Melatonin helps my boys enormously (major sleep onset issues here.)

Wow, thanks!! I'll have to check it out! That's very generous of you! :)

With my curriculum choices, that is, not with life itself! I make a plan, buy stuff, and then keep reading and researching. Eventually I become disenchanted with something I've purchased, thinking, "Oh, I should have gotten ____ instead." Second-guessing, buyer's remorse, curriculum addiction...I don't know exactly what to call it, but at some point in time I just need to say, "ENOUGH!" Agh! Amy

I think you've talked yourself into it! I agree that you can't count on being able to easily sell in a couple of years.

I was talking with one of my friends who is an evangelical Christian about door-to-door witnessing, and jokingly suggested that perhaps they'd like to come help me clean my house! She earnestly replied that she was sure they would do that if I asked them to. Dang...it's tempting. :) I usually just say, "No thank you, we have our own religion" and close the door. The posts about the young Mormons away from home are making me feel guilty about this!!

My DH doesn't get involved. He will be working with our 13 year old on some computer programming/web design at my request, but probably will leave any actual curriculum to me even on that!! I'm panicking about high school, too. This is my first year HSing the 13 year old, and I don't know whether we'll make it through 8th grade, much less high school!!

I used US for 2A and 2B, and switched to Standards as soon as it became available. IMHO, the home instructor's guides for the Standards editions are much better than those for the US edition. The only issue I've had is that their production of the HIGs is lagging slightly behind where we are in the program, so I keep having to start a book without it, and then pay extra to have it shipped separately. Don't love that so much. We're starting 5A this fall--all the HIGs up to 4B are currently available, so that wouldn't be an issue for you.

I know, this is a weird question! A friend loaned me her copy of TWSS for a short time. I planned to watch the whole thing in a week and save myself the cost of purchasing it. Well, another friend had already borrowed the first tape, so I just have tapes 2-6! I do have my own copy of the binder, but without knowing what's on the tape, I don't know whether the contents of the binder are sufficient in and of themselves. What do you think?

Unusual, yes, but not inconceivable. People with ADHD can hyperfocus on activities of interest to them. If puzzles are high-interest for her, she might well hyperfocus on symbol search and coding, and perform quite well, despite attentional and behavioral difficulties. The psychologist certainly should not send the protocols to mom because of standards related to the release of test items. They should only be released to a person who is trained in the administration and interpretation of the WISC.

I wanted to add that it sounds like you are assuming this is a result of her being overweight, and are reluctant to follow-up with the doctors because you don't want to make her sensitive about her weight. I wanted to point out that even if it is diabetes, it's possible that she could have Type I diabetes rather than Type II. My brother developed Type I diabetes as a young adult, apparently as a result of a viral infection. Untreated diabetes can have terrible effects on the body, which I humbly suggest can be way more devastating than being told by a doctor that you need to lose weight. :grouphug: Amy (who needs to lose a boatload of weight herself, with one kid who is at risk of following in my footsteps & got the lecture from the ped at his last checkup)

I don't know anything about this (sorry!!) but wanted to give you some encouragement. They will almost certainly send you to a nutritionist, who will help and support you in your efforts to get her blood sugar under control, if that's what the problem is. Apparently, other issues can skew the results of this test: From webmd: "Patients with diseases affecting hemoglobin such as anemia may get abnormal results with this test. Other abnormalities that can affect the results of the hemoglobin A1c include supplements such as vitamins C and E and high cholesterol levels. Kidney disease and liver disease may also affect the result of the hemoglobin A1c test. "

That is the packet for what they call the "Advanced Learning Program." I assume this is their gifted and talented program.

I've been using it for the last couple of years. I use the 2006 edition. Since I can borrow the text from the public school system, I just search for a used teacher's edition online and buy the necessary workbook and assessment book. Overall, I like it, but I can't say how it compares to other programs!

I was going to say Calvert, too. Haven't used it, but my friend did, and each day was laid out for her.

