We do about 1 hour of math a day. 20 to 45 minutes of Singapore and then we do other math stuff like Challenging Word Problems, or just making up our own problems.

I don't let my ds8 go alone yet. I have twins, so I send them together. A few times I have just gone into the men's room w/one ds. Or I've stood in the doorway. My first choice is a family bathroom though.

I didn't read the original posts on this-but are you sure you want to get rid of this dog? I understand from the snapping at the kids aspect-no one wants that! He just sounds like a great dog otherwise. Did the behavior specialist tell you how to establish the 'hierarchy'-that people come before the dog and that kids are people. Does that make sense? I bring this up because a few yrs ago we adopted a wonderful dog-then found out he was terrified of dh. We worked w/the dog for about a month and now everything is fine. It just took a lot of patience but this is really a sweet dog so it was worth it. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

I have a 3 yr old, and I frequently 'include' him in my older kid's lessons, because he usually wants to do whatever we're doing. During math, he sits at the table with his own dry erase board. Usually after about 10 minutes he runs off to play. He likes to sit and listen to any read alouds, even if it's way over his head. When we do art and science, I give him his own safe supplies to play along side us. Other than that we read to him a lot. The reason I try to include him is not necessarily to formally teach him yet-it's because when he's not included he tends to try to grab and destroy!

I bought the text and wb from Rainbow Resource for about $8 each, and the HIG $12 each. I'm sticking with the US Edition-I don't necessarily feel the need to follow California's math scope. I've bought the HIG for every other year because I only occassionally consult them, and there seems to be some review. So that would be about $32 for the text and wb for one year. I do buy some of the other stuff too (CWP) which I think is worth the small cost. I have 3 kids so I just buy one text and CWP, and a wb for each.

Another hug for you. My dh works 2 jobs. I agree w/the other posters. Start with one thing at a time. I decide what the most important things are that I want to accomplish that day and get them done first. Then, if nothing else gets done I don't feel bad. As far as hs, I found that (like many other families) if we do math right after breakfast, followed by Latin, the kids actually like the routine and they know they'll have the afternoon for their favorites-art, acience, reading, playing. I let my kids watch specific shows on tv and we don't have any game systems. The tv has been a problem for us in the past- a huge waste of time and the kids would get wild after watching too much. There was some whining for a few weeks but now my kids only ask to watch every once in a while, or they'll check to see if Nature is on or something like that. So I guess my advice would be to-not try to do everything, just the stuff that's most important for you, and limit the tv and game systems.

My dss tend to get along well with girls a few years older than they are. They've made a few friends at an art class with multi-grade classes.

I'd go ahead and try the books you have w/o the HIG. Then if you feel you need it, buy it. We've done 2A through 3B and I consulted the HIG once or twice in 2, so I didn't buy the 3A or 3B HIGs.

I have both but decided to just do Wordly Wise. We also do Lively Latin and I thought the Classical Roots would be overkill for us. I may try alternating weeks between WW and Classical. We don't love WW, it's just ok for us.

I hope everyone is better soon and no trips to the hospital!

One way to get the password is to join the MEP yahoo group.

This year we used CWP (love it!) and the i-Excel (3) book. The first half of the i-Excel book was fun (ds favorite), but the second half was too similar to CWP for us. I ordered CWP and IP for next year...not sure if we'll use the next i-Excel book.

My ds likes to do Singapore's Challenging Word Problems on his own. Does your son enjoy reading? Maybe he could pick a variety of books from the library for independent reading.

We love Lively Latin. I enjoy it and my boys look forward to it. So I don't mind printing out the pages. I just print out what we'll use that day, and when ds3 is older he can use it too. I think on her website she has an estimate of what it costs her to print the whole book out-maybe $15?

I agree, he's doing mental math. We use Singapore and it teaches mental math. One of my sons is great at coming up with his own strategies that work... I was never taught mental math in school...just had to discover it on my own.

I don't, but my dh likes to use a highlighter in some non-fiction books. The most I'd do is write a note for a resource I want to look into on another piece of paper. Sometimes I'll read a great non-fiction book a few times-I seem to get something different out of it each time.

I guess what surprised me was that his twin brother has made a lot of progress in writing, and this ds seems to have made no progress in the last year. We just started hs in Jan, and at ps they always appeared to be at the same level in all subjects-now I realize hs has allowed them to move forward more quickly in their strong areas so I see their differences more easily. This ds does have a lot to say if I'm doing the writing for him. Just today he got frustrated (for the first time) because his writing "doesn't look neat". It really is sloppy and I've talked to him about putting capitals in the middle of words etc. but this is the first time he brought it up himself. Usually he just gets a bit annoyed.

I've been wondering about MEP too. What do you do with the measurements? (ie pounds instead of dollars, etc)

My two ds8 have told me several people have thought they had a British accent, or asked if their parents were from England. Puzzles me...my kids did have a great speech therapist when they were younger (for speech delays) and sometimes I think they really articulate some sounds.

I voted for just Singapore, but I guess I'd really say give Miquon and Singapore a try together, and if it's too much, just go w/Singapore. I think Miquon only goes to grade 3, and then you'd have to choose something else. With Singapore you just keep going....I find transitions between math curriculum stressful. That's just me though!

I plan on year round schooling with flexible time off for trips holidays, etc. I do think of our year from Jan-Dec because we started hs in Jan. so that's when we have to send our annual report to the school district. So Dec is a good time for me to reflect on the past year. My kids are all over the place with grade-level, so we don't really refer to what 'grade' they're in.

Recently I went through all my downloads and sent a lot to the trash. I realized a lot of it was just not going to be useful for us. My kids don't like anything that resembles busywork, so I ask myself if they will really learn anything from the item. Also, if it so generic that I could find it on the internet anytime, I just trash it. I keep the stuff that is unique.

I'd say go ahead since it's not a long-term arrangement. But maybe have a back-up plan if sharing becomes a big problem. My twin 8 yr olds share...sometimes it's great, sometimes not! Bunk beds have helped, each w/their own shelf.

My ds worries a lot and used to get frequent stomach aches. I read a library book-"The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them", by Elaine Aron. I cannot tell you how much it has helped our whole family! Not that I agreed with everything she said in the book. But enough that I bought it and strongly urged dh to read it. I don't know if your dc is highly sensitive but the worrying and stomach upset you described reminded me of my ds. Good luck!

I thought the lab info was in the student lab worksheets?