There's a hybrid (2 days/week) school in our area is using the UFLI Foundations program. We considered sending our youngest this year, so I did some research and thought it looked like a good choice. The 128 lessons are meant to be taught over three years (K-2), which does seem doable in a hybrid/co-op setting as long as the children are around the same age/level and stay together as a group. The lesson materials (slide decks, reading passages, homework sheets, and activities) are available online for free so parents can work with their kids at home between lessons.

I'm also surprised to see the negative posts here - I think what you're considering is very reasonable. I can't imagine that it would cause an undue burden on the school/teachers unless your daughter has special needs that will require a great deal of support. Her teachers will likely just give her a copy of the notes she's missed from the current chapters and expect her ask questions if she's having any trouble. You'll likely be the one helping her get organized and caught up in the evenings. We're lucky to live in a state that allows part-time enrolment and we decided to wait until the beginning of 8th grade to have our son start taking two classes there. He does have accommodations, but in retrospect he could have started mid-year as long as we gave the school a few weeks to sort things out.

I'm curious about the "low intelligence" aspect - wondering if it could be low enough to possibly explain all the academic difficulties? I don't have personal experience with this, but a close friend who has two adopted teenage sons was always told (based on school testing) that both boys have "below average" intelligence. She's spent the last 10+ years working with them, hiring different kinds of tutors, and attending IEP meetings to advocate for interventions, accommodations, etc. that she was told they needed in order to keep up and stay on track to graduate. Within the last year, one of the boys ended up seeing a psychiatrist who looked at his test scores and was floored that this kid was taking regular high school classes. He thought the mismatch between ability and expectations was likely contributing to the emotional/behavioral issues and recommended retesting - which turned into a diagnosis of Mild ID. She had her other son retested as well and he scored too high for an ID diagnosis, but his school experiences were similar so they ended up making some major changes to his high school program as well. If your daughter's testing is 5 years old, the report shows that she has a disability (ODD) along with some other areas of concerns (low IQ), and she's struggling now (co-op grades show this), she should easily qualify for updated IEP testing at the public school. Going through the IEP process would allow you to find out exactly what attending public high school would look like for her - what services she qualifies for and how they'll be provided. That might be the info you need to decide whether public high school is ever going to be an option for her?

I'm not sure that I understand the structure or purpose of the multi-age class, but K-6 sounds like a massive range for one classroom teacher to be expected to handle so I really wouldn't expect things there to change for the better. I sent my two middle boys to school when they were in 3rd & 5th and brought both home within a year. The older one was bored, didn't connect with his main teacher, and asked to come home after Christmas. The younger is more social, enjoyed school a lot more, and would have continued going to school if I'd left it up to him. But, he has some learning challenges and I didn't feel that he was going to make much progress if the same set up (mainstream classroom with accommodations, small group interventions for reading/writing only) continued for another year. I brought him home in 4th grade and have absolutely no regrets. He was able to continue participating in the school's extracurriculars, which helped him to stay connected with some friends he'd made in school. Part-time enrolment is also allowed where we live, so he's started taking two classes at the public middle school this year for 8th grade and will likely continue for high school. It sounds like you've already ruled out staying in the K-6 class, so in your position I'd check whether part-time enrolment is an option (maybe just attending 1-2 subjects to keep connected with his friends or joining the mainstream class for 1-2 subjects which might be less overwhelming than attending all day in a large group?) and find out a bit more about what attending the mainstream classroom could look like next year (including requesting an IEP evaluation to see if that might be a possibility - if he's falling further behind in reading, he might qualify for services). It does seem unusual to me that 5th graders would have to change classes for different subjects, so if that's a dealbreaker for him I'd look into it more - either the schedule might be less stressful than you're imagining or he might be able to get some extra help managing it (IEP, 504, or just a kind teacher or buddy). At the end of that, I would very likely end up bringing him home, but would feel like I'd investigated enough to be sure that continuing at school isn't the best thing for him. Like I said, I definitely don't have any regrets about bringing my boys home from school after that year. Looking back, sending my now-8th grader to school for a short while did help me understand his needs a bit better (I knew his strengths/weaknesses, but seeing how he got along with and compared to other kids helped me see which weaknesses needed the most attention) and clarify our goals. He was also a very different kid at the beginning of 4th grade than he was at the end of 2nd, so some of my reasons for sending him to school in the first place (i.e. wits' end) no longer existed.

