For instance, the digit sum of 98 is 8 and the digit sum of 13,132 is 1. I never remember learning these and, quite frankly, I don't really get it or know why my kids need to do it. Can someone convince me otherwise?

How about the doctor from the hospital flying to the US with Josie??? Who paid for THAT?! That had to have been super expensive. They totally downplayed that part.

I would never supplement a kindergartner with speed drills. I'd go with Right Start, Singapore or a similar program which will increase his depth of conceptual knowledge, not just boomerang him forward in algorithms. I'd especially choose a program like this if he is getting Abeka at school.

So RAD or not, your sister is obviously struggling. I feel for her because I went through a period of parenting my adopted twins that I was not proud of. I yelled a lot and was constantly frustrated, even though I have very (naturally) sweet kids. I was not the kind of parent I thought I'd be, it did not come naturally like I thought it would, and the learning curve was really, really big. I just wanted to add that I've seen kids (I taught kinder and first grade for 6 years, so I watched lots of kids with their parents) who behave this way not because their parents are too permissive or too strict, but because they are unpredictable. If your sister is struggling and is frustrated, perhaps she has a hard time setting clear, reasonable boundaries, and then following through with consequences. It could even be as simple as not having a consistent routine at home. Even without RAD, this child could simply have a demanding, stubborn personality, all the more needing a consistent, firm, and calm parent. Even young children can sense when the adult is not trustworthy (in this sense, meaning unpredictable). Your sister is still a new parent, so try to be understanding. Unless there is some major cause for concern, I'd probably just try to be loving and supportive. If you have the kind of relationship where she's be open to your advice, give it. I find it's sometimes easier to recommend books rather than to dole out advice. "Parenting From the Inside Out" is wonderful because it focuses on me as the parent, and identifying MY issues as to why I react the way I do, or need the things I do. It's great for self-reflection. Also, it may just come down to a difference in parenting styles. She may be an authoritarian, use time-outs, spank, etc. and you might not agree with them, but in the end, it is her choice. With a new baby coming, the next few years might not be her easiest ones. Being helpful and compassionate may be all that you can do. So sorry you are broken up about it. It's hard to watch a family member struggle. Hang in there.

Ohhhhh, my girls love those books so much! They read them again and again. Sometimes they'll sit and read one whole series in an afternoon! We own several sets and they reread them and check out different ones from the library. I wouldn't worry about it. They'll be shiny, new, and all her own! :)

Thank you for your stories! It helps to know how others manage this.

I find myself doing this a lot! We go for a few weeks doing school every day and getting a lot done. Then, we get busy with travel or activities and go into a different mode, ala unschooling. My girls read everyday and we always manage to get in some math, so it's not like they aren't doing any "school." We travel a LOT. Just this school year we've already been to Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, New York City, and Washington DC. We are going to Canada in a week and then we'll spend all of January at the beach in CA. (My husband travels for work and we can go with him quite a bit, which is one reason we homeschool.) I struggle with feeling guilty that we don't do "school" everyday and I worry that we won't get it all done by the end of the year. My personality is such that I would just love to work through my spreadsheet, checking off items each day and staying right on schedule! On the other hand, we are having amazing experiences and I'm on top of my girls' academic needs. Just feeling torn! Do you ever feel this way?

I have a BS in Elementary Education and an MEd in School Leadership (go figure).

Oh, where to begin... cornbread mix turkey chili whole wheat pastas almonds organic canned pumpkin wine wine and more wine sourdough bread iced tea lemonade other juices coffee olive oil balsamic vinegar

We are staying at the Sheraton that is connected to the Waterpark. I'm gald you said it is worth it because we might not have done it! Thanks!

We are tagging along with my husband on his work trip to Niagara Falls next week. We'll be staying on the Canadian side and we'll be there for three nights, Sat-Tues. Any suggestions as to what I should take my twin 9 year olds to do? They love history and sight seeing. We need to keep it cheap. We'll have a car. Any suggestions would be great. A lot of the things I found online are geared for the summer months. On that note, how cold is cold up there?! :)

My only hesitation in purchasing Winning with Writing is that I see errors in the sample pages on their website. For instance, in the WWW 3 sample, it says, "Henry road a bicycle." Are there many errors in WWW?

Another vote for All About Spelling! It's easy and it works! (We ditched CLE language, too. It was just too much. We prefer FLL and AAS.)

