My husband has dealt with so many addicts in his work, and his experiences have rubbed off on me a bit. I am no expert, but it seems to me that addicts must be kept at an arm's length, never be trusted, and treated as one would treat a business partner. Emotions and long conversations seem to only add drama, which is not what you want for your own precious sanity (we need every ounce as homeschooling moms, right?). If you are a praying person, praying is key. Bless you... Camy

My son, 13, has recently been diagnosed. He is in a great private school that has made many accommodations for him, even before this diagnosis. Just a sidenote, this is his 2nd year in school. He was homeschooled from the beginning. The psychologist mentioned he tested very high (above average) in reading. This she has never seen before. I knew it was the reading instruction (at his learning pace) in homeschool that attributed to this. What a blessing that was to hear. Anyhoo, we are working on summer plan for my boy. I would like to work on typing skills. Any software or online recommendations for reinforcing typing skills? We were also thinking of getting him an Ipad. Any other recommendations would be appreciated! Blessings, Camy

I agree with Keniki about testing for celiac disease or other intolerances. It may be a good idea to put her in school. How does she feel about this? I have 4 teenagers right now and they are all in school, mainly because I know they need regimentation and something to do outside the home on an almost daily basis. If accountability cannot be provided and healthy outlets are not possible at home, then school is a great option. It is nice to see our teenagers have to take responsibility for getting themselves out of bed early in the morning as well as get their homework done. They may do better when another adult is the one teaching them and holding them to expectations. One of my sons who was quite lazy and self-centered as a junior high student, was put in school his 8th grade year. I told him while he was at home that his laziness and lack of motivation would cost him someday. It did. He had quite a learning curve when he went to school. This time he had to be the one taking initiative and getting his schoolwork done. It was a blessing for me not to fight with him everyday! Also, our relationship improved after he went to school. Most of all, I pray you and have a good relationship with dd. It sure does take an effort to do that, doesn't it? Blessings and maybe next year you can enjoy school with your little ones. Camy

This is not what you requested, but have you considered home daycare? I have 8 children of my own and we care for 1 little boy who is 12 months old. He fits right into our family scheme and the money is very good considering the fact that I am able to be at home *and* the government food program (USDA provides reimbursement for the meals you provide for your daycare children and your own children under 13 years old). The licensing process is somewhat tedious, but worth it. I consider my daycare service to be a ministry to families desiring a safe, pleasant, and edifying care environment for their children. There is no shortage of children who need care out there. Just a suggestion. Blessings, Camy

If so, what are your suggestions or recommendations? There are many veteran home educators in our local area, and they have not been prompted to have a Facebook page. However, I believe up and coming homeschooolers are from the younger set and are very tech savvy. I believe FB would be a great assett to our group. What are the ins and outs of a FB page for this sort of thing. Thanks! Camy

This is what we have done with our 8 children, who are now over the age of 2 (our youngest is 3). First, I make sure that my toddler has a busy day with a good routine. Naps should be shortened to less than 2 hours. A good bedtime routine concluding with a storybook, oral story, and prayer helps (this should not take longer than 10 minutes). It is then that I tell my little one that they are to stay in their beds. I sit outside their bedroom door with a book or other paperwork, or laundry to fold. If they get out of bed, I swat their leg and say "stay in bed." It is not a violent thing or dramatic. A simple swat and quiet rebuke is enough. Depending on the child's will or disposition, this usually takes a few nights of practice. My sitting outside their room is usually motivation enough for them to stay in bed and go to sleep. Not everyone here would agree with me, but it has worked for us and so far our children are quite normal and stellar individuals. This all has to be done in love, so if you feel like you are not capable of administering swats with control, don't do it. Maybe lying down with the little one is a better idea if this is so. However, I always end up falling asleep myself and then my night is finished. But if you need extra sleep this would be benefiical to you. Make sure you are tying those relational strings with your 2 year old throughout the day. They are more likely to be motivated to obey you if you are on good terms with them. Blessings, Camy

Just wanted to say "hi!" My time here is not frequent, but here I am and there you are! Hope all is well with those boys of yours. I don't know about you, but life with teen boys is odiferous at best (grin). We are busy, busy, busy. 5 of our kids are in a private Catholic school. We did have 7 in the school, but when they told me my kindergartner was behind in reading, that was it. We pulled 2 of the little guys out and I am back at it again with homeschooling. I couldn't resist saying "hi!" Blessings, Camy

