You really don't need a program to get started. We based use The Core's "blobbing method". It's a method of learning to draw the world map from memory. They start by learning where to draw the "great circles" (equator, tropic of cancer, arctic, etc.). Practice until too easy. Then they have you add the Prime Meridian (straight line down the middle of the page). Draw a "blob" (oval) with the focus being getting the location right. For ex for Africa: Does it start above or below the Tropic of Cancer? Does it go past the Tropic of Capricorn? Does it extend farther east than Europe? Farther wets? does it run into Austrailia? Does it share space witht eh Prime Meridian? Etc. Then you practice drawing a general outline of Africa. Etc. Etc. I bought those world map placemats. I then used Sharpies to draw a simplified outline around each continent, and to trace the Arctic Circle, Equator, etc. If you do trace your continents with Sharpies, you may want to draw simplified lines to represent the borders to make it easier for kids to replicate. I tried to limit it to 5 or 6 dots, then connect those dots to make the border. Like Africa is a triangle below the equator, and a rectangle on top with a corner cut off. South America is pictured in this blog if you scroll down. http://memorize-maps.blogspot.com/ I do NOT let them trace, and my kiddos are 5 1/2 & 4. They are able, with practice, to draw very rough (but recognizable) outlines. In fact, they can probably do a better job than most adults in America at this point! The real plus to the placemats is that they look at them while they are waiting for dinner to be served, anytime we talk about "Aunt Helen in Montana", when they overhear us talking about the earthquake in Chile, or when their school friend is going to India for the summer. They LOVED tracking Santa across the world last year using that NORADSANTA.org. They really enjoy it finding places that are relevant, and can point out more places than I can! Be sure you coordinate your colors. In our house, purple is for North America, magenta is for South America, green is for Europe, aqua for the Arctic Circle, red for the Tropic of Cancer, etc. Everybody's map uses the same colors. The huge wall map uses the same colors. Even the globe - I used a Sharpie to outline the continents & trace the major lines. When we draw the maps, we use those color crayons. "Everybody get out your dark orange crayon! Let's look at Africa. Is it north or south of the equator? Is it east or west of the Prime Meridian? What shape is it? YES! A rectangle sitting right on top of the equator, with a corner cut off the top, and a triangle below!" Etc. etc. I guide them through placing the rectangle & the triangle. -------------------------------------------------------------- We do a "hotdog" fold (longways) and a "hamburger fold" (shortways) first. Draw equator & PM. Add Tropic of Can, Trop of Capri, Arctic C & Antartic Circle. You HAVE to have these lines BEFORE adding any continents!!! THEN go to continents. I always start with Africa b/c it is in the middle. If you start with some of the others, and they draw too big, they can't keep going b/c they are out of room! If Africa is oversized, they can still put other continents on the map, they just end up a little skinny! :) If you do Africa FIRST, then Europe, then Asia, you are much better off than if you start on the left side of the map and work your way over, like would naturally be your inclination!

Want to really freak out? I am a member of an active national triplet moms forum - thousands of members. Every now and then, a newbie will post something along the lines of "I'm 26 weeks along and already measuring full-term. Exactly how much bigger am I going to get?" And then some other well-meaning newbies will post pictures of their pregnant bellies. A while back, we discovered that a bunch of those hugely pregnant triplet belly pictures had been stolen by a group of men who found it erotic. I won't even go into the details because they are too disgusting to be believed, but let's just say I am VERY hesitant about EVER posting pictures of anything publicly after that!

It seems like the two most highly recommended phonics programs on this board are: -“The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading” by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington -"Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling” by Dolores G. Hiskes OPGTR is VERY scripted. VERY. She says every single thing you are supposed to say – you read it word for word. It is dry, boring, and extremely thorough and effective. Kids that learn to read that way WILL be VERY strong readers, if you can get through it. It starts at the very beginning with the sound each letter makes. If your kids already know those, you can skip the first 26 lessons. It takes the average kid about 2 years to go through the whole book (10 minutes a day), and they will be reading at a 4th grade level when they are done. Most kids are ready to start this program between ages 4 & 5. If you get to a lesson that they don’t get, you are expected to park it and do the same lesson daily until they get it. You don’t move forward unless they have the lesson down. PP is the fun, unscripted version of OPGTR. Same phonics, same skills, same results. I was determined to use PP for the fun factor, but I just couldn’t quite wrap my head around exactly what you are supposed to actually do. So we ditched that and are now using OPGTR. To make it work for more than one kid, I use a big magnetic whiteboard and magnetic letters rather than having them look at the book itself. It’s not the most fun I’ve ever had, but I am confident that I am doing it right and not screwing this up!

I would wait until one day when her spouse isn't home, and try to talk to her about it. I would start by telling of your personal experience, then tell her that it sounds like she might be in a similar situation, and tell her that if she ever wants to talk about it or needs help, you would be there for her.

