You could do a series on film music. Start with Aaron Copland and Rachmaninoff to ease into it, then end up with some of the heavy-hitters today. Sure, do John Williams (but listen to Dvorak at the same time, so you can see where he got 90% of his themes). But also include Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Howard Shore, and even John Powell. Modern classical: John Cage, Morten Lauridsen (Lux Aeterna is heavenly), and Dmitri Shostakovich. Mix Shostakovich with Russian history and WWII and you'll have something incredibly powerful - I'm haunted by him. Oh, also include Benjamin Britten's War Requiem if you tie it in to WWII. You could watch some of the Ken Burns Jazz series from PBS. You could also watch/listen to Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass (mentioned earlier). He's a great minimalist composer - you could even mix your music study with one on minimalist and pointillist art. And I wouldn't even know where to start with modern pop. Start with swing, do some do-wop, listen to classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Doors), watch folk change from Peter, Paul & Mary to Simon & Garfunkel and Bob Dylan and on into the Avett Brothers. Do the history of emo - start with the crooners like Frank Sinatra and Pat Boone, and then move on to Death Cab for Cutie and Dashboard Confessional. :lol: And Rap - that could be like teaching WWII - so many different places and people involved it's hard to tell what's what. You could also do musicals as an art form in its own right. Now you've got me thinking. I might be back. :D

I am another GFree person who has experienced increased sensitivity to gluten. I'd rather have that than continue in living with chronic fatigue, major depression, constant aches and pains, and the intestinal distress I suffered DAILY when I was consuming a food that was like poison to my system. My uncle is dying of colon cancer right now, and they suspect he had undiagnosed celiac. Sorry, the trade-off seems quite clear to me and my family.

:iagree: I could have written this myself. This too. :) I'd also recommend the original: Emotional Intelligence. It talks about the difference between intellect and emotion, and the importance of empathy for leading a successful life. There was a very interesting chapter about empathy and how they taught it in a prison, if I recall correctly.

My boy will be 8 next month, and he is reading on a level similar to yours. I didn't even know that I should be nervous about that! (Actually, I'm thrilled, since he couldn't read a book at all 8 months ago.) :) It's my understanding that most of the Magic Tree House books are graded at about 2.5, some higher. So it depends on how far you think "grade level" is at this point. My DS just started 2nd grade, even though he's only 2 months younger than yours. Is it possible your expectations are a little high? Maybe others will have good book recommendations. I make sure and check out about 5-10 books a week, and I go mostly for interest. Right now DS is into the How to Train Your Dragon series. He recently reread the My Father's Dragon series. And he reads a Magic Tree House almost every night of the week. We also supplement history and science with nonfiction. I don't think you need to panic. I think you and your DS are doing just fine. :grouphug:

I think that's the most common question I've been asked, and it's almost always by teachers! It's amazing. I've had two teachers tell me that they would never be able to teach their own kids. :confused: I know there has to be something to this mentality, but I don't understand it at all.

In that case, my answer would be a resounding GET THEM. The mathy kid I referred to in my answer (who does not like using manipulatives *for lessons*) learned everything from manipulatives when he was 2-5 or so. My 5-yr old also still uses manipulatives exclusively - I don't have her doing math worksheets yet. I think that using objects will greatly help solidify those concepts when it comes time to sit down and work with written numbers.

My childhood memories are spotty at best. I remember I got a C in science in 5th grade. And the 6th grade teacher made cinnamon rock candy that I remember so clearly I'm determined to duplicate the recipe (but haven't succeeded yet, after half a dozen tries). Otherwise, there's not much. Memory is such a strange thing. I have extremely clear memories from days when I was a toddler, but other days, even special days, are often nonexistent when I try to access them.

:iagree: This was my very first thought, and I know this from experience as well. My 2nd, like many other posters, was MUCH easier than my 1st. I felt fabulous, actually. They even let me out of the hospital early. Hopefully you'll experience the same kind of recovery. But still - Don't Overdo It!! One of my favorite routines when I added my 2nd was to read books to the 1st when she was napping/nursing. Another mom gave me that suggestion, and it worked wonders. DS did not get jealous because he still had special time for him, even if I was occupied with the baby. We read I'm a Big Brother quite often to get him used to how to care for a baby. DS was barely 2 at the time, but he loved this book. Oh, and have someone stay with you at the hospital who can change the baby, bring her to you to nurse, or whatever else. My mom did this job for me, and even though she was exhausted, it was a HUGE help during those first 2 days in the hospital.

I used to get mine cut once a year, around my birthday. I kept it quite long. Then I decided to go short, and I have to get it cut every couple of months to maintain it. I voted every 3 months, since I'm not always consistent about it.

