DS6 has a 30 minute lesson once a week. He is expected to practice 15 minutes twice a day.

I tutor. I have 4 degrees - all in teaching. The going rate for our area for a private tutor is around $75/hour which I find to be ludicrous. I charge $30/hour and tutor between 8 and 10 hours a week. The money I make helps to make up for furlough days/lost income that my DH (a teacher) has had over the years. One of my students is a barter situation - I tutor in exchange for piano lessons. I tutor my barter student in the AM - DS works on Rosetta Stone while I tutor. My others are from 3-4 and then 6-7, 7-, 8-9 depending on the day. I loose the precious 4-6 hours because DS has TKD from 4:30 to 5:30 daily. Having worked for Sylvan many, many years ago while getting my BS, I know that my one on one individual tutoring far surpasses anything they can offer. It is a juggling act, but has really helped with the lost income.

Oh, thanks for that link!

Thanks for replying, regentrude. He has to think, but it is so much quicker than last year. It's like everything has just come together in his mind. No more money for curriculum and I don't want gaps so I'm kind of stuck with what I have at the moment. For the most part, this is the same curriculum as last year just bumped up a couple of levels. Save for SOTW and WWE, his curriculum is all on a sixth-eighth grade level. He just turned 6!

We have been in school for three weeks. Things are going along just great - maybe too great. DS is getting done soooo fast with all his work that I have actually checked to see if I have left off some part of his curriculum :confused:. He is reading voraciously, doing numerous lessons per day in his curriculum, needing few breaks, and just overall doing a fantastic job. We are doing logic puzzles, playing word games, etc. to continue to stretch his mind and at this point, nothing is slowing him down. Does the PG child go through periods like this? I am in uncharted territories with DS and just wondered if anyone else has had this happen. Thanks for your kind advice.

My goal this summer was to get the freezer stocked with at least one month worth of meals. I took a Saturday and spent 12 hours and got it done. Now that I have a good base, I make a couple meals here and there to freeze. DH estimated that I spent approximately $140 on the meals - enough for 22 complete casseroles, 8 diced ham containers, 10 mashed potato containers (made from scratch), and 10 bags of cooked rice. I just stocked up on frozen vegetables at $1 a bag (each bag is good for 2 meals). So far, everything we have eaten has been fine taste and texture wise. I was a little concerned, but all has turned out great. The savings have been wonderful and the stress of not worrying about dinner is an absolute DREAM. I did splurge and ordered disposable aluminum casserole pans with lids as well as some smaller containers from a restaurant supply company. It was worth every penny! I can write on the lid (contents, cooking directions, etc.) and they can be recycled with our waste company.

DH just booked us into the LaQuinta in Williamsburg from the 18th-22nd of September for $62 a night. It is a newly renovated property with free breakfast. They also have rooms with frigs and microwaves. You might give them a try.

Don't know a thing about TT, but we have used Horizons since K and are now in Grade 6. I love it and so does DS. I am going to cry when we finish the Pre-Al this year as I am going to have to find another program.

We have just kept on moving. For computer time, DS plays facts games in many different varieties. He would be bored silly if I had stopped and made him have all his +,-,x and / facts down cold.

I looked at everywhere mentioned above as well as Office Depot and Office Max. None were carrying them this year in my area. If you cannot find them, they are on Amazon.

TaeKwonDo would be wonderful.

Oh, how I so agree especially right now. DS is going through a growth spurt so he is eating us out of house and home as well as sleeping 13 hours at night. It is nice to see him wonder downstairs at 8:15 and eat a leisurely breakfast without being rushed to 'school'.

Google - Ponseti Method - loads of information. It depends on the severity of the club feet as to the duration of treatment. My friend adopted a little girl from China who had the most severe club feet I have ever seen. She was fortunate to be in a foster home that allowed her to get to a hospital that did the Ponseti Method. Today, at three, she is an active, running, very healthy, little girl. Just has to wear her brace at night. :grouphug: and the best of luck.

Kennedy - 1961

We actually started back last Thursday. Things have gone very well. DS is getting done with his work a lot faster than the past two years. Maturity does have advantages :). We are getting done so much quicker that I have looked several times to see if I am missing something crucial from my curriculum. :confused:

I"m old ;) so my first memory was JFK's assassination. I sat riveted to the television for all the news and the funeral. My dad has told many a person that I wouldn't budge from all of it. I was 2 years and 3 months old.

Not being rude at all. In fact, it is a question we often ask ourselves and are asked by others. DH and I come from a loooooong line of educators - most everyone has a PhD or EdD along with numerous accolades. Three out of four grandparents are/were college professors. DH teaches HS and at the university. So our background is very strong on the importance of education and the bar for achievement - in education and personal goals - is extremely high. It is a question that we will never know the answer to, but it intrigues us daily.

DS was adopted from China at 28 months. He did not utter one word and exhibited many autistic behaviors. Our guide pulled us to the side after the third day and said she was concerned that he probably had some major learning difficulties/behavioral issues because he wouldn't even respond to anything she said in his native dialect. I wasn't worried as I am a retired special education teacher :lol: so I just figured we had been given the perfect child. I started teaching DS sign language while in China and within 4 weeks he knew and used about 200 signs. Stupid me didn't see this as advanced. At 6 weeks home, I asked him to use his words when thanking me for a glass of water. Out of his mouth came a perfectly worded, precise toned LONG English sentence. I still was clueless and just thought "Yeah, he can talk!" It wasn't until others started pointing out that he was not like other 2 year old children. It finally hit me when he had just turned 4 and learned to read in a matter of weeks, flew through 3 grades of math in matter of 3 months and showed incredible memory for obscure things that the lightbulb finally went off. My DH and I say that God is laughing :smilielol5: and slapping his knee daily as we try to stay up with this profoundly gifted blessing we have been given. Gifted/talented is the ONLY area that DH and I are not certified to teach. :w00t:

Come on over to ATL and we'll have you driving like a pro on the interstate. Nothing like 8-10 lanes of traffic with a crazy amount of signs to either make you or break you. Just kidding :001_smile:. I would look into a defensive driving course. They would be able to give you some great suggestions on how to handle interstate driving. I don't see well at night (almost no depth perception in the dark) and cannot judge how far away headlights are when trying to pull out onto a road. I have learned to just take my time until I am comfortable (as long as I am not where I can cause an accident). I've been honked at more than once, but I've learned to handle the honks versus getting too nervous. Good luck.

DS has been using the Mandarin and does 30 minutes - 5 days a week. Thirty minutes doesn't seem too long as it gets him well ensconced in the lesson.

Hard Boiled Egg Oatmeal Cookie - http://www.cookiemadness.net/2008/10/amazing-hard-boiled-egg-oatmeal-cookie/

Just finished lunch - smoked pork, broccoli, mashed potatoes, rolls - YUMMY! Enjoying having DH home for lunch. He went back to work yesterday - our county starts school on August 3. We finished school before lunch. Only thing left is Mandarin which DS does on his own. Weather is hot and humid and no clouds - heading into the dog days of August. Those brownies sound soooo good. I think I just may have to make a pan for dessert tonight :001_smile:.

Our co-op did one using Treering.com. It turned out great. Easy to use, inexpensive, and each book had a personalized double page spread for the student that the book belonged to.

BTDT and it is still one of my favorite memories of traveling overseas!

Our only drink is water. DH has his soda, but DS and I only drink water. I probably drink close to 100 ounces a day and DS drinks at least 40-50 ounces. I have always been worried because DS does drink so much water, but the pediatrician says it is because he always has it available in a sports bottle - thus, he takes a swig quite often.