If you are wanting to discourage his habit of guessing unfamiliar words, could you try sitting with him while he reads the more difficult books out loud, and just telling him the words he isn't able to decode? And then encourage him to read less challenging books if he's practising on his own?

This conversation with my girls just happened. Amelia (AKA Ms. 11): PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE look up what everyone's names mean We proceed to look up names of various favourite characters from Harry Potter and other stories. Of course we have to also look up the girls' first names, even though we've done this several times before. Me: Amelia means you're a hard worker Beth (AKA Ms. 8): What does Elizabeth mean? I've forgotten. Me: It means Oath of God Beth: Awwwww! Why do I have to have a religious name when they don't? Me: Well, I guess we could just say it means you're a blessing for our family. Amelia: So what does your name mean Mummy? Me: Isabel means the same as Elizabeth. They're different versions of the same name. Beth: Well I'm still the blessing. You're too old to be a blessing. So yeah. I'm too old. But at least I am old enough to drink COFFEE :hurray:

Also, it is possible to get separate evaluations if there isn't anybody near you who has 2E expertise. With my Ms. 8 we had her ASD assessment done by a specialist ASD diagnostic service, and later arranged the cognitive assessments with a different psychologist.

Glad Mr. 21 seems to be OK. (And don't forget that panic attacks are hugely more common than heart attacks at that age!)

Evidently not! In fact your house mate sounds worse than my husband.

I hope the cat is on the mend by morning. Our cat is in purgatory because he sneaked into the pantry (my fault, I forgot to latch the door properly and he has no trouble opening it), pulled out the sack of cat food, managed to tip it onto the floor and help himself to a liberal extra serving.

Oh no! What a Philistine!

Ewww, melted plastic is nasty!

I'm quite fond of sauces that start with a roux, because making the roux one of the very few things that still stick in my mind from the year, a long time ago, that my mother tried to teach me to cook. Another thing I remember that has stood me in surprisingly good stead is the admonition to "always check there's not something already in the oven before you turn it on to preheat". You would be surprised at how many times I have found forgotten things reposing in the oven, just waiting to be turned into burnt offerings by an unwary chef! :ohmy:

I don't make gravy, because we only ever eat it on roast meat, and that's one of my husband's things. Roast is a once a month or so epic. He takes hours to cook, and he makes the kitchen look like ground zero in the process*, and the gravy turns out slightly different each time because he couldn't possibly follow a set recipe :lol: *I don't know whether this is a man thing, or whether it's just my man. But when I cook, I wash up and tidy as I go, whereas whenever he cooks, it takes me at least an hour to clean up afterwards. (I don't actually mind doing it, it's fair enough since he does twice as much cooking as I do, I'm just curious.)

I second the suggest to get your child evaluated. Thing is, once you have gone through the assessment and perhaps gotten a diagnostic label or two, you still have a choice about each and every possible intervention. You can still decide against particular things that might be suggested. Likewise, if your child is given special teaching and support with social skills, he still has a choice. He can decide to use his best social skills, which will help him hugely in many situations, but he can also choose not to conform in some situations. But if you don't pursue anything, you have no choice and he has no choice. Also, a word about stigma and labels. Unfortunately, stigma does exist all too often. But the thing is, not getting an official diagnosis won't prevent it. Kids are almost always aware if they are significantly 'different', and other kids absolutely always pick up on it. So basically a kid who is majorly different and goes undiagnosed will have to deal with some others teasing, bullying or shunning him, and he will also have to deal with constant worrying about what is wrong with him and why he can't seem to fit in. Whereas a kid who has been diagnosed, while still facing the possibility of negative responses from peers, has an explanation for why he is different, and a whole lot of extra support to help him cope. On the other hand, if the kid is only a little 'different' and is able to 'pass', then you have the option of avoiding problems by non disclosure or selective disclosure (it's very rare that you'd actually be obligated to disclose). Obviously YMMV, and there will be things about your kid and your family that I don't know. But I would say that 99% of the time, getting a kid assessed results in more options and a more positive outcome. And for 2E, that goes double, simply because giftedness and disability tend to disguise each other, so the 2E kid is unlikely to pick up much special help if you don't actively seek it out. (NB I grew up as a 2E kid who was never diagnosed or given any support, and I can tell you that even as a kid who could mostly 'pass' and was considered 'successful', it was very difficult. If I had the choice to go back and be evaluated with today's level of understanding, I would choose that in a heartbeat.)

Darnit, you're too fast! :glare:

As the teacher, I would act mildly amused and then move on (the vibe: 'yes, I can take a joke, but no, it's not that good and we're not going to indulge you any further'). As that student's parent, I would tell her/him that the co-op class wasn't the appropriate venue for such humor, that it's better to err on the side of respect for the teacher, and that not wasting class time is one way to show appreciation for the teacher's efforts to help students learn.