The homemade granola is a great suggestion. Homemade trail mix is an option too - throw together some nuts and raisins and it makes a great snack. Whoever mentioned the fried apples made me super hungry. :glare: My favorite night time snack is a couple pickles and a slice of cheddar cheese. I know it's not carby, but it tends to meet whatever cravings I have. It's a little salty, and crunchy, and filling. A nice cup of decaf chai tea with a splash of almond milk can usually do the trick too.

I'm so sorry you had a hard morning! :grouphug: My husband is a pastor, and sometimes I find myself having a similar kind of morning trying to get everyone ready to go. My 7-yr old Aspie used to struggle greatly with church. We would sit in the foyer during service because the music/ambience is always too loud/smelly/overwhelming. DH and I did a "tag team" thing for a while - he'd go to early service and I'd go to the later service, so the kid didn't have to go. He only went to Sunday School for a while. Then we planted a small church and discovered that DS did *really* well in a smaller place, with people who were all familiar to him and a quieter morning. We also established a routine of getting his favorite food on Sundays so he'd have something to look forward to even if he was tired and sitting still was hard. We're back in the bigger church again, and DS does well. I think the smaller church gave him the confidence and practice so that the larger church is not so overstimulating anymore. I'm not sure why I'm sharing all this - maybe just to show that it's different with Aspies, or give you some ideas for a different way to go about it. In your particular situation, though, I'd probably leave everyone at home and go by myself. Your DH is not being helpful. Your DS may be too old to be able to adjust properly, unless he finds some friends or something that draws him to attending. And the baby makes it difficult for everyone. If you can go by yourself, and experience Grace for that one hour a week, it will be good for everyone in your family. :) :grouphug:

Oh, yes. My tea mug is one of those that is supposed to be used for a big bowl of soup, I think. :D I splash almond milk in mine and use honey for sweetener. I still pretend it's cream and two lumps of sugar. :) There's nothing like a properly steeped cup of black tea.

:iagree: Only my day starts with 2 or 3 cups. :D

You sound like a great mom. :grouphug::grouphug:

That reminds me of Finding Neverland, the one about J.M. Barrie. That one got me pretty hard. I've gotten teary-eyed just reading this thread!!! :lol:

The last movie that really got me going was The Fountain. But you have to have very strange taste in movies to watch that one (It's a Darren Aronofsky film, if I recall correctly). "In Love and War" got my mom going for about a week one time. Otherwise, you've gotten great recommendations. If you haven't seen Steel Magnolias or Beaches, they will definitely do the job for you.

If someone asks you to play with them, do it. Play Pet Shops with your little girl, and make the silly voices. Play dragons with your boy, even if you have to do things that look strange. Play video games with your DH, even if you get killed constantly and he laughs hysterically the whole time. Don't forget to say "Good morning!" before you start in on school/chore talk. Stop and listen before enacting punishment. In my experience, there are more than 2 sides to every story. Even if it takes time, search out the truth.

Mine is like the others - he enjoys the manipulatives for "play" but not for lessons. When it's time do math worksheets, the manipulatives are distracting. However, he has used things (and I use that word as broadly as you can imagine - juice lids, hole punch leftovers, paper scraps, beads, legos, etc) as math manipulatives since he was a tiny thing. He plays in numbers. So when he sits down to "do" math, he's all business.

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day? I think the original question had a little tinge of judgment, which is why the OP is getting some feedback. Yes, some of us take a lot longer to homeschool (not me, I take about two hours a day, but I *do* have science, history, Spanish, art, handwriting and geography in addition to Math and Language Arts). But I think, considering the OP's current life situation (adding a newborn to a house full of littles), she is allowed some leeway to only hit the basics right now. I would hope for the same grace for myself, at least.

No one answers my cell phone. Not even me half the time, but I'm not a phone person. :tongue_smilie: It would *definitely* bug me if someone rifled through my purse to answer my phone. I consider a cell phone a private phone - it would be like someone checking my emails for me. Not cool.

Sorry you're feeling down. When I get down, I turn on loud music. Stuff like Rage Against the Machine and Muse and System of a Down. Or sometimes Dvorak's Symphony No. 9. :D Anyway, I find that the music tends to help. I'm going to go turn some on now, because I've been feeling pretty blah myself. Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks for the recommendation!

I gave up looking for a homeschool group and joined an Artist's Way/Writer's group. The rest of the weirdos in my group make quirky little me look like a die-hard conservative. :D Forget being outside of the box - it's time to upcycle that box into something better.

:iagree: If it is arthritis, it might be caused by potatoes or tomatoes too (anything from the nightshade family). My dad has been diagnosed with several types of arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lyme disease, and now lupus. He went on a series of elimination diets/allergy tests and discovered he gets his worst flare-ups after he eats tomatoes.

I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your memories of your lovely friend with all of us. :grouphug::grouphug: