I'm going to give it a try. Maybe not a double-blind study but it will be interesting to me.

Sorry if this is kind of a hi-jack but I'm finding the discussion on coloring and handwriting very interesting. My dd6 is pretty reluctant to write even though she reads and spells well. I really think it is to do with the mechanics of it all and I've been starting to think that finger strengthening/ co-ordination exercises would be good. Interesting to hear!! I reallly like it that you can look at a thread to learn more about one thing (MEP) and also learn so much other good interesting stuff. Sorry Hi-jack over.:001_smile:

praying for you here too. So glad it went well.

I really like Hemingway myself. I like his spare style. I read The Old Man and the Sea recently and enjoyed it and I really like Moveable Feast. As to assigning it for reading, my kids are too young now but I'd like them to read some - not sure what age though.

Just wanted to recommend Musikgarten. They start by teaching kids to play by ear, learn to transpose into other keys and learn to play chords with the melody almost straight away. I've been really impressed with what my dds have learned. Don't know what age they start. Our teacher is very reasonably priced but that may be just where we live.

My dd10 sounds quite similar to yours. She's been spending a lot of time on the World Vision catalogue too. She got a sewing machine last year. Now she would like the chance to have horse riding lessons. Is there a hobby she'd like to take up that she could get lessons for as a present?

So pleased to hear the good news you had. I am praying for you too.

I can see worth in both sides of this arguement. However, those in the anti-spanking group who consistantly equate 'spanking' with 'beating' either don't know what beating is or are being extreemly inflammatory. Which in my opinion does not further anyone's understanding.

I really don't think I would treat this as a behavioral issue. I would guess it has more to do with maturity/development. My dd6 had a time like this at the end of K. She's pretty bright, reads at around 4th/5th gr level I think and I knew she could have done the math but she just would get frustrated. So I backed off and just did living math, games etc and left the books. This year we started SM 1A again and somehow she knew it without having to learn it ( it seemed) and has wizzed through and just finished 1A already. More importantly she has gone from telling me she hated math to asking that her math book be buried with her when she dies as she loves it so much (morbid I guess but she's kind of a crazy girl!) :) I'm sure it will be fine and I think taking your time, when they are this young, pays dividends. HTH

I should warn you first that I am not speaking from a great deal of experience because this is only our second year homeschooling. We started using WS level 3 last year when dd was in 4th as it was recommended in our copy of WTM. At first I thought it was great but then after the first section it jumped up to having to write a fairly complex paragraph. It seemed like a huge jump in difficulty and we basically gave up. I should add that we were also doing some writing as recommended by WTM (narration, dictation etc). At the end of the year I looked through the book as I was putting it away and realised that, after that difficult assignment, it was ok again so we have continued on with it this year. It seems OK but I don't really have anything to compare it with. If you do use it just be aware that it does not seem (to me) to increase incrementaly in difficulty, it seems to jump around a bit. My plan is to keep using it this year, along with dictation, outlining and maybe try MCT Paragraph Town next year.

For the first week or so I'd sleep and read books. Then I would volunteer, take up a hobby or exercise. Good for you having time off. My doctor used to say that one of the best things for our mental health is having a consistent 3 hours (at least) off a week. I believe it.

My cousin went there and really enjoyed it but again it was quite some time ago. It sure is in a beautiful part of the country though.

This is our 2nd year Homeschooling, we started when dd1 was in 4th and dd2 in K. I just started on Ancients with both together - didn't really get going good with science last year. This year we are doing SOTW 2 ( + Kingfisher H Enc for eldest) and Biology together ala WTM. It seems to be working well. I actually had the opportunity to speak to SWB at a convention this past summer and asked her about starting with a child so late in the grammar stage. She said just to carry on, don't hold her back but just fill in any gaps that come up. It really helped to reassure me. HTH. Trenna

Thanks very much! Some really great stuff!

Praying for you too.

Thanks for the replies. It's reassuring to hear that the cost etc sounds similar to others.

Thanks. It is always reassuring when you hear others have been told something similar. I find it hard making judgements about something when I know so little about it.

Just wondered if I could run something by you all. My dd10 needs to have braces due to 2 impacted teeth in her upper jaw and her upper back molars being twisted around. The orthodontist we saw yesterday said she could start on full treatment now, despite her age, because she has lost all her baby teeth (lost the last one yesterday). He doesn't want to wait any longer as he said her teeth might start coming through her gum etc. His quote for all treatment was $5043.00 , does this sound like a reasonable amount? I have no experience with such things, although will probably get more with dd6 down the line a bit :001_huh:. I'd appreciate the benefit of anyone's experience. Thanks Trenna

Chicken Tikka Masala in a restaurant in Richmond, London Bananas in Brazil Pesto foccachia (?sp) in Italy nr Genoa

With my kids I think it is weak 'stick with it' muscles and that is one of the big reasons we decided to home school. If things come easy I think it is easy to get used to that and very uncomfortable when they don't. My dd10 was experiencing this at school and I wanted to get her out of the habit before too much more time had gone by and it was a much harder habit to break.

I would start in Venice for a couple of days. Travel by train - easy,and when I was there, pretty cheap. Next I'd stop at Florence for several days and make a trip to Sienna from there. Then down to Rome for the rest of the time. Travelling by train is easy and you can see a lot of the countryside. don't really know about where to stay. When we were there we stayed mostly in Youth Hostels but I wasn't travelling with children, but I think some have family rooms. Italy is a fantastic place, one of my favorite places ever.

Just a thought to the OP - it sounds like you are leaning towards testing and maybe that is something that you need personally which is a different matter, IMO than the debate about testing in general. I don't have any informed information to add but was very interested in the above post about labeling. We were living in England when my dd10 started school and as far as I'm aware, testing for giftedness was not done in any sort of routine way. My daughter had some difficulties with being unhappy at times the first year and the school headmaster just matter of factly said it may be because she was above adverage IQ and they helped me to help her. We then moved over to the USA and she was tested and attended the gifted program. With or without the label, what matters is what is done to help the child. Now that we are homeschooling, so many of the worries are no longer there. It is wonderful to be able to allow your child to move at their own appropriate speed.

In my opinion Vegemite is less strong tasting than British Marmite. I prefer the taste of marmite. I don't know about with chocolate, but my daughter, age 6, recently started eating marmite with honey on top on her toast. She swears it's delicious but I haven't been able to bring myself to try it. In England, Marmite's advertising slogan is "You either love it or you hate it!"

You know I always feel a little envious when I read about people buying all sorts of things that I just do not have the resources for myself. This thread has made me see a positive side to my situation. I don't have the option to make too many changes and must make do, mostly, with what I can borrow etc. But the silver lining seems to be less angst, at least in which thing to use.

We're going to do Biology the WTM way this year for 5th and 1st grade. It's been pretty easy to plan out and both girls seem pretty excited about it. We just set up a worm observatory. I was able to get the 5th grade recommended books (the 2 main ones) for only $4 each, used. For 1st I'm using books from the library and whatever she can understand in older sister's books. Of course, haven't done it yet but looks like it will be fun and they'll learn a lot.