It took my daughter about a year to learn how to regroup in subtraction. She never got it in PS 2nd grade and we had to start over when I brought her home for third. That was just last year and she is almost at grade level now, working on long division. For math, I'd choose something very systematic and hands-on where you are there with him 100% of the time, at least in the beginning. You are going to need to see where he makes mistakes and stop him. It won't do any good to let him practice his mistakes, with you correcting later. My daughter doesn't learn well from a computer, for whatever reason. AAS is amazing. If you are consistent and always do the review, I think you'll be very impressed. Good luck! My dd takes a long time to master something, too. Finding the right program and sticking with it was the key for us.

If it makes you feel better, I spent weeks agonizing over whether to use MUS with my daughter, who struggles. I loved the idea of MUS and I would have done well with it as a child. We watched the video together and I could tell it just would not work for her. She watched the lesson on place value with the house and the street (can't remember now) and she had NO clue what he was talking about, even though she already knows place value. She just does not do well with abstract things. She doesn't do well with the cute visuals and stories; they are just a distraction. I think it's good that you are recognizing it just doesn't work for her. Try out something more traditional and see how she does.

My daughter is an excellent reader and writer, but has a really hard time with grammar and vocabulary. It's like, she knows how to use everything, but she can't define anything! Bizarre. I keep thinking it's because she's advanced in reading and writing, but right on grade level in everything else. So, hopefully she'll keep learning and her skills will all mesh eventually. My other daughter is an excellent reader but can't spell worth a lick.

Here's a good website: http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/fluency/ I also really like the fluency passages from Reading A-Z. If you are serious about fluency and want to see major progress, I HIGHLY recommend The Six Minute Solution. I used it with my first graders and it was very successful. It's a little pricey, but worth it if you want something that is open and go, research based, and sequential. http://www.soprislearning.com/cs/Satellite?c=CLG_Content_C&childpagename=Sopris%2FSopris_Layout&cid=1277941395011&pagename=Sopris_Wrapper&rendermode=previewnoinsit

Lots? Really? My husband was raised Mormon in Lehi, his whole family is Mormon, we lived in Utah for 8 years and about 80% of our friends are Mormon. I've never, ever heard this before. Although, I also don't know ANYone who won't drink caffeinated sodas, either. Maybe I'm hanging out with the liberal Mormons...

Phew! Thanks! We'll be back when it's done, and it will keep it warm for an hour if we are late.

Is a breadmaker like a crockpot where I can leave the house? We were excited to use it, so we put all the ingredients in and turned it on, only to realize we want to go out to dinner in the meantime. Thanks!

I only use the answer keys.

I think you should just offer. You could just say something like, "I know you guys have a lot on your plate and I would love to help. Would you let me bring your family Thanksgiving dinner? I'd really love to." If she already has something planned, ask her if there is any other way you can help her and if she says no, then leave it alone. I would personally love if a friend offered to do this for us! We had very close friends lose a child and I will never forget them telling us that they understood when people made insensitive comments (unintentionally) or were intrusive, but what hurt the most were all of their friends who said nothing. I really feel like it's always better to offer support if someone is open about their struggles. You are a good friend!

Thank you SO much!!!

My dd is 9 and is a great reader. She loves reading and never struggles with comprehension when I ask her questions orally, or with WWE and SOTW. She is very delayed in speech, but has come a long way, and has dysgraphia. When we do narrations, she is very successful because she can say what she wants to say, I can help her with putting her sentences together correctly (orally), then she can write them correctly. She does very well with this. Well, in one of my efforts to expose her to more school-like material (just in case we go back, for test prep, etc), I bought a Spectrum Reading book. You know, where they read the passage and answer the questions. She has SUCH a hard time! She doesn't always understand what the question is asking because of her language issues and she likes to just answer what she thinks is right, rather than going back and rereading and using the exact answer from the passage. I got really frustrated with her this morning. Do any of you ever have problems like this? Should I just back off and maybe have her do some of the work orally with me until she gets the hang of it? She does really well with WWE, which is waaaaaaay meatier. I was just feeling like I should at least expose her to a different format. Just venting and feeling frustrated...

No, you don't. There's barely anything in there but the answers. However...the answer keys only have the answers. Like this: 1. 34, 2. 5/6, etc. The teacher's guides have the actual worksheet, with the answers printed. I think they are MUCH easier to use for grading, at least for me. They are easier visually- does that make sense? We've only used 205-403 (which we are on now). We started with the Teacher's Guides but now I only use the Answer Keys for the 400s because I don't want to lug around the bigger guides. We travel a lot.