I am loving Getting Started With Latin. If my kids were older, we'd probably jump into Henle, which we're planning to use when we're done with GSWL. (But we haven't experienced Henle just yet.) GSWL is about learning grammar in tiny bits with lots of translation for practice. And I love the page layout (very plain). http://www.gettingstartedwithlatin.com/faq.php

Can you recommend a brand? How much mag are you giving? just curious :D

Getting Started With Latin :D

I have the Gunnison (bought it new and ds4 and ds2 promptly thought it would be fun to play with in the sink). Even though my Henle hasn't arrived yet, I think I like it better than the Gunnison, from what I saw in the Amazon preview. And I have no interest, at least at the moment, in Linney's audio files anyway. By the way, I think it was Caesar's Gallic Wars that my teacher enjoyed so thoroughly :).

Thanks! It sounds like I made the right choice for us with Henle. I love love love the format of GSWL, and the kids enjoy it, though it definitely challenges them, and I'm trying to commit to getting at least some Latin done every day (we're afterschooling, and some days we just don't have the time). When too many days go by in between lessons, they forget everything, which makes it so much harder than it needs to be. As for the killing in Henle, perhaps that will finally hook ds7's interest, LOL. Catholic no problem (we are; indeed I remember my high school Latin teacher, a 70 y.o. nun in a wheelchair with MS, becoming *very* enthusiastic while translating bloody battle scenes, complete with hand gestures :lol:).

Thanks for posting this! We're doing Getting Started With Latin now (7 y.o.s and 9 y.o.) and planning to move on to Henle when we're finished. It's good to know someone else has done it that way. Did you find that doing GSWL first makes the Henle any "easier" than it otherwise might be, for such a young student?

Try this site http://www.montessorimaterials.org/ http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Free-Downloads_ep_35-1.html http://www.montessorihomeschool.com/materialsfree.html

Here's what we're doing for reading comprehension. My dd9 (right-brained learner, etc. etc.) has a language processing issue which manifests itself as a reading comprehension problem and a problem with vocabulary. So, she is seeing a language therapist weekly to work on those two things. With the comprehension, the goal is to help her learn how to make inferences and to visualize what she is reading, among other things. What our language therapist is doing is similar to the Lindamood Bell program called Visualizing and Verbalizing. However, for various reasons we do not believe we need the type of intensity involved in the Lindamood Bell program (nor do we want to spend that kind of time or $$$). Also, there's a book called Reading is Seeing that you might find helpful.

I too think it's possible there could be a misunderstanding. In our parish, for some aspects of religious education, there are separate programs for children who do not attend the parish school (indeed, the vast majority of the children do not attend the parish school - it's an enormous parish). Perhaps they (or possibly "some" of the staff) thought you intended to homeschool the information being presented at the workshops that you were not notified of?

It depends a whole lot on what one plans to do with the degree. In some situations (i.e., certain professions and grad schools), the school's "ranking" or perceived rigor compared with other institutions, whether public or private, may matter a whole lot on a person's resume or application. In other situations, not so much. It all depends on the situation. I don't look at this question as public vs. private, but instead where the particular school fits in the larger scheme of the industry/area in which one intends to "use" the degree.

I took a quick look at the Cogmed site and see it discusses improving poor working memory that is a cause of attention problems. Would this only be for, say, someone who did poorly on the working memory portion of the WISC? I'm asking because one of my kiddos seems to have an undiagnosed attention issue but his working memory score is great. It's processing speed that's a problem. (and yet he thinks best when he's moving. there must be something to that.) Anyway, I'm assuming his WM doesn't need improvement, so Cogmed would probably not help him. :confused:

I would just call a real estate lawyer - they should be able to tell you their fee up front. If you already have a buyer, you do not need a realtor.

Thank you for the link. As for the original link, I was just confused by the terminology. Looking back at it, it is from South Africa, where perhaps they have different names for these things (the Behavioral Inhibition described therein sounds identical to a subset of SPD).

Generally speaking, motor issues and sensitivities are both sensory processing issues, i.e., issues of the central nervous system. What is described at the link seems to me to be a subset of Sensory Processing Disorder. It's a bit confusing to call the same thing by two different names. See, e.g.: http://www.starcenter.us/aboutspd.html http://www.spdfoundation.net/ Apparently there is still a chance that SPD will be included in the DSM-V. http://www.spdfoundation.net/dsmv.html

OP, it is fact that statistically, c-sections result in longer, more difficult recoveries. Anecdotally, that was also true for me; I had a section for breech and then four vbacs. I would not "choose" one without a medical reason, though that's an oxymoron, because if there's a true medical reason, there isn't a whole lot of choice. Sure there are gray areas, but what I'm saying is that I would never schedule a section for no reason at all, and yet if one were "medically necessary" I wouldn't hesitate to do it. You have to weigh the risks of your particular circumstances. As for why women usually say to try to avoid a section, I can only speak for myself (having had everything from drug-free vaginal delivery to epidurals to the section), and the reason has absolutely nothing to do with a section not being "natural". The risks of sections, which have been mentioned in many of the above posts, are easily google-able. Good luck and best wishes for an easy and safe delivery :) ETA: here you go, first up from google: http://www.webmd.com/baby/tc/cesarean-section-risks-and-complications http://www.childbirth.org/section/risks.html http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/240_1031.asp http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/cesareanrisks.html that ought to cover it ;)

My dd is on this. It smells like cat food (like those packets of Tender Vittles that we fed my kitty about 30 yrs ago), and tastes pretty gross. But she drinks it. She has a problem with dairy so there really aren't many options (a large percentage of babies allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy). I believe Alimentum is roughly the same as Nutramigen. It is very expensive so I wouldn't use it unless there was a known problem. For just a few ounces here or there, I'd probably go with a regular formula unless there's an allergy. GoodStart is a fine choice. You may have to try a few different formulas if your baby is picky - consider asking your ped for samples (they usually have a closet-full).