Would he be open to a child carrier? My youngest is still happy to be carried around on someone's back when we travel (she's a "wake me up when we get there" kind of kid) so we haven't taken a stroller anywhere since we had two too young to walk everywhere. We use a soft carrier that can be kept in another backpack until we need it. She's nearly 50 lbs and I did get tired after a while during our last trip (Dh is disabled), but switching off with my older kids made it very doable.

My younger boys aren't enthusiastic readers, so I flip through their books and write out reasonable page/chapter goals for each school day. Could be one long chapter, 2-4 short chapters, or occasionally just half a chapter. I usually aim for 30 minutes, but throw in a shorter day every once in a while to help them stay motivated.

Unless the Greek and Roman History/Literature courses were offered by an outside provider (where I'd want to use the same course names on a transcript), I think this makes the most sense. It highlights the extra literature credit that was hidden under Social Sciences - when I saw your original list of English credits, my first thought was "So this student hasn't studied any literature since 10th grade?" I'd go with something like: Honors Literature and Composition 9 Honors Literature and Composition 10 Ancient Greek and Roman Literature ENGL 1100 Composition I CLASS 1222 Classical Mythology

Oh, I definitely agree that it is not betrayal. I just think it's common for children to feel this way when one parent has a new partner and the other parent is still single, so I wouldn't assume it has anything to do with this family's living situation.

Are you talking about the same family in these posts? I don't think there's anything unhealthy about two parents living on the same property and raising their child together. The unhealthy parts would be parents micromanaging each other, one parent not being present, etc. which can happen in any type of family living situation. I also don't think it's particularly uncommon for a child to be upset and even feel like one parent is betraying the other by dating someone new.

My sister, her two sons, and the boys' father live in two two-bedroom condos in the same four-unit building. The boys were about 5 & 8 when they moved in, so they shared a bedroom in each unit and split their time evenly between the parents. Now that they're teenagers, they've each taken over one bedroom and only share when one parent is away. Both kids still see both parents nearly every day (Mom drives the boys to school, Dad picks them up and takes them to after school activities, etc.) and it seems to be working pretty well for them.

My 15yo was very small/thin when he was younger and 6th grade was by far the worst for bullying. That year, he played on a sports team made up of 6/7th graders and they had to add several extra "assistant coaches" just to keep the bullying under control. I agree with the advice to enrol him in a sport that will build both his physical strength and confidence. My recommendation (and my kids', to anyone who will listen 😆) is to try rock climbing! From what I've seen, the best rock climbers are skinny kids who turn into fit, strong teens and adults. Being light is an advantage, especially when starting out, and he'll quickly build strength as he learns the basics of climbing. My 15yo has been climbing several days a week for the last two years and has developed a much more athletic/muscular build. He recently had a growth spurt (to 5'11") and I think without climbing he would be feeling a lot more awkward and less confident in his body. My younger kids are just doing a weekly class, but they've also become stronger and more confident in a lot of ways. The instructors, other kids, and older climbers have also been extremely supportive and kind - nothing makes my kid's day like a random adult climber cheering him on or asking, "Hey, can you show me how you did that?" 🥰

http://www.progressivephonics.com?

In that situation, I would assume it has more to do with the number of kids and the kids' age rather than gender. This mom likely feels that having four kids over at once is too much, so she's chosen to invite the kids that are closest to her daughter's age.

Watching for a while with my kids (lots of ADHD & sensory issues), I just kept wondering, "How did they get those children in those outfits?!?" 🤣

ASD and ADHD are diagnosed based on behaviour (measured by ADOS, rating scales, etc.) rather than cognitive scores and research trying to develop cognitive profiles for neurodevelopment disorders is all over the place (because of different subtypes, comorbidities, etc.), so I would try not to read too much into them in terms of a diagnosis. The lower WMI and PSI don't mean that her meds aren't working well. The examiner should have mentioned in the report if there was anything unusual about how she behaved while doing those subtests, like if she lost focus in the middle or became fatigued. Most likely, she just has an average auditory working memory capacity and processing speed for her age - which would not be at all unusual for a gifted child with ADHD. Compared to their reasoning scores, all three of my boys have relatively low processing speed and two have relatively low auditory working memory.

The NHL season usually ends in June (and has for about 30 years), but they're about about two weeks behind schedule this year because of games that were cancelled during the regular season due to Covid. Hockey is a winter sport, but even for children the season is usually quite long - my 7-year-old's hockey league runs from early October to late March and they offer an optional spring league in April/May.

