Wow! :grouphug: :grouphug:

I am so sorry, Nakia. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Thanks so much for the replies!! :D OhElizabeth, He did have OT when we were living in Colorado, but then we moved back to CA and he hasn't done OT since. I am thinking about getting him back into OT, though. I am also thinking about taking him for another speech eval. He had speech therapy when he was 3 y/o after getting PE tubes put in his ears. The only reason we stopped doing that is because the therapist was leaving (moving, I think) and she said that he was doing well enough that we could quit. However, he still is having speech problems, 6 years later. I think I'm in denial because I don't want him to grow up. So his "baby talk" is endearing to me. Also, he is a small 9 year old, so it's hard for me to remember that he should be talking better. Kwim? Also, he has an appointment with a Developmental Optometrist on 1/6 -- next Thursday. I'm not sure what they'll do at the first appointment. From what it sounded like on the phone, we'll begin with a regular annual eye exam. But the receptionist scheduled me for the last appointment of the day, so if the Dr. wants to spend additional time with us, he won't be too constrained with time. Do you have any thoughts on questions I should ask or questions I should be prepared to answer? I started writing out a list of things that I notice with him visually: · Gets letters b/d/p/q mixed up · Confuses plus and minus signs (+ / -) · Writes letters and numbers backwards – numbers more than letters · Difficulty writing within lines on a paper · Difficulty copying from the board or a book · Doesn’t put any spaces between words I know there's more, and some of it may have more to do with his SPD... just not sure.

What are your favorite and/or most helpful websites, books, etc. concerning Dyslexia. My gut is telling me that both of my kids are dyslexic. I am dyslexic and I was reading a lot about it in the past. Right now I'm reading the Barton website and I am almost certain that my children are also dyslexic (among other things). So, what I really want, are good tips that might help when it comes to me teaching them at home. My son (age 9) has a Dx Sensory Integration/Processing Dysfunction and he has almost all the symptoms of it. So it's very hard for him to sit still. My daughter (age 12) is also ADHD. Also, do you think it's necessary to have the kids tested for Dyslexia even if I'm nearly 100% sure they have it? Is it worth the testing or should I just go along with my assumptions and treat them / teach them as if they have it? Thanks in advance! :D I appreciate all the input I get from the wise mamas here.

I'm not quite sure if I'm even allowed to post this on this forum or if it's against the WTM TOU altogether. :tongue_smilie: My 12 year old daughter would love a penpal! She has had a couple in the past that don't feel like writing back and it really hurts her feelings. So I'm looking for someone who would be willing to make a commitment to write her back. :001_smile: Also, my 9 year old son would love some mail as well! Although, he isn't a fluent reader / writer yet, so I would most likely be his scribe. :001_smile:

My son is doing FLL right now, and my plans are that once he is a fluent reader, he will begin WWE. After WWE my plans are either IEW or Writing Strands. My daughter is about to begin Writing Strands 3 (this is the first time she's doing WS) and I also have access to IEW from a friend. So I have to check out which one works best with her. But my son is a different story and I usually don't use the same curriculum with him as I do my daughter. Clear as mud? :lol:

What kinds of questions do I need to be prepared to ask? What kinds of questions do I need to be prepared to answer? For the Neuropsychologist: What kinds of tests will he run? Is it stressful for the child? (He is very sensitive.) Any specific information you need to know about me/my son in order to help? Ask away! :) Thanks in advance!!

LOVE THIS! :lol:

We do the same as Merry. :) Sometimes we'll use the vocabulary in FIAR, too, but not very often.

I just looked in the swap forum and I saw the same thing. Strange. :confused::confused: I didn't see your post in the For Sale forum yet. :)

MosaicMind and Sahamamama, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: to both of you.

My son is LEGO building extraordinaire, too! As well as having sensory processing disorder, a visual processing disorder, and being very wiggly. I tried using MCT with him, but he couldn't sit still long enough. He is 9 and not a fluent reader yet, so it was just too much. There is a considerable amount of reading involved, whether you read it to him or he reads it to himself. After trying MCT (lowest level -- Town, I think?), we switched back to FLL. After he is fluent with reading (which he taking off with, but not quite there yet), I plan on doing Writing With Ease and then graduate him to either Writing Strands or IEW. That's a ways off, though, so my mind might change. :tongue_smilie:

Glad you got on! :D

Here are some links that might help: Some blogs of those that use FIAR: Adventures in Unsell Land Aussie Pumpkin Patch Creekside Learning Faith-Filled Days Rowing Downstream Blog She Wrote If you want to search for something specific on the FIAR forums, go to Google and type in the search box: WHATEVER YOU WANT site:fiarhq.com be sure to put no spaces in the part that says "site:fiarhq.com" that should bring all the threads on the FIAR forums that pertain to your search and you don't have to be a FIAR member to search ;)

I had to wait FOR.E.VER to get approved on the FIAR boards, too. Ick! You can view many many of their threads, though, without being a member. So to start, if you want to see what one of FIAR's unit studies looks like, you should go to www.homeschoolshare.com and look at the unit studies there. They are very similar to FIAR's unit studies and they are free. For a 1st and 3rd grader, you can start anywhere with Volumes 1-3. They are all interchangeable and you don't have to go in any order. Pick and choose whichever one you'd like to start with. Here is a list of all the books that are covered in each volume written by Satori here on the WTM forums: http://satorismiles.com/books/fiar-list/ It is not necessary to get additional books for your studies, although you can if you'd like. For instance, for the book Albert (which is in V.4), you can get additional books on cardinals or birds. Or you can just do a Google search for cardinals and find a lot of information that way. There is already so much information in the volumes of FIAR that chances are you won't need to get additional books. However, the wonderful thing about FIAR is that if your child picks up a real interest in a particular aspect of a book (again, using Albert as an example), you can take a "rabbit trail" (as FIAR users call them) and spend additional time researching and doing projects on cardinals. We would make a cardinal finger puppet or stuffie; build a nest (maybe an edible one out of rice crispy treats); make our eggs from found pebbles and paint or clay. There are also recipes to go with each unit study in the FIAR manuals. As far as cutting down other curriculum to 'make room' for FIAR, it is completely up to you! ;) But from looking at your list, I would take out SOTW, Elemental Science, and the read alouds (since that's what you're already doing with FIAR). Also, FIAR comes with bible study, so you can remove Bible Study for all Ages if you want. Also, my children write as part of their unit studies. I'm not familiar with WriteShop, but if it is a handwriting program, you might be able to ditch that, too. Depending on if you can come up with your own sheets of writing to go along with the unit studies or not. If it is a composition writing program, then you'll probably want to keep it (but you'll be able to incorporate FIAR into it). To be perfectly honest, at the ages your children are at, I would almost exclusively use FIAR (without any add-ons, especially for your 1st grader) and just enjoy delving into the wonderful world of books with them. :)

Right now it's incorporated into our unit studies. Before that it was Galloping the Globe and then Beautiful Feet. LOVE them both!

My fave, too. :D Forgot to add that previously. :tongue_smilie:

We like using Unit Studies. I used to make them up myself or use homeschoolshare.com, but I was fortunate enough to finally get my hands on all the volumes of Five in a Row for my son and Beyond Five in a Row for my daughter. Science, History, Language Arts, and Applied Math are usually all included in a Unit Study. In the later years, it may be necessary to add a writing, grammar, and math program. I also use a phonics program for my younger child. With FIAR, there is Christianity included. With BYFIAR, you have to purchase the Christian Character and Bible supplement separately. I believe Amanda Bennett includes religious studies in hers, but I'm not certain as I've never bought any of hers (yet). I know that a lot of people that have used and liked FIAR will also use Amanda's stuff for their older kids. There are some fantastic articles on the FIAR forums about how unit studies work and why they work well. If you need links to them, let me know. :)