My kids are pretty into insects, arachnids and other minibeasts. We haven't really done any formal studies, but we have lots of discussions, and watch documentaries. Whenever a kid comes inside with some new spider/caterpillar/etc, we take photos and go onto a couple of websites so we can identify the critter and learn some facts about it. Also we have kept stick insects as pets, and we buy a butterfly chrysalis once a year to watch the butterfly emerge.

Compliments from one's partner are always a good thing IMO lol I am drinking my coffee and thinking it would be a mighty fine idea for every day to be International Coffee Day. We have copious Spring rains and minor flooding down here; I feel like I have had an extra shower, although I only drove to the grocery store (and no goats were involved ;) ) And thanks for the welcome back. I think it's about 500 pages since I was last on this thread!

Firstly, I would suggest you try not to feel stressed about it. Honestly, history at that age is just not that big of a deal. Kids forget most of what they learn the first time around anyway. All you're really aiming for is: 1. To generate some level of interest in, or at the least awareness of, history ("History is a thing. Stuff happened in the past. I might want to find out more about it some day!"). 2. To file a few bits of information in the back of his brain so that they will seem familiar, and therefore not daunting, when he encounters them again later on ("Oh yeah, I think I've seen/heard of that before"). Those are the basic goals. If you can achieve more, as some families can, that's fantastic, but it's a bonus. Secondly, nothing awful will happen if you don't do Ancients in year 1, Medieval in year 2, and so on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with delving deep into prehistory while he's interested (if you want to extend this, you might consider alternating between your books and some of the great documentaries that are available). Then one day, something might come along to pique his interest in ancient civs, and you can explore them then. If you are keen to keep track of what you've covered, and promote the "sweep of history" view, you might like to put up a large, semi-permanent wall timeline where you can add things as he learns. That way if his interest suddenly jumps from prehistory to, say, the Titanic, it's no problem because you can just step over to your Modern Era section and put it on. ETA I second the recommendation to look at the 'Walking with...' videos. My kids have also watched them several times and enjoyed them.

I would be inclined to change back if you can, because if AoPS doesn't "click" for your teen, it won't just be a waste of time; it could also dent his confidence and put him off working on math right at the time when he is laying the groundwork to move into the more advanced topics. Whereas if you explain that you're changing his enrolment because you have now realized that Saxon is a better fit, he will understand that the problem wasn't with him, but only with the curriculum not being compatible with his learning style.

Same here. I was (and am still) fascinated with history, and I find it difficult to understand how anyone could not love it. I have one kid who shares my interest, one who likes some periods/aspects but not others, and one who is not drawn to it at all, so I have to work very hard to engage him (it was building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Minecraft that finally convinced him history isn't actually torture ;) ) Also, not really educational, but I was so excited about introducing the eldest to Star Trek, and he's just MEH about it. I'm eagerly awaiting introducing it to Ms. 8 when she's a little older, as she is a real Mini-Me and I'm almost sure she will love it.

Glad to hear that the eye thing isn't evil :)

Although we are still using KA just as a supplement for when the kids want a change from their regular curriculum, this is interesting to know. I've have read some theories about why KA isn't adequate, but ultimately it doesn't matter what somebody's theory says if you find it works for your student.

Well at least you didn't have to throw out the meat. We had to chuck some a while back when I didn't close the freezer properly and we didn't realize for a week. How our lunch is progressing. The 13yo: "Am I meant to trim the rind off the bacon before I fry it?" The 8yo: "Nah, you just sizzle the guts out of it, it'll be FINE!"

JMO, so feel free to take with a grain of salt... Do you want your kids to experience the joy of music when they sing? Why not just sing yourself, and let them sing? If you want them to learn hymns, choose hymns when you sing to them at bed time, or for your waking up music, or whenever you normally fit music into your day. A program where they have to work for two years before they are allowed to sing a hymn sounds like a way to prevent singing from being fun! Also, one of the biggest problems with singing is people being self conscious and thinking they can't sing. I think the key to overcoming this is to get them singing as young as possible, before they are old enough to be embarrassed or self-critical. If singing is just a natural part of family life, kids will naturally sing (just this morning, dh was reprimanding Ms. 11 for turning her math into a musical ;) ), and if they can always take lessons later on if they want to refine their skills and technique. WRT the Ward Method or other formal ways of learning, I am not saying they are necessarily a bad thing. I'm just saying that formal instruction should be used in addition to every day fun singing, not instead of it, IYKWIM. Of course it is nice if your kids learn to sight read vocal scores. But it's not good if, in the process, they learn that singing is complicated and difficult, and should only be done by people having lessons.

I think I'd fast. I'd be too busy either repenting of my capital crime or trying to come to terms with the wrongful conviction to bother with eating.

I'd say the dress is fine but add a bit of bling or colorful accessories. (But if you're really unsure, phone a couple of other women to check what they're wearing!)

I always thought the "soldiers" was an English tradition. We've done that once or twice as a novelty for the kids but our general method is peeling the egg and smooshing it on the toast, with a little freshly ground pepper on top.