Is this the one you mean? My kids are all WAAAAY underweight & short (girls are skimming the bottom of the growth chart, and James is like 10% BELOW the bottom of the chart), so I definitely don't want to do anything that would affect their growth. NutriiVeda by Zrii - NutriiVeda Weight Loss Product

I am NOT part of the apraxia kids yahoo group. Off to google Nutriveyda & PROMPT - not sure what either of those are. It really was AMAZING how much of a difference the NN made almost instantly in my apraxia kid. She went from saying one word to express herself, to using long phrases! It also really reduced the time it took her to talk. I would often ask her a question "did you have fun on the playground today?", and she would just kind of look at me like she understood the question, but she wouldn't answer. Then 10 minutes later, she would say "yes". "Yes what honey?" Another long pause. "Fun playground" in an exasperated voice as if I had JUST asked the question that second. So frustrating for everyone! After starting the fish oil (in 1-2 weeks), her responses became almost normal. Maybe a hair delayed, but nothing like the delay we had before. The speech/processing improvement has been amazing, but the real improvement is in her self-confidence. It was rock bottom beforehand, and she was really unhappy because of it. That caused some behavioral issues, and I am REALLY strict, so she & I were constantly battling. (I didn't really understand at the time the cause, though it seems obvious looking back.) Anyway, she is MUCH happier now, and has truly become a joy to be around (most of the time anyway)! I thought the fish oil thing was a crock, but tried it just to say I had, and WOW! It really did actually work! I haven't seen any changes in months, though, but have just kept giving it to them b/c I don't want her to lose the ground she has gained!

Nordic Naturals ProEFA - 1tsp every morning! (We had tried Coromega previously but didn't get any results from that.) We started taking it for the one kid diagnosed with apraxia and the other 2 with just generic speech delays that didn't have a label, so speech is what I was really watching for. I wasn't really looking for changes in motor planning. I saw an enormous difference in 2 kids, and no difference whatsoever in the other two. I still give it to all 4, though, b/c there is no way that 2 will consent to taking it if the other two don't have to! :)

We are doing some beginning Spanish stuff on the computer, and even with the volume turned all the way up it isn't loud enough for the 5 of us to hear the pronunciation clearly. And it is kinda muffled sounding. (This is off Discovery Streaming.) It's an older computer that the kids use, and I am NOT ready to get them something nicer b/c they don't use it that much and b/c they aren't very careful with it. Any recommendations for dealing with this?

Hilarious you say that, b/c that is exactly what my sister says! I think she is just being nice though!

Motor planning has been an ongoing issue as well. They can learn to do anything with enough practice, but new tasks are a nightmare. Even similar tasks are a nightmare. Recently the PT had Camille hopscotching with the best of them on an indoor mat, and then they went outside and the PT drew a hopscotch game with chalk on the sidewalk, and you would have thought Camille had never heard of the game. Or hopping. Or tossing. Thank you SO much! You GET it, and so your reassurance means so much to me!!!

Yeah, they are little! I guess I just worry when I see my sister's kids (one of whom is only 2 months older than mine) and they seem so much more refined! All of my kids are either in or have recently discharged from both PT and OT, so I have people who know what they are doing watching that stuff. All four do have low tone (clearly genetic vs. prematurity as the baby has it too!), 2 are somewhat developmentally delayed (they learn at a normal rate, but are just never caught up from the first year), and one has some sort of processing issue that is yet to be fully defined. I hadn't thought about how those things affected their manners, but that does make sense as to why it isn't coming as naturally as I might have hoped.

I bought Drawing with Children b/c it gets such rave reviews, but still have struggled figuring out exactly *how* to get started. Recently, a friend told me that she found detailed implementation plans by googling Drawing with Children Lesson Plans, so if you do DWC, you may want to look into that! :)

DH & I are good-mannered and it is ingrained, so they definitely see that. This quote pretty much sums up my concerns, better than I explained it: We do have some minor learning issues here due to prematurity, so maybe that's why I am not seeing my kids just naturally pick everything up the way others are saying they do? Thanks for the suggestions! Going to check into them now! :)

I was raised in a conservative, upper-middle-class Southern home, so there was a priority placed on ladylike behavior, manners, etc. I think I intuitively know most of the things I should be teaching my girls, but I guess I worry about forgetting to teach some things. Also, I grew up in a household with just girls. I don't know the first thing about how to teach my son to be a gentleman. He's a tiny little thing, so not even strong enough to open doors (not that lack of strength stops him from trying to do it like Daddy!). Can you recommend some resources for "at-home finishing school"? Preferably with some age guidelines? Something beyond say please & thank you and chew with your mouth closed. I don't want kids who are merely polite, by the end of this journey, I want true little ladies and gentlemen who intuitively know the proper way to act in every situation! I saw a book called "How to raise a gentleman", but it looked like it was really just the basics that everyone knows.

Do you know a woodworker? I bought a bunch of chubby pencils, and had my dad use his saw to cut them in thirds b/c my kids were gripping way too high on the pencil.

