Tanner was 9 years old with my ex-husband not involved at all. I felt very strongly about getting him out of PS because of the bullying and abuse he was taking. I did talk to my DH about it and we discussed it but you have to know my DH. He doesn't try to argue or talk about issues with me because he doesn't know what to say or he says stuff that comes out wrong. So it could be that I ignored his "advice" and just did what I wanted. It wouldn't be the first time. I am seriously ticked he said that I couldn't teach K. But at the beginning of the school year he went out and bought me a shower tile and hung it on the wall for a whiteboard and built me a desk in the playroom for the kids to do their school work. So I think I am getting conflicting signals too. He says I get really defensive when we talk about HS'ing which I do because I feel he is closed minded. We have been very involved in the homeschooling community for the last few years (I hs'ed my DS for 8th he went back to PS for 9th and now he is back home again). My twins played hs soccer, are signed up to play hs t-ball. My oldest plays hs basketball, soccer and softball. We have a co-op that meets twice a week for my oldest to take psycology and iew writing and we have playdates with the other HS children that are there. So we do have activites outside of the house. He does have experience with PS because of my step dd. We have her Sunday thru Wed afternoon and get her back every other fri afternoon for the weekend. So we have her alot and I have been making my Dh help her with her homework this year and making her lunch. Which has really helped him realize what she is learning. He knows I can teach K that is just an excuse. I am not sure what the real problem is because all of his arguments are really weak of fact and are all based on opinion. He just says the environment and structure is conducive to learning. There are no reasons that he can give that the school is better per se just that they are. I hate feeling this way. I thought we had it all figured out at the beginning of the year. But now it is getting close to K sign-ups and he is back to being pig-headed!!!

I am sitting here in tears.... My Dh just told me he feels strongly that my twins need to go to public school next year for K. I am currently HS'ing my 10th DS because he had so abuse issues going on at PS for 9th grade and really wanted to come home. I was expecting to HS my twins and have been loosely teaching them this year with no real schedule. He says they need the "experience" and that I don't have a degree in teaching. I have been to college and graduated with a degree in computer science. I threw the agrument out there that I think I am fully qualified to teach K and he immediately turns around and asks my son who just turned 5 to spell his name. Which he can't but he can write it. to be honest it just isn't something that I have worked on seriously with them. Teaching ABC's, letter sounds, numbers, lots of reading, calendar time, and our address is what I teaching them. I guess I forgot to be able to spell your name out loud. I am very religous but my DH is not so prayer won't work. I can argue him down and all he ever says is that he will never win with me. right now he comes and quzzies the kids every day on what they have done and learned and just ticks me off to no end. he says its just conversation but he doesn't quiz my step-DD when she gets off the bus other than say "how was school". He says they need the structure, the other teachers and principles, and the environment for them to learn the most. That the education that I would provide them isn't up to par to the public school. Granted our schools are good but my step-DD is a below average reader in 2nd grade when she knew how to read when she started K. Their "techniques" on reading screwed her up. But I can't bring that up because I am picking on her. So I need to some help trying to convince him. I feel really strongly about them being home. I struggle daily getting the house work done, getting my 10th grader to do his work and his classes outside of school, and getting the little ones schooled. I guess I do need more structure within my household but is that what is going to keep me from schooling them? Thanks for listening. :)

My 16 year old DS has trouble with logic and reasoning problems out. As my DH says "He lacks common sense, book smart but lacks common sense." He can't figure out how to get from point a to point b on his own. He is having a terrible time with geometry right now just trying to reason problems out. So can this be taught? If so HOW?? :bigear:

I am looking for something to do at home when I can't get to the gym and something my Dh will do. I have heard good things about both the insanity workout and p90X. Which do you like better?

My husbands grandmother use to give us gift bags at Christmas time of random stuff. I would get underwear size triple X and a small sweater some crazy salt and pepper shakers, a broken ring box, and a bunch of other "crap". I think sometimes she just grabbed stuff from around her house to throw in the bag. She's loaded too so that wasn't the issue. Love that lady but gift cards are so much better! We would all sit around and trade stuff after she left the Christmas party. :tongue_smilie:

Oh and I forgot we have a morning board that we go over the days of the week, months, year. Our activites for the day, character trait for the month, weather outside and temp. Also time. This their favorite part of the day!

For my twins we are doing: PAL Reading: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/catalog/primary-k-2-pal-reading PAL Writing: Both of these go hand in hand but you can do one without the other. My kids (boy and girl) LOVE it! It has lot of games and I am surprised how much they remember. They love Starfall too so they earn starfall time. Esstential Math History: Adventures in America- $15 program by Elemental Science writer. Great look at american history. 2 to 3 x a week. I alternate with Science. http://www.elementalhistory.com/info.html Science: Elemental Science- fantastic program for $15 http://www.elementalscience.com/introsci.html

There are LOTS of tutorials online: http://www.knittinghelp.com/ http://www.knitpicks.com/Tutorials/Knitting_Tutorials.html are two of the best. I picked up a cheap learn to knit kit at michael's one day and used the tutorials. Been going strong every since. :)