I grew up in the Episcopal church, where real wine was used. It was made very clear that you were fully participating in the sacrament and it "counted" if you chose to only take the bread & abstained from the wine or vice versa. Our priest explained the alcohol thing this way: - if you are going to drink & drive & endanger others, then for you, consuming alcohol is a sin - if you are going to drink & then beat up your spouse, then for you, consuming alcohol is a sin - if you consume alcohol to excess and it interferes with your normal life/responsibilities, then for you, consuming alcohol is a sin - if you have reason to believe you may be/may become an alcoholic, then for you, consuming alcohol is a sin - etc. A nightly glass of wine enjoyed on the sofa with my hubby isn't a sin! :)

Nordic Naturals has said repeatedly that purity, testing, etc. are the cornerstone of their business. I trust them. (Honestly, I really don't feel like I have a ton of choice. My kids NEED this product. So I HAVE to trust them.)

NOT the Junior - you want the regular adult stuff. It has something to do with the specific ratios. It isn't THAT different (I've compared the bottles), but for some reason the regular ProEFA is the one that people really see results with. I tried Coromega previously, and did not see any difference. Some people have had luck with that though. I saw HUGE HUGE HUGE improvements in C's behavior. Unbelievably huge. I am not sure how much was the apraxia getting better --> she wasn't as frustrated, vs how much is truly just improvements in behavior itself. We had this child evaluated for autism. She did NOT qualify even though she had all the behaviors - they thought her issues were more neurological (processing). She is only now old enough to test for those processing issues, but the improvements from the NN are so incredible that I really am not feeling pressed to hurry up and get a diagnosis anymore. You probably will NOT be able to find NN ProEFA in your local vitamin store. It is distributed to professionals to sell. You can buy it over the internet, though, through Amazon.

Could you share info on how to buy this?

The NN Jr is NOT the same mix as ProEFA. If you are looking for brain results, you need the ProEFA. If you are looking for general nutrition, the Jr is what you want. I am not sure what shape the ProEFA softgels are. I *think* they are oblong - people talk about piercing them and squeezing the liquid out onto a spoon.

NN comes in either softgels or liquid. If your kid can do softgels, do it, as you don't have to deal with refrigeration and taste. My kids do the liquid. Two love it, one endures it, one complains incessantly. It's a lemon-flavored liquid. I buy it from Amazon.com. There are lots of Nordic Natural products - ProEFA is the one used for kiddos with some speech issues. It also really really helped my kid with some processing problems. She had delays - like I would say "how as your day?" and 5 minutes later she would respond. When she has the NN, she responds basically normally. It really is remarkable how much of a difference it has made - not just in her speech, but also in her self-confidence due to how people treat her. When someone asks a question, and a kid just gives a blank look, they don't get the same response as the kid who gives an answer, you know? It has also really helped her interactions with other kids, as you can imagine. It just seems to have really made her brain/thinking/answering faster somehow if that makes any sense. Honestly, she seems faster in general - faster to get her chores done, faster to get dressed, faster to memorize things, etc.

Congratulations!

You said what I was trying to, in a much nicer way. People are tired of the ones who are taking advantage, and are much less likely to be kind than they might be otherwise.

The problem isn't necessarily the car or the phone for one specific person. It's that people in America have gotten tired of the entitlement attitude displayed so publicly by some, and it has soured everyone's views toward giving. I must admit to be annoyed when I see people in front in me in the grocery checkout line, separating their groceries into food stamp vs non -food stamp piles. Way fancier-cuts of meat than we can afford, fancy wines, etc. go in one pile, while the staples go in the other. Of course I would never say anything, but it does get irk me a little. Especially as it always seems that these people have perfect nail tips and are sipping Starbucks. Either you are poor and need food stamps, or you can afford fancy groceries and manicures and $5 coffee. Not both!

Depends why you are taking them. Ideally, your Omega 3 & Omega 6 consumptions would be equal. Most Americans, though, consume way more Omega 6, b/c we eat so much fast food, processed food, oils, etc. So most Americans would benefit from some Omega 3 to balance it out. I am giving my kids the DHA/EPA for their brains. My kiddos with apraxia & the processing problem have benefited hugely. The other two, I can't really tell a difference but as it can't hurt as long as it is a quality product in appropriate doses, they have to take it anyway! :)

NN ProEFA is the line they sell to professionals. You can buy it, though, you just have to do it over the internet. I get it through Amazon.com.

