I'd call around to local counseling offices and ask them if they have someone who works with ADHD kids. You want someone who has a lot of experience assessing kids because many things can look like ADHD, but not be it and many kids with ADHD also have something else, so you need someone experienced to be sure you get not only the proper diagnosis, but also a suitable treatment plan. You will need a psychiatrist if medication is something that would be useful in your situation. They will be much more aware of what needs to be done than a general practice or family physician who might just prescribe medicine, but not do a thorough assessment. If you are still lost as to who to go to, you might ask your pediatrician who he/she refers kids to for evaluation for ADHD...they might know someone really good. Be aware that if your kid is diagnosed and ever goes into the public school system that the public school system will probably want to do their own evaluation to determine which services they think your kid needs and their results may differ from the private evaluation you received.

On rereading your question, I had a thought... Of course, you child may be in different levels in different subjects. If he's not writing, then he's probably not ready for first grade language lessons--unless you use verbal ones. Most of the ones I've seen have a lot of copy work. Boys can many times take an extra year than girls to be ready for that kind of fine motor skill. History will probably depend on what level of understanding he has for discussion, linking ideas and events...it depends on the curriculum. For instance, my daughter is turning five this week. She's doing first grade spelling and reading. But she's doing Sonlight's P4/5 literature/history because she isn't ready for their K level literature or history. She just isn't there in terms of understanding. We'll probably be doing the K work next year when she's six. That's ok...different kids use different levels. She's doing K math. So, feel free to go with what you think your son is ready for and if you aren't sure you might want to consult the publisher of the curriculum you are using to see where they think he should be placed. Too easy will bore him, too advanced will make him frustrated. Sometimes, it can take some trial and error to find the right level. We bought P4/5 last year when she finished P3/4...I just thought she'd be ready and she wasn't, only now is she really ready to handle those books. May you have wisdom in your choosing and have a wonderful year! Leah

Anyone else?

I too would say Kindergarten because of the level of reading and writing if nothing else. 1st grade work requires moving pretty quickly in reading and math and requires a good bit of writing. And, as others have said, he can skip a grade later if need be.

Does anyone else like playing games on Facebook here and there? I know many of us don't have much time for it, especially with many (most?) of us starting lessons for the fall. But sometimes it's a nice break. And I know at least I like to limit my facebook friends to others whom I already know or who also homeschool, but those games want more neighbors (annoyingly!) LOL!, so I thought I'd ask if any of you would also like some facebook friends to game with or to simply be a facebook friend without playing games. Post here if you would like other facebook friends and whether you play the games or not (and which ones?), so we can find each other. Thanks! I'll start. I play FrontierVille, Cafe World and Treasure Island, but have played other games in the past and could allow them access long enough to give you a new neighbor. :) I'll also take Facebook friends who don't want to game.

That's basically where my heart is. I went through public school and really don't want my daughter to ever have to go through all that. We have more fun and move faster at home anyway. :)

I do! Sometimes it's just good to have a break and play a little. :) I'll message you privately. If anyone else needs one, please message me too (frontierville, treasure island and cafe world). Thanks. :)

Hi, We're in Wadsworth, which is near gurnee--in the far north suburbs of Chicago. We'd love to meet people nearby! Leah

Hi, we are in the far northern suburbs of Chicago--near Gurnee. We'd love to meet others in our area too!

Thanks, everyone.

I was looking at "Our Island Story". Is it really appropriate for a five year old? It seems a bit involved. I'm not sure she'd follow it yet. And what I'm reading of the other suggestions is that the stories might be a little graphic for a kid this young. My daughter is pretty sensitive. Yep, I downloaded the free version of "American History for Little Folks". :) BTW, I seem to have found "Our Island Story" online: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/marshall/england/england.html It's called "An Island Story", but looks like the same book. Also, any brief intro's to Britain/England/London you'd suggest? She's going there for her grandma's wedding in the fall, and it'd be great if she can recognize things like Big Ben and all. Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate the suggestions and am bookmarking them for later. :) That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm planning on either TOG or HO both of which use SOTW. So, I'm just looking for something for this year to give her a sense of what history is and all before we start that in first grade. Thanks, I'd appreciate your sharing if you find it! :)

Hi, I'm working on Kindergarten curriculum for my (to be) five year old. In most American schools kids learn basic American history to understand American holidays (4th of July, Thanksgiving) and such. I'm thinking of using "American History for Little Folks" for this. But, my husband is British and would love for her to learn basic British history so she could learn things about British holidays and such that her grandparents celebrate (and her father did as a kid). Any ideas of books or anything I could use for that? The problem is that I don't know much British history, so I'd probably be learning along with her. I would just like a light introduction as I don't want to overload in Kindergarten! :) Ideas? Thanks!! Leah

Well, apparently we can't delete posts. Sorry!

I'm not sure this is something you'd consider, but this is what I'm planning on for Kindergarten this fall: http://www.nurtureminds.com/aboutus.htm It isn't a full curriculum, it only teaches how to use the Japanese abacus (not the kid's toy kind). I think it's going to be fun, but she should also learn addition and subtraction and how to do it mentally (using an imagined abacus). We just plan on doing it nice and slowly with a little practice daily. It should be a great foundation for understanding quantities too. I've considered using RightStart A, which I own, but I think I'll wait and do this first. We've also used Math Mastermind Kindergarten, which is ok. She loves it. It teaches patterns using beads and cubes, using spinners, making things with shapes (kind of like mighty mind, but with foam shapes). It's very light. It doesn't get into anything like sums, telling time, measurement or anything like that. It's purely preparatory and each "lesson" is very short, we'd usually do two to four lessons in a sitting. Let us know what you decide! :) Opps...decided to combine my posts...don't mean to spam... Then she might enjoy learning the abacus! :) Especially, since it would make worksheets go a lot faster when she gets to them! :) Sorry! Can you tell I'm excited to get started with it??? :lol: We LOVE Mighty Mind!

We have an only who will be five in September.