I'm looking for some suggestions for helping my DD (5) cope with her "five year old" fears. You know the stage where the boogey man and monsters and life-size characters aren't not fantasy but reality. :eek: Yesterday a much anticipated trip to Chuck E. Cheese turned into an embarrassing nightmare. She was afraid of games that had "monsters" on them, really afraid of the giant mouse walking around, and the place was just too loud and chaotic for her. Poor thing just wanted to go! Unfortunately, her twin sister is the complete opposite! Normally, she deals well with loud noises if I have earplugs - places like fireworks, etc. Or if a situation is not chaotic and loud, I have more success helping her talk through her fears and building her courage. We have a trip planned to Disney World in a few weeks, and I am just so concerned she will not have a good time, and make the trip harder on the rest of us. Fortunately, my mom is going too, so we will have some help and she can sit out scary rides. But there are characters everywhere and some of tame attractions are very loud! (We will take a bag of earplugs!) DD is so excited and wants to be "big" and talks about all the things she's going to do, but once faced with the situation, it's a different story.... Anybody else have little ones afraid like this, and do you have things that work for your child? Anybody else want to tell me encouraging stories about how their child outgrew these fears? :bigear: I was very much like this as a child, so part of me can completely empathize with her. The other part is not as sympathetic, especially when she is making a complete spectacle of herself out in public. Help me figure out how to teach a five year old some "checkpoints" for her fears. Thanks! Shanna

It's funny this is being brought up. I personally have never thought much about it. But today, my friend took her 5 year old to the dentist and this was the first time they did x-rays. It showed 4 cavities that weren't detected during the exam. She was floored! She takes good care of this teeth, but admitted she slacked on flossing. Anyway, she was lamenting her decision to not use flouride previously because of purported risks. And we both thought it was really odd that when they fill these cavities in a couple of weeks, they will only use nitrous oxide and no shots for numbing b/c they aren't that deep. So does that mean it isn't necessary for them to be filled right now??? Sorry I don't have more to contribute, but I'm sure it will be an interesting discussion. It's interesting I'm seeing this for the second time today..... Shanna

No problem. I completely understand that what you write sometimes doesn't come across exactly like you intend. Truthfully, I didn't think much of it - just happy to have so many good recommendations. No harm done. :001_smile:

I do think it's a great book and I will recommend it to her. And will probably let her borrow mine if/as she becomes more interested in HSing. If I can part with mine for awhile! I just was looking for a more "general" homeschooling book that discusses the different approaches, etc. Since my friend is just in the preliminary stages of considering this, I wanted something "lighter" and that was broader based. Thanks everybody for all the recommendations! I am going to check them all out, and order her something for her birthday. I hope she likes it! Shanna

Hi everyone! I am new to the forums, and wanted to say hello. I am homeschooling my twin girls this year for 5K. We did preschool at home last year as well, but this is our first "official" school year. I just purchased my own copy of WTM, and read it for the second time. Although I am using Sonlight Core K and I think they have great materials, I don't like the instructor guide. I like to do my own thing, and really wanted to focus on the three Rs this year. ;) Hence I decided to join you here. I've really enjoyed reading all the posts. Also, I was wondering if someone could make some recommendations for a good general book about homeschooling (methods, pro and cons, etc. - just a general overview). One of my closest friends who lives out of state is considering homeschooling her son, and is going to use this year to research and make a decision. I thought I would give her a book for her birthday to help in her quest, but I think the WTM would be a bit much to bite off for an intro!! Any recommendations? Looking forward to getting more involved here. Shanna