How close is the campus do her parents live? Is there anyone who can physically go to the university for the last few weeks to help her finish the semester? In a similar situation last year with Ds21, we rented an Airbnb near his campus to get him through the last 4 weeks. He had already decided to transfer, so withdrawing and then having to return to take exams for "incomplete" classes didn't seem like a good option. Instead, Dh took a week off work to go to the campus and get him straightened out with his professors, medication, cleaning his dorm room, etc. and brought him home for a weekend. Then, I went for the remaining three weeks. It was terrible, but it got him through and he's done much better at a local university this year. In the middle of all this, Dh came clean that his parents had basically done this for him twice - once during his undergrad and once to get him through his masters thesis.

Looks like mild Raynaud's to me. Stimulant medication can cause/worsen Raynaud's, so it would definitely be something to bring up with your doctor reasonably soon.

I've approached this from the other side with my kids: Why not take them on the weekend? If there are side effects or he doesn't like the way he feels when he takes his medication, it's probably best to take weekends off. In that case, though, I'd want to be sure that you've explored all options to minimize those negative effects. If the medication has only positive effects, what would be the benefit of taking weekends off? Ds20 started taking ADHD meds when he was 14, entirely because he was struggling with schoolwork. We didn't notice any impact outside of academics at first. While he was taking medication that suppressed his appetite, he usually didn't take it on Saturday (he wanted to be able to binge on pizza and snacks with his friends), but did take it on Sunday for homework. When he found a medication that didn't have any effect on his appetite, he started taking it every day and still does. He says it helps him not "waste" his weekend - he can get himself organized, quickly get through the things he has to do, and then have time to do the fun stuff.

This was my thought as well. His "dramatics" sound like attempts to avoid tasks that are boring or that require sustained mental effort, which is super common among people with ADHD. To some extent, it's normal for kids to avoid things that are boring or hard, but it sounds like this is nearly constant and has been going on for a long time. When you can, I would get him in to see a psychologist who can assess for ADHD and other issues like anxiety/depression so you can be sure of what is going on with him. I have two dramatic kids - my 11yo (ADHD) is like your son, whereas my 13yo is the "my life will be over if you don't let me go to a movie with the boy I met on TikTok" kind of dramatic. Fun and fun.

At that age, we go over their work together and I have them rework any problems didn't answer correctly the first time. Correct answers get a check mark, so by the time we finish going over a page every problem will have a check beside it. In later elementary school, I correct their work by putting a check mark next to correct answers and leaving incorrect answers unchecked. When they fix the answer, they get a check.

I've been taking plaquenil for over 20 years, since I was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome when I was 15. It's been extremely helpful for me and I've had no side effects. The joint pain/stiffness, fatigue, and inflammation I used to deal with are completely gone, and the core symptoms of Sjögren's (dry eyes and mouth) have not gotten any worse. I only see my rheumatologist yearly now because my symptoms are well-controlled. I also see an ophthalmologist and have a series of tests (visual field, etc.) done every year and have had no issues. I started out at 300mg/day, increased to 400mg in university when I was having some breakthrough symptoms (caused by stress), then went back down to 300mg when new dosing guidelines came out in 2016. The tablets are 200mg, so I take 1.5 every day - I just crack them in half, but you can ask the pharmacist to cut them. I've had two doses of the Moderna vaccine and have had very normal side effects (sore arm, slight headache the next day). According to my rheumatologist, plaquenil does not increase my risk of severe illness from Covid or reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, so based on my age and health I don't require an early vaccine booster.

I would make an appointment to have it checked out right away, but wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it is anything dire because so many conditions have similar symptoms. One possibility is lichen sclerosus, a skin condition that causes itchy, white patches on the vulva and is treatable with a topical steroid. Do not look up images of it because the images tend to show what it can look like if left untreated for many years.

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It doesn't seem odd to me, but I can see how it would! When I was growing up in the 90's, our sports teams regularly held raffles for beer donated by local breweries, where some of the fathers worked. In those days, we also held dances as fundraisers and alcohol was served (by adults to adults). With my own kids, the only time I remember a fundraiser including alcohol was at a silent auction. One (or maybe two?) of the auction items included a bottle of wine, but there were plenty of other items to choose from and I'm sure none of the kids even noticed.