I talked to the teacher who did the test with her and she agrees that DD's score is off compared to what she is capable of reading. DD has always had the bad habit of reading what she thinks should be there, and not necessarily what really is. That is probably what tripped her up when taking the test. I got some readers from the library that are a bit lower than what I know she can read so we can work on reading what is there, and then explaining how changing the words can completely change what the sentence says. I also picked up some reading comprehension books from Amazon and CTC. I know it's silly, but I kind of feel like I did something wrong b/c I'm the one who taught her to read in the first place!

DD had a lexile test recently and she scored a 340. I know test scores aren't the end all be all, but she's been reading books that are in the 500's for a while. I don't get why she got the score she did. This makes me think that maybe she's not really understanding what she's reading. Walking-Iris -- thank you for suggesting RR! I completely forgot about looking there.

Do you have suggestions for how I can work w/DD on reading comprehension? Are there any workbooks, or curriculum that fit the bill?

What I did w/my oldest (and what I'm now starting w/my middle...): We did the two Beginning Mathematical Reasoning books by CTC before switching over to RS. Once ODD hit first grade ,we added in MM to supplement. In second grade, we've added in Singapore's Challenging Word Problems. I know that's a bit beyond what you're asking for. :) I love RS even though A and B are very teacher prep intensive. It is mostly hands-on with very little worksheets. There are more worksheets starting in C. But if your son adores worksheets, this program probably won't satisfy that need. It will do a good job teaching him, though. I use MM as a supplement because it is 100% worksheets and offers nice reinforcement. It is not really aligned with RS, but it offers a nice break. We tend to do only about half to 2/3 of the problems in a given lesson. When we first started, I wrote out DD's verbal answers. It was too much writing for her to handle.

We use Song School Spanish. It is very laid back, introduces several words/phrases for each lesson, and reinforces them with songs and worksheets. I wouldn't consider it comprehensive if you're looking for something that would have your son speaking fluently, but it's a good foundation. Salsa Spanish is another option. I know others on here use it. Rosetta Stone isn't really geared for the younger set, so I would skip it entirely.

Thank you for the suggestions! I am going to have a helluva of a long list for the librarian! For middle readers, grades 4-7ish. Not quite ready for YA books.

Thank you! I will look into Pandia's program. I know I looked at it for Biology a long time ago, but don't remember why I didn't go with it. I like the idea of BFSU, but I do not have the time to pull something together myself. I ended up having to essentially re-write the ES ES/A program because the longer we did it, the more I felt it was really weak. For reference, my dad was a geologist, so I've my opinions on this are probably different from others'. I don't want to create a curriculum again.

Either DH or I will do most of the reading to her, so if it's above her level, that's not too much of a problem. I would like something that lays out experiments as well. I am not good at coming up with them on my own.

I just started working part-time at a library, and was asked by the librarian if I had any recommendations for non-fiction history and historical fiction books for boys, specifically with boys as the lead characters. She said those types of books are popular, but they don't have a lot of them. I am good with books for girls with strong girls as lead characters, but not for boys, so any help would be appreciated!

We're almost finished with earth science/astronomy, and I would like to start chemistry now instead of waiting until we start 3rd grade in September. I would like something that has a lot of hands-on activities. We've used Elemental Science for biology and earth science, but I do not want to use it for chemistry. Thank you!

I am also that kid now grown. You would think that both military school and the military would have knocked it out of me, but no...

They sound like mine. Honestly, there are many days that I wonder why I bother cleaning the house because it will be trashed w/in 15 minutes. My kids managed to rip a hole in our couch, so now when I clean, I have to pull the cushions off, look in the hole, and see if anything needs to come out. I've given up on the crayons. They just stay there, but clothes, toys, and books have all ended up inside.

I've never owned anything but a stick shift - I wasn't allowed to get my DL until I could drive one. I actually don't like renting cars because I have a tendency to treat the brake like a clutch, and bad things can happen unless I tuck my left foot somewhere out of the way.

My DD was bored w the 3Rs for kindergarten as well. We added in logic, Spanish, geography, and art. How old is baby brother? Could you put together little work boxes for him to do while at the table? Or maybe put bowls of water on the kitchen floor w/cups and measuring spoons (I do this, with a bunch of towels underneath).

I use D'Nealian w/my DD. I chose it because it segues nicely into cursive. We don't follow it 100%. My handwriting is a cursive-print hybrid, so I'm not overly particular if DD writes some of her letters differently than how DN instructs.

New Mexico - Sing Down the Moon; Bless Me, Ultima Oklahoma - The Outsiders

We watch videos for history, science, and Spanish. I've flagged a few for various holidays to watch as those holidays are celebrated.

I'm a GS leader for a mixed Daisy/Brownie troop. This is my 3rd year. GS isn't like it was when I was a girl, but then it is what you make of it (which is why I'm a leader). The trick is to know the rules and then make those rules work for what your expectations for GS are. For whatever it's worth, I train new leaders and I do a Journey training workshop for all leaders. I am always up for questions, etc... The two leader forums I participate in are: BabyCenter GS Moms Leader/Guider Cyber Council There are also some Yahoo! groups too: dbj_leaders, gsjourneys, and a few others if you search, but those tend to be a bit more active. My blog is linked below. I have a whole section on what we do for GS. And I looked at your blog, pitterpatter - for Journeys, you don't have to follow the book. None of the four Journeys we've done have taken more than 6-7 sessions including field trips and the TAP.

We use RS C and MM2A together at the moment. This is our third year using both and so far so good.

I've only ever sailed Princess (I used to work for them, actually), so my vote is to go there. However, if you are really active Royal Caribbean would be a good choice. I'm going on a Disney cruise in a year (squee!), but given how their pricing works out, the closer it is to sailing, the more expensive they are. If you want to sail Disney, you're better off booking a year in advance. The only cruiseline I would avoid is Carnival. Some people like it, some people don't. One of the travel agents I used to deal with called it the "Motel 6-frat party" of the cruise industry. No one I know who has sailed with Carnival was terribly impressed. For the Princess cruise, did the review say why it was given 2-stars? There are so many variables - the ship, the service, the food, the ports, the excursions... And looking at the fact you'll have pretty much grown up kids with you, you might want to look more into Royal Caribbean. They have ships with rock climbing walls and ice skating rinks, etc...

Bill Nye is on DES+? I could have sworn I searched using his name, but I didn't pull up any of his Science Guy videos.... DD adores Time Warp Trio. This is our first year using DES+, so I'm sure I'm not using it to the degree that it can be used. So far we only use it for history ,science, and Spanish.

How awesome! I would love to do a Tough Mudder.

Thank you! I am going to print out Websters. I think it will suit her nicely. I talked to DD's therapist about it this morning, and she likes the approach.

I obsessively watched Dr. Who while nursing DS. Poor kid probably has the theme song permanently ingrained in his head.

Bookmarking! This is an awesome resource for when we visit my step-mom in Portland.