Yes, we have the Creamy Crayons and they are fantastic. A bit messy for 3s and 4s but for school age kids are wonderful.

Our oldest just got his ortho referral too. We are waiting a little but will get in. He is 10 and has zero room so needs to have something done early to hopefully make some room. I had the same problem, but no ortho as a kid. As an adult I'm missing teeth that got shoved out (adult teeth) so now have to deal with a bridge and bite problems after ortho as a late teen and again as an adult (both paid for by me). If I had earlier ortho, I wouldn't need the bridge, etc.

We also do them as a review kind of. My DS picks up the whole story and narrates well but doesn't focus well on main points. He can retell me the whole thing but not know what is key. The tests help him see more what is important and what is not so much.

My son's psychiatrist suggests born, but more like a genetic underlying that can be switched on or off or tempered by environment. He gave me this book to read: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Criminal-Mind-Revised-Updated/dp/140004619X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336498042&sr=8-1 And also his next book, specifically regarding children: http://www.amazon.com/Before-Its-Too-Late-Trouble--/dp/0812930657/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336498419&sr=1-2

Well first I had to look up how to create a link. I hope I get it right. Does that mean I'm old? http://www.facebook.com/people/@/100000398925012

I use age sometimes too to determine. A young child needs to ask first. Sometimes I encounter young teens and tweens at the park without a parent, who then join in play with our homeschool group kids. If they want some food, I share, though often ask if they have allergies.

Re specifically the science: I had one child love it and one child hate it. It is very much jumpy from one topic to another to another. My oldest adored that style, loved to learn a little bit about this and that. Then he went and got books to learn more. My second child hated that style. He likes to slowly and methodically move through a topic. He is slow to warm up to things, and jumping around frustrated him to tears. I'm using Elemental Science Biology for Grammar Stage with him to give you an idea of his personality. He LIKES 20 weeks of animals, whereas my oldest who loved SL would not have loved to go slow on that animals book and would have finished it in 3 weeks at most. The LA both hated (we used K through core 3 with my oldest). It was not developmentally appropriate for my boys, who could read great but write poorly. The core history is strongly historical fiction. If that is your (and your kids) passion, it will be a good fit. If you have a kid who wants just the facts presented, then it might not be a great fit. It has lots of fiction and some nonfiction. In comparison, TOG is mostly nonfiction with some fiction (opposites). We loved their book choices. I used the IG for planning but didn't use their questions very often. We narrated, or I just asked them a few questions about the book or discussed it.

Kinesthetic - make shapes of letters with your body (movement) or in the air, sandpaper letters, play-doh, stick in the dirt, etc.

Yeah, another vote for Letter Factory. It was a miracle - letter names plus sounds painlessly for my kids.

My DH is ADD. He finds vigorous exercise the best. He bikes to work for example. He also uses an iphone with tons of little reminders throughout the day going off. He loses track of time easily. All the apps help him organize lists (little papers are a problem for ADD). He tries to always put things in the same spot and never never put them anywhere else. This seems obvious, but it is so easy to lay something down where it doesn't belong. For him that can mean hours of searching for his work badge, etc. Re the notes in school/binders - can he switch to electronic? DH used to record lectures (with permission) and could listen again that way. He also took notes on an electronic device (Newton way back when, or a laptop). There are so many choices for that now days.

Yeah, my boys loved them at the same age others mentioned - 6/7 range. Then, they are old enough to understand the word play and find it hysterical but not too old for the books.

Do you know anyone who has preferences like you in realtors? Ask those people for recommendations. We had an excellent agent. She listened carefully to what we wanted and only showed us those, not pushy at all. She was also honest. She showed us some houses in our criteria we wanted to see, and then told us exactly why she didn't recommend then (it wasn't immediately obvious to us, and she was totally right). We have since sent several recommendations to her over the years.

Textbook and workbook are needed likely. The textbook itself does have some practice problems, but not enough for new material. If you are mathy and willing to do the problems yourself for answers, you can go with these two. The HIG is highly recommended. It has the answer keys of course, but also how to teach the material. We do not use much beyond that. For 90% of topics, that is sufficient for mastery for my kids, and I don't feel the need for the Challenging Word Problems, etc. I used them a couple years. Every now and then a topic comes up where he needs extra practice and I make up problems or find some to print out for him. I have the tests booklet, which I use mainly for review as it has cumulative "tests" that make great review of prior material.

This exact thing happened to us. We went to eat and our card was used illegally the next week at a local grocery store. The only place DH's uses his card is restaurants.

For stains recently I have been using Nature's Miracle in the washer. It has gotten out some really tough ones (organic stuff). I use OxyClean too but the Nature's Miracle truly is a miracle on some gross kid stains.

