Sometimes if I suspect my dd won't know how to spell a word in the dictation, I'll go over that word with her before she begins to write. Also, (although I don't do this :blush:), SWB recommends watching over dc's shoulder as they write and correcting mistakes as they happen. So if you see her putting in a wrong letter, you can correct it before she gets the whole word wrong.

My avatar is the real me, too. ;) Well, I wish it were! ETA: Hey, my picture disappeared after a while! I've put it back; hopefully it will stick around this time!

Well, if that ain't the most beautiful bell curve!

Taco Soup. This is one I have my kids put together if I don't have time - super easy, super fast, and good, too! 1/2 lb. ground beef 1 onion 1 pkg taco seasoning mix 1 pkg ranch dressing mix (I leave this out) 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce 3 cans chili 1 lb. frozen corn (canned works ok, too) 1 4 oz. can diced green chilis (I leave this out, too.) 2 cups water Brown ground beef; add onions and cook till tender. Add everything else and bring to boil. Presto! It makes about 8 cups. I serve it on top of pieces of tortilla chips and put shredded cheese on top. Without those "frills," a one cup serving is only 2 points on Weight Watchers!

Same issue here! In fact I posted asking advice about this last spring, too. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156102 We spend about an hour, and dd usually does about 2 pages. After that she's pretty burnt out on math. If I know she's got a concept down, I'll let her skip some problems. I think one thing that bogs her down is she is not automatic on her math facts, so we are drilling those as well.

Did you see the recent post with the link to a Youtube video of SWB doing dictation with her 13yo ds? It was so comforting! She went over the sentence numerous times - first grammatically, then for memorization. Her son kept substituting a different word ("forge" for "furnace"); she corrected it, but it was not treated like a big deal. I really recommend you watch it if you haven't.

:iagree:I was looking for the right adjective, and you hit it right on the button! That's what I need to say to myself, "Jennifer, you are NOT doomed!" Haha.

:grouphug: I'm sorry you're having a hard time. It's difficult when life piles up on you at once.... The other ladies on the board have better advice than I can give, so I found a couple of older posts that might have helpful advice. (I don't know how to make a link :blush:, so I'll just type in the titles, and you can do a search for them if you like. ) "Am I doing them a disservice?" - posted by CynthiaOK "If life events forced you to simplify school..." - posted by Another Lynn Best wishes to you and your family!

If the thread is new and I want to keep up with replies, then I subscribe. But for old threads which I want to reference I will email to myself (under the same "thread tools" button). (BTW - In January I started searching through all the earliest listed threads. At that time there were still threads from the initiation of this board in 2008.)

I agree that Berkeley and Albany might be good to check out. You might also give a look at Walnut Creek. It has grown into a nice city in its own right, but it is not on the Bay. It's within 30 min. from Oakland. It's very safe, and offhand I can't even think of any bad neighborhoods.

I live near Oakland, and travel a lot through Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Can you be more specific about what you are looking for? How far are you willing to be from Oakland? Renting or buying? Is price an issue? Are you looking for urban, suburban or country living? Do you prefer newer tract housing or older neighborhoods with more charm? Your dds are teens - will you be homeschooling through high school, or will your school district be important? Sorry not to answer directly - it's just that there are so many options!

Almost six years between for me, and several people gave me that same warning. Hmmm. Didn't happen. First pregnancy the nurse broke my water w/o even telling me what she was up to, let alone asking me!! :angry: From then on it was extremely painful till I got an epidural. The whole thing lasted 22 hours and was exhausting. The second pregnancy I was expecting (hoping) to take as little as half the time, if I was lucky. Nope. Sixish hours from the first contraction and no really bad pain till the last half hour or so, and the transition pain (die!) was only about three minutes. I credit a few things: 1) she was over a pound smaller than her brother had been. 2) I dropped Lamaze, which didn't seem to do me any good the first time around. Instead, when my contractions came, I stood up and gently bounced myself up and down. Having music (or later the baby's heartbeat from the monitor!) helped me to concentrate on a rhythm. I think doing this, besides keeping the pain tolerable, made me dilate much faster. 3) The water bag stayed intact until it exploded onto the doctor with the first push. I know we don't always get an option - it goes when it goes - but keep it as long as you can! is my advice. As for that myth... thhhpphhht! Don't worry about it.

Have y'all seen this one about boys? :D Things I've learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding): 1) A king size water bed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep. 2) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with rollerblades, they can ignite. 3) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. 4) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room. 5) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way. 6) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan. 7) When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late 8) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it. 9) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies. 10) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy. 11) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence. 12) Super glue is forever. 13) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water. 14) Pool filters do not like Jell-O. 15) VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though they do on TV commercials. 16) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes. 17) Marbles in gas tanks ! make lots of noise when driving. 18) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is. 19) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens. 20) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time. 21) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy. 22) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy. 23) 80% of Women who read this will email it to their friends. 24) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

I ran across this on an old sign hanging in a barn filled with antique things. I don't believe there was an author given. "When I am right I can afford to keep my temper. When I am wrong I cannot afford to lose it."

The one that makes me batty is "snuck." :ack2: Somehow it has sneaked - that's SNEAKED - into common usage, even in lots of kids' books. Ugh.

:grouphug: I'm sorry about your dear dog. I will be facing putting my dog down sometime fairly soon, as she has cancer and seizures. It's so hard. When my mom's "baby" (100 lbs!) had to put to sleep a few years ago, my sister and I made her a nice photo collage of him, showing the different facets of his personality, and framed it. She really appreciated that. Maybe making a scapbook or collage would be therapeutic for your family, as you could relive all the good memories and talk about the nice times. Just a thought. As far as getting a new puppy goes, for me I think I would find it helpful, but it just depends on you. There is no disloyalty in doing so. There is a great story by James Herriot about a family who had two dogs who were best friends. When one had to be put down, the other went into a mourning to the point of starving himself nearly to death. Anticipating having to put the second dog down, too, and not wanting to contemplate a home with no dogs, they got a new puppy. Well, the old dog started watching the puppy, then he was licking it, and before you know it, he was hobbling to his food dish. The new puppy renewed his interest in life. There's something about puppies - their joy is contagious even despite yourself.

Sometimes PetSmart/PetCo have adoption days. I once found a stray that I couldn't keep, and he was adopted out that way. Also, my sister found a home for her older cat through Craigslist, so you might try that route.

:iagree:We have poison oak around here, not poison ivy, but I imagine the rash would be similar. From my (several, sigh) encounters with poison oak, it sounds unusual that it would keep breaking out. It may be that the oil got onto something else that your son is touching, causing new outbreaks. One of my worst cases came from doing my son's laundry when he had apparently been romping in the stuff. HE didn't get it, of course! :glare:

How suddenly did this come on? Has it been progressively getting worse over the last two weeks? Was it an overnight change? You say she can't understand written directions. Can she understand oral directions? Can she write coherently? Is her reading comprehension down, too? Is she experiencing any physical symptoms, like dizziness or weakness? Is she herself worried about this? What explanation does she give? Is it constant, or does it get better or worse at different times? If you go over the problems with her, is she able to do them? Are some skills not affected? Which ones? Any sudden change like that with no apparent cause would worry me, too. I wish I had something helpful to offer. I can only suggest trying to narrow down the exact parameters of the problem. If you think it's serious, I would take her for a medical exam.

Your puppy is very cute. Of course most pit bulls don't end up biting anyone, and I have met some that were sweet. However, please be vigilant. Some things to consider: It is fine for you to achieve dominance over your dog, but don't overlook your children. If the dog gets it into his head that he's next in line to you, then he could still be agressive with your kids. We had a dog that obeyed my dad well, but she growled at me a couple of times. My dad's current dog obeys him and me, but pushes my mother and grandmother around. He actually bit my grandmother. Also, I know you intend to keep him in your yard or leashed, but how will you be sure he doesn't get out loose, esp. as so many are pointing out that huskies are escape artists? I don't know any dog that doesn't escape sometimes, especially if you have kids, who may think they latched the fence, but didn't quite get it, etc. Have a back-up system. As I said, I have met some sweet pits, but I have also had some bad experiences with some. I have been rushed by a barking pit that got loose from its back yard and ran aggressively towards me and my toddler while we were across the street. I recently had a pit who had been left in the parked car next to mine lunge out the open window barking as I tried to get to my car. A man in my old neighborhood had a pit that he tied in the front yard, and that dog acted like it wanted to rip you open if you passed its house. My friend's cat was killed by a pit in that same neighborhood. Also recently a young pit came rushing out from its yard to approach me and my old dog, who was on a leash. Its approach was friendly enough, but my dog can be unpredictable with other dogs, so I didn't know how she would act. In fact, there were a few tense moments. Basically, I REALLY don't appreciate it when people don't have their pit bulls under FIRM control. If you are going to have this kind of dog, besides being exceptionally vigilant, you will also need to be oustandingly sensitive to others' feelings and fears about them. That's what I think, anyway. Again, the odds are in your favor, but it is still a risk you must prepare for. It sounds like you are trying to do just that, so kudos for thinking ahead and trying to be responsible.

:bigear: Oh my goodness, this is just how I am with sugar! Once I made myself go without for 2-3 weeks till I lost the craving. But it was hard, and I just don't have the will power right now. Especially since everyone else is enjoying their cookies and ice cream all around me! Ack!

Ideally I'd like to see this in their formal writing (any length): - well-organized and thought-out - convincing evidence given to support points - clarity and coherence - grammatically correct *Interesting* would be nice, too!

Well, hey, welcome to you, too! Sounds like you are getting a good start and that you both are getting excited about it. That's so great. Same advice: TONS of helpful, practical information on the boards; don't get discouraged by first-year bumps. (You might like to do an advanced search and check out posts by Nest of 3. A while back she posted a whole slew of cool websites, many science related.) Best wishes to you!

Dacron: a common trade name for polymer fibers - polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. Developed by Dupont in 1941, it became a wildly popular fabric in the mid '50s.

You can look for a good deal on a used set of TWSS DVDs, and then sell it once you're done with it. I found one recently in perfect condition for $80. I know I can sell it for that much, so I didn't feel like it was taking a big risk. I think I'll keep it, though - it has been very helpful so far, even though I'm mostly still using the Ancient History theme book. I feel like even if I don't stick with IEW for the long haul, which I may not, it is teaching me a lot about structure and style and about teaching, which will be applicable to any other programs we may try down the road.