My son lost his door once too for the exact same reason. LOL He couldn't believe it when his dad started to take the door off the hinges. LOL

Not sure if this is for you or not but if you are making the scarf for one of your children or DH pick out some yarn and give it to them for Christmas and give them a choice of patterns. If you run out of time before christmas that is, like me. :)

We got my son who is 15 an Ipod touch for Christmas. I know you said it was out of your price range but we chose the touch because a nano which is cheaper (around $99 I think) we thought he would lose or break because it is so small. he also got a gym bag, earbuds, and new basketball and a new net for the basketball hoop. I am giving him some yarn too because I knit and am giving him a choice of patterns for a stocking hat. He did mention an Ipad and I laughed at him. :) He knows that he gets 1 big gift and a couple small ones. Also one thing we do for him since he is older and doesn't get that many gifts is a scavenger hunt for his gifts. He gets an envelope under the tree with his first clue and then has to go through the entire house to find his gifts which are attached to some of the messages. It makes it fun for him and it doesn't make him feel to bad for only having a few gifts compared to his little brother and sisters. :) Good luck I hope you find what you are looking for!

I have been sick alot this year. I have kidney stones (1 small one left after 2 surgeries this year) multiple UTIs, and now I just got a very serious case of pnuemonia and pleurisy. Needless to say it hasn't been a very good year. I need to start taking or doing something to boost my immune system. I take a muli and vitamin C now (the vitamin c is to help prevent UTIs per my doc). I do try to exercise as often as I can but lately everytime I go to the gym I get sick with something! I also try to eat well balanced meal mostly of chicken and lots of veggies. So what does the Hive recommend to help me fight off all these illnesses?

I have used the HSS and the fold n learn. The fold n learn's suck and are a waste of money!

This is what they sent out in email: Here is what was posted concerning HSS-- 'I want to say this carefully, but homeschool share and other "freebie" sites are NOT in ANY WAY related to FIAR. Some of the "freebies" there are better than nothing- and frankly some are worse than nothing. They are all derivative works that present themselves as "go alongs" with FIAR. They are not approved. They are not bona fide. And in many cases they seriously detract from FIAR's well-proven purpose, goals and educational achievements. While we have not taken legal action against any of the well-intentioned posters there, there is a growing discussion among curriculum publishers about that very topic. Our concern (as publishers) is *NOT* that somebody might be taking away from our income (though that is one result) but rather that we've heard far too many people think that by using the many free derivative works and reading the stories selected by FIAR (or several other curricula) someone might actually *THINK* they're "doing the curriculum" and will likely be horrified at the results several years down the line. Worse yet- they might BLAME us, saying "their curriculum didn't work at all" when in fact they never USED our curriculum; only one-offs, freebies and pirated derivatives. Again- I don't want to sound ugly or ungrateful. We are flattered that so many people have wanted to "share" their activities and ideas about our beloved curriculum. On the other hand, I feel we have a responsibility to shepherd what the Lord has entrusted to us and constantly pointing people to homeschool share and other hosts for non-approved derivatives is a grave disservice to other FIAR users who may be getting mediocre or even BAD products which detract from their children's education. With a concerned heart, Steve . . . FIAR FoldnLearns are SPECIFICALLY crafted to go along with the story, reinforce the educational objectives of the story and do so in a way that encourages your student to grow in important developmental skills and knowledge. Some freebies do the some of those same things. Others however, are nothing more than "babysitters"- educational "fluff" with absolutely no academic value and in some cases they may in fact teach information that is NOT appropriate for the age group we're aiming at, and may teach it in a way that either underutilizes your child's abilities, or worse still frustrates them by expecting too much of them at their developmental stage. Think of it as buying a new Mercedes Benz and then changing the tires for freebies found at the junk yard, a free used battery somebody set out on the curb for recycling, etc. It may work. It may not. But what would be the most frustrating would be for you to do that and then blame Mercedes for your woes 2 years later> "We paid top dollar for that automobile and it was totally unreliable: flat tires, dead battery, etc." We're all free to accessories our cars (and our curriculum) in any way we want- but just don't assume that if someone has hijacked the name "FIAR" that it's in any way related to the learning objectives of the curriculum you've purchased with good money and good intentions.' The FIAR resources will be removed on Saturday, November 19th.

Thanks Jenn! I love silver jewelery and wore it exclusively until I was married and got gold rings and then switched to gold because I thought I couldn't mix and match. And I want people to know I am taken as well. How much did you pay for it on sale if I may ask. And where did you find the sale price?

I was reading this last night and Love it. It truly inspired me because since my kids were born I have become frumpy. Hair in a ponytail, no makeup, and sweatpants or something with an elastic waist and i am only 35! I have gained 30 pounds and I need to concentrate on myself for a change. So I have a couple of questions: Has anyone actually paid the $279 for the Dress your truth course? That is ALOT of money for a beauty course. I got the book from kindle and read it last night and i am a definte Type 4 with a strong type 3 tendencies. :) 2nd question: Do you wear silver and gold jewerly together? My wedding rings are gold so I have gold earrings, watch etc but I really like silver. So can I wear silver but continue to wear my gold wedding rings? Or is that tacky?