Are those few shows you watch available elsewhere at all? We have been without cable for 10+ years now. Internet $24.95/mo - AT&T bundle cellphone $150 - Data/cellphone plan for 2 with AT&T Neflix $13 We also have Amazon Prime, which has been having more and more content available in terms of TV/movies. And it of course grants us free shipping for the multiple things I buy there each month, so I don't count it in my electronics budget above.

It is $15/day here. DH recently went for his yearly jury duty. Yes, every single year he gets called. Then he gets home at 4 and works until 2 or 3 a.m. because though he is salaried, the work needs done. I have to admit to being a bit bitter about our system. I have been able to get of because whenever I have been called I had nurslings. I did serve prior to kids, and actually didn't mind though I got zero pay from my employer for the duration of the case. I found it interesting to observe an actual case for a week and participate. I do think the system needs an overhaul though frankly. The economic and work situation IMHO has changed a lot faster than the jury duty system. During the case I was on I actually think the verdict was partly based on how fast the case could be settled. No one wanted to contest it because everyone needed back at work ASAP. I fear that might be the case (unspoken) in some other cases. Fortunately the one I was on was extremely minor and short. When my kids are teens though I would be happy to serve again, every year if necessary! My MIL serves all the time too (retired).

I gave away the large table in our school room and bought separate desks. No, I'm not kidding. I have two ADHD boys and two younger girls. The noise level was unbelievable, and no it wasn't in any way constructive. I thought I was going insane. I moved everyone to separate corners of the room (I have 4 kids). 3 of them face the wall or window. Nobody faces each other, or else they start to make faces and annoy each other. It's not silent in here by any stretch, but it is a whole lot better. I really admire those of you who can make a table with all kids at it work, but that was not possible here. We do usually stay in the same room.

Mine does for sure. It is a Canon MX882 from Costco.

Wow, I was never told the DC's blood types at birth. I don't even know. I only know mine and DH's because we are blood donors. They write it on the blood donor card or in your records with the donation site.

We switched from the last few weeks of FLL4 to R&S 4. At that point my son was not retaining FLL4 well at all, despite doing 100% on the exercises in FLL. When asked out of context, he was completely at a loss. We started into R&S 4 at the beginning, and it seems right for him where he is right at this moment. I pick and choose what he does. A couple days a week he does it independently and skips the oral exercises. I pick and choose what written ones he needs. Other days, on topics that cause him problems, we may indeed do discussion, oral together and nearly all the written before he begins to gain some understanding of the topic. I like that R&S offers tons and tons of practice. We don't need it every day, but I like that it is there. Grammar is not his best subject, and FLL was too formulaic. He could easily answer/fill it in without understanding. R&S will probably come to that point too, but it is different enough for now that he is challenged.

I like the idea of a preschool or 0-5 forum. These forums move very fast, and posts are buried quickly. Anything that helps someone find topics relevant to their situation IMHO is a good thing. I'm just finishing up a preschool year for the 3rd time, but each child is a bit different so new things come up each time. I've got at least one more to get through the preschool years. Who knows what new and exciting challenges she might present to me. :D

Our 15yo dryer is on its last legs (needs several hundred in parts). We are in the market for a new dryer. Is there really a lot of functional difference between at $300, a $500 and a $1000 dryer? I don't recall this much variation last time we purchased one, but maybe there was. Do you have a dryer you love? I do a lot of laundry (10+ loads a week). Not all of them go in the dryer, especially in the summertime. We wear mostly cotton so I don't use all my settings even now.

I did this myself in CA. I paid for my own college, so CC kept my costs low. I finished at University of California San Diego. It was a great choice for me. I had acceptance out of high school to several colleges, but it was just too expensive. It is a very common track here in CA. The advisors in the CC had a very good list of what exactly would transfer to UCSD, what was required per college (UCSD had 5 colleges within it at the time with slightly different requirements), what was required for different majors as undergrad requirements and so forth. I took only the courses approved for transfer, knowing going in that I wanted to transfer as a junior. Everything I took then transferred without any problems.

HWT cursive looks a lot like my own writing actually, and I learned in a public school but am left handed. I have used HWT, now currently on my 3rd child. The first one has awful writing and always has. He is diagnosed dysgraphia though with some sensory issues of pencil and paper feel. My middle has very decent writing, and my third (first girl) has very very nice writing compared to the other two. I don't think it has a lot to do with HWT or anything else but is more intrinsic. I sympathize with the poster who mentioned handedness. I also was completely ambidextrous until nearly middle school. It was confusing because I would "automatically" pick up the pen with either hand and write and then get confused when I focused on what I was doing. I still cut and use a knife or other utensil either handed.