Thanks to you all for your suggestions. It appears that my boys will take some sort of Alg 2 course this summer, I do like the idea of the Math Relief as a possible extra to help them out. Their senior year will consist of 2 math courses, Geometry and College Prep Algebra (for those students not ready for Calculus). I take responsibility in not pushing them to complete their freshman and sophomore year math requirements in a timely manner. Time has flown by and now they are almost seniors! It would have been nice to get things done during those first 2 years of high school, however, my guys are hard workers and are up to the task. Thanks to you all for such great advice...what a sigh of relief and a comfort to realize the valuable input and experience here! Blessings, Camy

Would it possible to incorporate art history with the fine art instruction? We did an online program called "Meet the Masters" and it was great. I am an art history major (snob..haha) and I enjoyed this very much. They provide all of the materials online (including a slideshow) to study artists' works as well as their techniques using various mediums. The price is right, too, and it is geared to classroom teaching as well as homeschools. Your husband could make it as simple or as difficult as he wanted to for the age groups he will be teaching. I taught 3 teenage boys this course, and they thoroughly enjoyed it and were quite proud of their portfolios at the end of the program. One young man, who is a musician, had never done any fine art, and discovered his interest and talent in fine art. I loved that! We worked with simple mediums like pastels, colored pencil, and construction paper (to duplicate Mondrian's modern balance techinques). Blessings, Camy

Jann, in order to graduate they need to complete Alg 2 for the upper-level courses (I am not sure what those courses are yet). Geometry is one, so we are not too concerned about that. They have been advised at school by some of the other student as to which classes would be less-demanding. I am praying that will hold true for them. If you have time, what do you think of Teaching Textbooks? Thanks so much, Jann.

I was wondering about Teaching Textbooks. Thanks about the time references for your child. That may be a bit more doable for my boys. Blessings, Camy

Thanks so much, ladies. The synopsis of your replies indicates it is a "no-go" for us. They will need to pass an exam in the fall to get credit, so it is certain that they will need to grasp the concepts. Saxon may be too heavy for us. My options so far as to check to see what is available in the local school system summer school-wise as well as checking on a lesser intimidating curriculum. My boys work almost full-time in the summer as well as play football, and I am sure that they would not be as committed as necessary to the demands of Saxon. It is likely that *I* may not be up to teaching it as well! Any other ideas sure would be appreciated (i.e. other course suggestions). Denise, you are right, they are not "math people." Blessings and thanks, Camy

Jann, they have done Saxon Alg 1 and averaged C's. They need to take an exam in September to get credit for graduation the following spring. They are behind in math credits by 1 year. Would another program be worth looking into? Is Saxon too intense for what our needs are (i.e. the "get it done this summer")? Thanks! Camy

My twin boys volunteer for church service activities, community youth football events, and our local National Cherry Festival (as the service clean-up crew). Blessings, Camy

My boys need to have an Algebra 2 credit by next school year (they attend a private high school). We are hoping to complete Saxon Alg. 2 by the fall. We are not looking for the boys to be engineers or math instructors, but just a math credit. Please let me know if we are being realistic about finishing Saxon Alg 2. If you have any advice or suggestions, please share. I would appreciate those so much. I have purchased the Homeschool Kit as well as the DIVE Cd. Thanks for any input! Blessings, Camy

When my babies were young, we had a loose schedule for them and operated around that. I tried to keep naps very regular, since that helped them sleep better at night. They would have crib or playpen time in the morning when they gave up naps, so we could have uninterrupted time for certain school subjects (i.e. reading/math). Our family has always interacted with the baby. We usually tell them everything we are doing and talk to them as if they were part of the group. My boys still do that when they around babies. I do not have a baby in the house now, but I do take care of a 12 month old 4 days out of the week. This is a very labor intensive time for you, for sure. Keeping things as easy as possible would likely help. Paper plates, easy meals, etc. Personally, I used to keep school to the three R's (reading, writing, arithmetic) as well as some read aloud time when things were insane. For us, that was most of the time! I had baby after baby for many years. Just to let you know, my children are older and 5 of them are attending a private Catholic school, and they are all doing very well. (I say this to show that consistency with the 3 R's alone is very effective). May God give you strength and peace through it all. Blessings, Camy

I saw these listed at Homeschool Classifieds for sale. If anyone has input or experience, please share. Thanks! Camy

Found this listing on Homeschool Classifieds featuring instructional DVD's for Saxon Alg 2. I viewed an example on the BestKidsBooks.net site. I wondered if anyone here has used these and had an opinion about them. Blessings, Camy

I figured you already knew this. I bet time will be the healer if you do not seek out other methods. Blessings, Camy

One more thing...I do not mean to alarm you, but my sister-in-law's son had a severe nighttime bedwetting issue and his problem turned out to be Type I Diabetes. horrific. This was not our problem, thank the Lord.