If it's not too personal, please post - I'd love to hear too :)

I don't know about the card game, but I am trying to distinguish between learning math facts by adding them over and over again (whether it's on fingers, using manipulatives, or a number line located in one's mind) versus rote memorization (e.g. flash cards, chanting, etc.). ETA: if the child were a few years older and still couldn't remember addition facts despite loads of practice, then I'd say that at some point their advancement may be hindered by the slow speed of adding on ones' fingers. But that's not the case here. JMO.

With such an advanced child, it's easy to forget that adding on one's fingers is perfectly developmentally appropriate for a 5 y.o. It doesn't mean she'll be using her fingers as an older kid or adult. She simply needs more practice, and there's nothing wrong with that. My advice is to relax and take a deep breath - there is no rush here. Give her more practice. That doesn't mean you can't forge ahead with interesting stuff like division, but it does mean that some time would be well-spent concnetrating on addition if you can find a way to make it fun and not a chore. The general thinking is that some kids (auditory-sequential learners) are good at rote memorization, e.g., flash cards, but others (visual-spatial learners) learn better through meaning and context, e.g., manipulatives and math games, adding the numbers over and over again. IMO, if your question is practice vs. flash cards, practice is the way to go (based on my experience with my kids who do not learn well by rote, if at all). I'd pay particular attention to subtraction, to mix it up a bit. If she can subtract in her head, she can add in her head.

I don't think I could have gotten my kids to memorize math facts if I tried :lol:. They simply picked them up as they went along, some faster than others. At 5 y.o., there really is no rush, no matter how much math acceleration awaits. (I too wonder how one can do multiplication without knowing addition facts.) Besides, there are some kids who are gifted at math who really struggle with anything resembling rote memorization. I'd check out the games mentioned above. I say practice, not memorize.

:lurk5: (I find it so odd that for two of my kids, working memory is their highest score on the WISC and processing speed the lowest , in one case a difference of over 70 percentiles) I thought that Interactive Metronome was supposed to help with processing speed, with the caveat that it is controversial because the gains tend to be temporary, i.e., the research didn't pan out. It's been a long time since I looked at that, but it seems, just from reading various boards, that it's becoming more popular. :lurk5:

On the vision thing, if they insist on an opthamologist checkup, then I'd want to have a separate checkup with the developmental optometrist in addition to that, because it's also true that there are things that the opthamologist does not check for and may not catch (happened to us). The checkups are different, and there are significant philosphical differences between these specialties on top of that. Since there is a sibling with some sort of vision or vision processing issue, I'd pay particular attention to the vision component. (FWIW, I think our checkup with the developmental optometrist was in the range of $125. The opthamologist appt will be more than that but is probably covered by your medical insurance.) I guess I'm trying to say that the opthamologist checkup, while it should cover similar things, and more, than a regular optometrist checkup, is not a substitute for a checkup with a developmental optometrist - they are literally different kinds of appointments. Just my two cents :)

hmmmm.... that could mean a lot of different things. Could they be visual, right-brain learners with left-brain weaknesses? How about slow processing speed? Or on the lower end for cognitive things, which is a different issue entirely? Does the sister have a diagnosis? Generally, a speech delay is something that will be overcome, one way or another, even if it takes years. Speech therapy is an annoying thing to add to your schedule, but the speech delay itself would not stop me if I were in your shoes. (maybe because we've done plenty of speech therapy around here.)

Two of my kids had severe speech delays (a third had a lesser delay). Neither one had a word until 3 y.o. One is still in speech therapy at 7 y.o. All three of the ones with delays are now showing language processing issues. Nonetheless they're very bright (they're even enjoying Latin). Bottom line, it may be irritating to manage in the short run but I would not consider it to be a deal breaker by any means in an adoption situation. It may or may not last for years but it's nonetheless temporary. At 16 months, if the delay is caused by the child's circumstances as opposed to genetics, I'd expect that the delay could be overcome relatively quickly. Good luck!!

Reading something like this makes me wonder whether there's a message here for me. I know all too well the pain of not being able to have children - after lots and lots (and lots) of fertility treatments, we went on to have six, the last one being a miraculous surprise at 41 y.o.; the oldest is 9 and the youngest 9 months, and I hate my Mirena (I think it's making my pcos worse) and have been contemplating Essure, which is incredibly difficult to reverse, from what I've read. I'm pretty busy and overwhelmed by the family I have, and I have no intention of having more. But the pain of the past is not easily forgotten - there's quite an internal struggle. So you've given me food for thought...:confused: FWIW, I understand where you're coming from. The idea that your kitchen table is missing a face is hard to shake no matter how many are already there. :grouphug: Good luck with your decision.