I think the 1000mg is referring to the size of the softgel, not the amount of EPA/DHA. 　 Use the following ISSFAL recommendations to determine your child’s daily need for EPA and DHA. This is suggested for children who are healthy and do not have any major health issues. Infants 1 to 18 months 32 mg of EPA+DHA/lb of weight Children 1.5 to 15 years 15 mg of EPA+DHA/lb of weight Older Teens 15 to 20 years 500 mg EPA+DHA with a min of 220 mg of each Those taking it for more specific reasons take more. http://apraxiastory.wordpress.com/top-3-must-dos/fish-oils/brand-and-dosage-information/

There are definitely good brands and not-so-good brands. Fish oil is one of those things that is VERY important to get a good one to avoid getting mercury and pollutants. The two names that I kept hearing back when I was researching this (2 years ago) as the gold standard were Nordic Naturals and Coromega. We tried the Coromega first, but it didn't make a difference. Then we went to 1tsp of NN ProEFA daily, and in two of my kids, the difference was almost immediate and was totally unbelievable. No difference in the other two, but they didn't have quite the issues to start with. Be aware that fish oil is very unstable in the liquid form, and will go rancid quickly. Keep it in the fridge after opening if you get the liquid.

I have two kids in glasses right now. For one, it is like your DD - barely any prescription. BUT, it makes a huge difference for him. His problem isn't the prescription part, it's that the eyes don't want to work together and focus. I won't pretend I understand why, but for whatever reason, the glasses do help. He would prefer not to wear them, because they fog / get in the way / get dirty / insert other excuses. But his ability to pay attention and follow along is significantly better with the glasses on. Our rule is that my kids WILL wear them for 4 hours every morning, which more than covers the amount of time we are sitting at the table doing schoolwork. After that, they are optional. We are on the waiting list to begin vision therapy as soon as a spot is available. I should mention that my kiddos were 31w1d preemies, but did NOT have any ROP diagnoses.

Just to clarify - NONE of my kids are reading yet. The notebooks have pictures to jog their memories, and they can usually confirm whether they are right or not based on the first letter. Like they see the pic of George Washington, guess that it is GW, and see the W at the beginning of his name so know they are probably right. Same with the states. :) I got pictures of AWANA verses from this AWESOME mom! (She put so much work into this, and my kiddos LOOVE these pictures!) Created by Jolanthe @ http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com

I have been fighting this exact same battle ever since the preschool teacher introduced sight words (wall / well / will and so on). As soon as they memorized (or thought they memorized) the word, they no longer bothered sounding it out. And it's a horrible habit that has spilled over into everything we do at home like the plague. They will sound it out once, and everything else that looks halfway similar is assumed to be that word for the rest of the day. And they are REEEALLY resistant to sounding out now if they have a guess. It's so frustrating. "Sound it out." "Cat." "No, I didn't say 'read it', I said 'sound it out'." "MOOOOMM, I know it - cat." "I am going to tell you again what I want you to do, and if you don't, the reading lesson is over for the day. Sound out this word." "Cuh, ah, nnnn." "So what word is that?" "I already told you, cat." GRRRRR!!!

We do it in the car. Each kid has a "smarty pants" notebook. It is tabbed into sections: - Bible - Math - Geography - Timeline - History - Presidents - Foreign Languages - Science - Music/Art For almost everything we are memorizing, we use music initially. I have printed off a page for each item we have memorized, and they just follow along and sing. Once they are confident, we do it without the notebook, and I "try to trick" them. ("Aw, man, you knew that one too??? Y'all are so smart!!! But I bet you won't know this next one!") I frantically change CDs as I drive and we just review as we go. For the most part, that's the only work we do on memory stuff, but they have learned so much! - Bible verses: AWANA CDs - The Ten Commandments: Veritas Press Blue CD with the board book "Hand Commands" by Ann Dunagan - Books of the Bible: Classical Conversations CD with Bible Bookcase poster - Christian catechism: Songs for Saplings - Skip Counting: One Hundred Sheep (Christian) with hundreds chart - Geography (solar system, continents & oceans, states): Audio Memory's Geography Songs CD (I am NOT a huge fan of the states & capitals CD) - Timeline: I plan to use the Veritas Press CDs & cards (but haven't started this yet) - Presidents: Veritas Press Yellow - everything else: Classical Conversations Memory Work CDs (haven't started CC yet)

I have seen several of you mention errors / corrections that you make to the CC material. Can you tell me what these changes are? Specifically, so I can mark up my book? THANKS!

Yes, I am STILL agonizing over this decision! Those who know something about printers - what do you think about this? It is an inkjet instead of a laser, but the ink cartridge is $30ish, and it says it will print 2400 pages, so that's a little over a penny a page. The main advantage of laser is cost per page, right? So in this inkjet would be the same? I would LOVE to be able to do 11x17 - I use my printer for other (non-homeschooling) things, and so that would really really save me a lot of trips to the office supply store! http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=MFCJ6710DW

Us too. I started mapping out how early I would need to start Beautiful Feet American History in order to always have covered the material before we reached it in CC next fall, and basically I need to start before the end of June!