My sons (now 18 and totally potty trained..grin), peed at night until age 11. Barring health issues (like diabetes or other issue), it may be normal. My only complaint was the freaking expensive older kids pull-ups. However, the cost of laboring to change bedding everyday would surely outweigh the pull-ups (not to mention the cost of my own frustration). I know some choose the route of alarms and medication,etc, we just didn't go in that direction. Blessings, Camy

Do it!!!!! haha, I think that would be hilarious. And you know, he has gotten a lot more one and one than he would EVER get in school. I don't think I could have done much more. Amen to that! Good job, mom. Hang in there!

To reiterate, slamming HWT is not my intention, and actually, it serves a great purpose. Some of you have made me realize that it is the font itself that is not my favorite visually. As an artist, my eye is skewed and critical. Jennay, yes, those letters drive me batty!! Samiam, is it interesting that you have seen a similiar phenomena. farrarwilliams, alas, you have called me out... I do hate the font, and it seems that my sons' laziness worsens the legibility of it. creekmom, I appreciate you mentioning the normal rule paper. It does make sense since it is what is used in the HWT instructional books. 26.2 Mom, your method is my new method. The ease of HWT for struggling, beginning writers is great, but the longterm results have not been to my liking. WendyK, yes, some do have messy writing for sure. I guess the HWT font when combined with laziness produces "really" messy effects. Melissa, yes! You hit it on the head when you say HWT cursive defeats the purpose of cursive. Hey, where are you in Michigan? I am in TC. Kandty, I think HWT is helpful for those w/ poor fine motor skills/hand strength in the beginning. It is interesting that you see an improvement after switching. walkermama of 4, yes, I aree. HWT is for the struggling writer and a most excellent tool for them. Ianikit, I totally appreciate your view and do not think it harsh at all. In my case, it is likely too much supervision that caused the problem. The program cannot be blamed entirely for sure, since my sons do get a bit lazy with some letter formation. It just makes it look worse. Overall, I do not like the font. This has been realized too late in my case...my blessings will counted knowing my sons will be doing most of their on-paper communication via a computer keyboard! haha. mommymilkies, you were very smart to not exclusively use the HWT paper. I wish I would've thought of that! **It sure is nice to know that I am not the only one who has seen this handwriting issue. However, may God bless Jan Olsen for helping those struggling writers out there. The last thing in my mind would be to blaspheme her well thought-out handwriting program. I bet there are a billion stories of satisfaction for HWT to my one complaint. The bathwater will not be thrown out with the baby, however, since the HWT auditory cues can also be used with other programs (up like a helicopter, slide down the pole, run away, bump the line, etc). Love those cues. Blessings, Camy

I am not knocking HWT..as a matter of a fact, it seemed perfect for my boys when they were little. The auditory cues and simple letter formation seemed to be the answer to my many frustrations when it came to penmanship instruction. We began using HWT when my older boys were 6. We progressed to cursive and then went no further. Now my boys are in high school (a freshman and 2 juniors now in a private Catholic school) and I have noticed that their penmanship appears to be somewhat juvenile. It seemed to me that some of their letter formation (specifically a's, r's, and o's) looked funky. Actually, they appeared as if from the HWT book itself. Anyhoo, thank God they are not striving to be penmanship teachers. This has been on my mind and it made me wonder if others had associated an issue with penmanship similar to ours (related to the use of HWT). Again, not dissing HWT! Blessings, Camy

I think it is great! It is especially impressive that she initiated it. A good foundation in reading comprehension at a young age will likely improve her writing abilities. Just a thought, a mixture of copywork and her own sentence writing may be a good way to keep her going strong. Good job, mom! Just to let you know, my older sons (3 now in a private Catholic high school) did very little writing during their 8 years of home education. We mainly did copywork (when they were young), narration, and then a short venture with IEW (maybe 2 levels), and they tested very well in writing when they went on to school. I believe this was due to lots of reading alound of great literature while they were young. They fell in love with good books. To me, reading is writing. Blessings, Camy