It seems like these are the most recommended beginning programs: - Song School Latin - Prima Latin - Minimus I am planning to do SSL in 2nd, followed by PL or Minimus in 3rd. But obviously those are just plans based on everyone else's comments - no personal experience! :)

No - not worth buying just for that. The jist of it is that kids should learn to draw the world map by practicing copying it. (NOT tracing.) You draw the great circles (equator, tropics, etc.) first, then add "blobs" for the continents, being sure to place them on the right great circles. Only after that is easy do you worry about the shapes of the continents. Here are other threads that may be helpful: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233325&highlight=geography http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229578&highlight=geography

Bummer - that really stinks! I was so hoping to use that time as a "class", without spending a ton of dough on more videos.

We are about to start vision therapy with one of my kids, which is going to require almost an hour in the car EACH WAY, twice a week. I am trying to come up with decent things for my kids to do in the car besides more memory work. I have Discovery Streaming. Can I download Elementary Spanish somehow, and let them watch it in the car? How would you do that?

Can you just change all the "who"s to "how many"s? That makes it a little more of a counting exercise, but maybe would suffice? Or you could color one block as you go? How many black socks are in the drawer? How many white? How many brown? How many broken crayons vs how many whole? Weather, over a period of time - I have a graph on the back of each kid's month calendar and they color one square per day (sunny, rainy, cloudy, snowy, windy, foggy)) How many times he says "yes Mom" and obeys with a smile vs. how many times he doesn't? ;)

Is skip counting the same thing? (Sorry if that's an ignorant question.) If you are Christian, there is a wonderful one called "One Hundred Sheep". My kids can skip count through the 10s b/c of this CD, and it isn't painful for me to listen to! All the songs center around Bible stories though, so if you are not a Christian it is not for you. (Mary & Martha counting the dirty dishes, shepherds counting sheep, etc.)

Maybe this would help? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233325&highlight=draw+map+africa+middle+hamburger

All 4 of my kids have been in OT. If I had a dollar for everytime I had an OT tell me that EVERY little kid should be playing with playdough EVERY day, I could put all 4 kids through college! Playdough is a GREAT hand strengthening exercise, and is more fun than the other million things we've done. I just hand it out (as a treat! ;) ) before readalouds so they work on it for a few minutes a few times a day. If you truly hate playdough due to the mess, try making your own. It's SO much better! It stretches instead of crumbling, and you can make it seasonal. Right now we have white with blue "snowflakes" (glitter) and blue with silver glitter. For Christmas, we had pine-scented green and red with gold glitter. Pumpkin pie spice in reddish-brown for Thanksgiving. Etc. http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2008/10/homemade-playdo.html

Have you looked at Song School Latin or Prima Latin or Minimus? Those seem to be the ones recommended most for that age group.

Found this on Homeschool Buyers Co-op: SPECIAL NOTE</B> to Co-op members residing in the states of Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina: You may have an option to obtain the Basic version -- but not the Plus version -- of DE streaming for FREE through your local PBS station. It has come to our attention that Georgia, Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina homeschoolers can get access to get the "Basic" version of Discovery Education strearming through your local PBS station. Contact your local PBS station for details. (Arkansas members click here. South Carolina members click here.) Alternatively, you may join our Group Buy, but you will be charged our non-refundable $10 transaction fee and pay the same price as other members, regardless of your state.

I'm in SC, and just called for my free subscription, and was told that the only state they still have free subscriptions for is Georgia. :(

From http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/streaming.htm The Free Trial. If you are a homeschooler who is *not* eligible for a free subscription, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial to see if you think it is a resource that would be worthwhile for your family. Simply go to www.unitedstreaming.com and click on free trial under the New Users section. Who Can Get It. Who can access for free, and how. According to the United Streaming website, NY, GA, LA, SC, IA, AR or RI you might already have access to unitedstreaming! Please contact us by phone at 1-800-323-9084 to set up your account. Paid Subscription. If you are not eligible for a free subscription and are a homeschooler, you can sign up for United Streaming for $149 per year. [*]System Requirements. There is a link at the bottom of the home page that you can click on to open a page that will check your system's requirements. (I could not find a specific listing of exactly what the minimum requirements were exception for screen resolution.) [*]Who cannot get it. Everyone in the US should have access, either through a free subscription or through a paid subscription. III. How to get shows The page layout may be different for different subscribers. I can access US either directly through US or through our public broadcasting system page. Both open up in different page formats. Also, some have reported that they have access to some programs through United Streaming that others cannot access. Searching and Browsing Listings. You can search for materials using several different search criteria including title, subject area, grade level, type of media, producers, etc. Download Shows Procedure click on the link Download Time & File Size. This varies depending on the length of the video and the quality of the file. Be advised, with dial-up service, a 30-minute show can take two or three hours to open (this does not include viewing time). Saving to Disk. Shows can be saved to CD or DVD to play later on a computer equipped with Windows Media Player or Real Player. If you have a program that can convert files to a media format your DVD player can play, you can also convert the files and burn them to DVD to watch on a TV. Please note: the quality of the picture is not very good. Watching Shows. Most people watch online. The videos open in a small screen format and are very clear. If you enlarge the picture on the computer screen, it loses it s clarity. Some have suggested sitting further away from the screen to make the larger screen size appear clearer.

I know this is sort of a random question, but it seems like every homeschooling "expert" (those who have written books) recommend Saxon Math. But you never hear it talked about here. How come?

Oh, I am so glad you posted this! I didn't realize there were two different ones! I just assumed the ones in every bookstore were the ones everyone loves.