My son (2E -- twice exceptional: exceptionally gifted with learning disabilities -- SPD, VPD, and a few other things that are in the process of being diagnosed; very wiggly; cannot sit still for even a short amount of time unless he's sleeping; very mathematically advanced) We started him with Singapore and later added in Miquon. Miquon was the core and we supplemented with Singapore. He loved it and it worked very well for him, but the seat work was just too much for him. :( It's a shame because it worked very well for him. So now he uses MUS because he can 'play' with the blocks while standing and wiggling and there's not so many worksheets for him to do in order for him to understand the concepts. My daughter (ADD; right brained; creative; intuitive; not at all a mathematical thinker; not much common sense) She also started with Singapore. Then we added in Life of Fred for her to supplement with once a week. She really liked both of these programs and I thought they worked well for her. When she started getting to fractions I just got too fed up with trying to teach math to her. At every lesson we both ended up in tears (not because the programs weren't good, but I think just because her and I have butted heads since the day she was born). So we switched her to Teaching Textbooks. Truth be told, I didn't want to have to teach her math anymore. I like that TT has the software that teaches the concepts to her and she answers the questions. If she doesn't understand, she can't really move forward with it and I'll know it as the software keeps track of her scores for me. The teacher's 'grade book' keeps track of each problem she got wrong, whether she tried to solve the problem again, and whether or not she looked at the solution. This is incredibly helpful for me as I know what she's having trouble with and can give her review sheets or make her try the problem again (depending on the aforementioned criteria). Singapore = Mastery Miquon = Spiral Life of Fred = Mastery Teaching Textbooks = Mastery with a lot of review?? Math U See = Mastery

My son is 2E (twice exceptional -- gifted with learning disabilities) and we have soared with All-About-Spelling. And it also works well with my daughter who is a kinesthetic learner because of the tiles. I absolutely cannot recommend this program enough for anyone! Especially those with learning differences, dyslexia, kinesthetic learners, and/or those that are 'behind' in reading/spelling/phonics.

This sounds like a good idea since she was "getting" math using MUS. And if you already have the program, that's a huge plus! Good luck!

My daughter is a global learner and I am considering Writing Strands 3 for her. She is very creative and will learn better if she can see the 'whole picture' and then have it broken down from there. When she is preparing to write a paper of some sort, she will brainstorm on a blank piece of paper or on the chalkboard. She starts with a circle in the middle with her main idea and branches out from there. Would Writing Strands work well for this kind of learner? Thanks in advance! :)

I agree with everyone else. Your parents share in the responsibility and I don't think you should be blaming yourself at all. In my opinion, the ball was in their court if they were the ones that were going to make the trip. You have every right to be hurt by this. My relationship with my parents is the same way and it is very frustrating. :( :grouphug:

Oops! I'm sorry! I misread your OP. :blushing: I've heard/read that a great way to get a child past worrying if a younger sibling is catching up to them is to have them doing two different curricula. :) Maybe that will help ease her frustrations and raise her self-esteem when it comes to math. :iagree: She was talking about her oldest daughter (who had the same problems with math) doing Remedial classes in college now. :)

I haven't read all of the replies (yet) because I wanted to address a couple things before I forgot. ;) I have a horrible memory. First off... :grouphug: MUS is not designed for you to do one lesson in one day. From what I understand, you are supposed to spread those four pages of work over the entire week. So your 8 year old should not be doing 2 hours of math assignments in one day. She will definitely dread math and be math-phobic if that's what she has to do. I would, too! ;) Also, have you thought about joining a charter school? You would be able to get help and possibly an IEP in place for your daughter (if that's what she needs) as you are a part of the public school system, but you can still homeschool. There are some fantastic charter schools out there that let you choose your own curriculum (what you think is best for your child) or you can get recommendations from an advisor. Off to read the rest of the thread...