My 13 year old is also a poster child for that book (diagnosed with ADHD, Tourette's, and Asperger's). I'm HSing him for the first time this fall, so I can't say "this is what worked for us." I can tell you what my plan is, however, and that's to give him a daily list of what needs to be accomplished, and his electronics will not be available until the work is done. He's 13 and not 7, but I think having the expectations clear can be helpful for a child of any age. We've come a long way from when he was 7, but I remember it well. Oh, do I. I remember a two hour tantrum because he had to write sentences for his spelling words. So along the lines of Ross Greene's book, I'd think a bit about what is in basket A and what's in basket B. The stupid sentences should have been in basket B, but I was in compliant public school parent mode ("I know you can spell these words, and it's a stupid assignment for you, but this is your homework and you have to do it!" Anyway, I'd look at what's essential and what's optional, and where you can give him control over his work. We've worked a lot over the years with being able to identify when he's feeling overwhelmed and communicating that to us. WE have had to work on being able to respect what he is communicating and not just "lay down the law" and demand compliance. It's not easy. I empathize!! Amy

Thanks for all the input. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do! LOL! I honestly hadn't considered starting him together with my younger son at all, because that seemed like it would be a waste of time. Maybe it wouldn't be, though. Hm. The reason I mentioned what they'll be doing in the high school is that I am not 100% sure we'll even make it through this entire school year, much less high school. I feel like I want him to be able to jump back in to school at any point if we decide that's for the best. He is, shall we say, a difficult child to parent. I'm apprehensive about being his teacher as well as his mom! Hm, it occurs to me that another option is for me to have the History of Science be his history for now. We'll be doing The Story of Science, starting with Aristotle, so that might make a certain amount of sense.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with history studies this year. I have been HSing DS11 for 2 1/2 years. We started the 4 year cycle of chronological history studies with him 2 years ago, so we're slated for early modern this year (we've been using HO and SOTW.) DS13 has been in public school. His history class last year covered American History up to and including the Constitution. He's never really had ancient or medieval history, and hasn't had too much world history at all, as far as I can tell. The public high school here apparently does a two year world history course in 9th/10th (9th grade is ancient through medieval.) Any way I slice it--starting him with Ancients, or proceeding from the time period they left off with--he is going to be out of sync with DS11. I had decided to just start him with ancient history, but I can't help but think it would be easier to have them studying the same time period! My second idea was to have the 13 yo do a quick survey of ancient and medieval history while I get the 11 yo up to the time of the US Constitution, and then proceed with them both from there. These seems to make the most sense in the long run, but I don't know how much he'll get out of having all of ancient and medieval history crammed into approximately one semester. What would you do??

I just received my "quest guides" in the mail last week. I'm looking forward to starting with my 13 year old, and think I'll drag the 11 year old along for the ried. :)

Thanks for all the input! I've decided to drop spelling. We'll work on Vocabulary (Wordly Wise 3000) and word roots (Red Hot Root Words) instead!

I used HWT for my son who has fine motor issues, too. We did both printing and cursive. He was grumpy about the HWT cursive because it's simpler looking than he thought it should be--caps are simple, aren't joined as much, and it's not slanted. I told him it was just for learning the basics, and that he could write it on a slant if he wanted! We still need to work on handwriting, and will probably transition to a more traditional cursive this year. I plan to purchase Start Write software so that we can fiddle a little to find the best style for him (it includes HWT.) Amy

That was kind of my inclination, but I worry that I'm just being lazy! :)

Hi, I've been HSing DS11 for 2 1/2 years, and will also be HSing DS13 for 8th grade this fall (help!!) Both of them are excellent spellers, overall. I have been using Spelling Workout with DS11, and got most of the way through level F with him last year, during his official 4th grade year. We kind of petered out because he already knew how to spell most of the words, so we ended up skipping a lot of units entirely. I am trying to decide whether to just quit formal spelling lessons entirely and focus on word study, or to seek out a different curriculum. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thanks! Amy

Yep, that describes my 13 year old, who has ALWAYS been this way no matter what we try. I second the recommendation for the Ross Greene book if other strategies don't work! Oops; I didn't see a whole page of discussion here. I don't think my comment added much! I'm starting to HS the 13 year old this fall and I am VERY AFRAID!! (Only slightly kidding.) My 11 yo, who has a completely different personality and is perhaps overly compliant, has been HSing for 2 1/2 years. This is going to be interesting. Amy

My mom thinks expiration dates are an overly cautious suggestion, only. I once ate yogurt from her fridge that had actual MOLD in it--do you know how old an unopened yogurt has to be to grow a clump of MOLD? I don't even want to know--but I don't eat yogurt at her house anymore! Amy

The larvae are parasitic to grasshopper eggs, so it's a trade-off! I had a terrible time with blister beetles last summer, but not so many this summer. I have applied Monterey Garden Insect Spray one time, to select plants (beans and squash) to treat the Mexican bean beetles, so perhaps that helped to control them a bit. A neighboring plot at the community garden did have a bit of a blister beetle infestation, so maybe they just moved down a plot! Amy