I don't care what my son reads in his free time as long as it is not inappropriate for children his age. I require him to read certain books that I think are high quality for his school work, so anything after that is bonus as far as I'm concerned. I also don't only choose classics for his school reading. I think there are lots of good, quality books to explore that have been written more recently and I don't want him to miss out on them because he is working through a classics list. He's fairly young, however, and a lot of the classics deal with mature subjects or are so full of racist and ethnocentric ideas that I prefer him to wait until he's a bit older to read a lot of them. My daughters are not good readers yet and I would be thrilled to have them read the Rainbow Fairies or Wind Dancers books on their own. I encourage my kids to read as much of what they like as they can when they are beginning and struggling readers. I would even have my son sit with a stack of Calvin and Hobbes just to get him to happily read something.

I would not believe a measurement done by a physical therapist. If you believe she has a leg length discrepancy she should see an orthopedist who can do x-rays that will tell for sure. I'm not sure the ortho would do anything about one under an inch. My DD has CP and can have an apparent leg length discrepancy of 2in or so at times but on the x-rays it disappears. Her PT had us all worked up about it but then her orthopedist explained things and it is a non-issue. Right now, I don't think her LLD is more than a few centimeters which is within the range of normal. The orthopedist said 1/2inch is also common and normal. If you are only measuring 1/2 inch more than that, it could easily be measurement error. She would need a special series of x-rays so I wouldn't just have the regular pediatrician do it as he or she may not be familiar with what x-rays are needed. We have seen a lot of physical therapists that we like a lot but we have also had many of them try to diagnose my DD or tell us what she "should" be doing and we have learned to just nod and smile. ETA- Another reason to start with the orthopedist is because if she does have a LLD, you will want to know why and monitor it instead of just getting some inserts.

My girls cry if they don't get to wear a dress to church, so it isn't an issue here. If they really didn't want to wear dresses, however, I would make them at least wear pants with a nicer shirt. I think dressy casual or the way we would dress at a nice restaurant would be fine for me. I don't allow my son to wear shorts to church either. I wear pants almost every week but usually avoid jeans. Our church is a mix of casual and dressy and many children wear shorts and casual clothing, but I just prefer my kids to look nicer. I want them to acknowledge that church is not just any old place and that they need to show some respect. I think it does affect their mindset when they are in the service.

I have very straight, fine hair and have had a cut similar to this. For me, the problem is the bangs. They look so nice and pretty to the side like that but in real life, they will be in your face and eyes without a lot of work. My stylist taught me to always blow dry my bangs first. To blow dry them, she told me to brush them back and forth to both sides on a low speed, and then when it is just a little damp, to focus the dryer on the side you want them to go. It helped a little but without a bunch of product, the bangs drove me crazy every day. Maybe if your hair is thicker or has a natural wave it would stay to the side more easily but I hated them.

I've had a body wave (perm) a few times in the past few years and I've always been happy with it. It doesn't make my hair very curly. If I didn't blow dry, it would be loose curls but I would almost always blow it dry. Blown out, it looked like straight hair that would actually hold a style and not turn stringy. I would only have someone very trusted do it but I don't think it is crazy at all!

This will be my first year soon. My son will be doing 3rd grade and he wants to do so much that I am having trouble fitting it in. He's doing (and not all every day; we may spread some out a semester at a time): Handwriting- cursive and print practice Spelling- A few workbooks but nothing big because he's a good speller when he tries. Grammar- Grammar Island series and editing worksheets Math- Math Mammoth Science- Winter Promise Body/Forensics (we're really excited about this!) History- Mystery of History Vol. 1 Spanish- La Clase Divertida Greek- Code Cracker PE- taekwondo (he's been doing this 4+ years already) and Yoga Music- guitar lessons Art- Artistic Pursuits Geography- Games Reading and Writing- Assignments from me. He also wants to learn Korean. I have a book and CD but it looks intimidating! And he wants to do a musical theater class but I think it may be too pricey and he wants to do community theater and he wants to start a pooper scooper business. He has big plans!! My 3yr old will be home and around but she will probably just play and color a random worksheet to make her happy. My 6yr olds will be in public school 1st grade and I'm just hoping and praying that they don't get too much homework.

Maybe they need a different instructor. My girls were like that exactly- screaming, kicking, and running away. They were just getting worse and worse and none of us could go to the pool because they were too high maintenance. I finally signed them up with a school that costs way too much but specializes in special needs children. It was the best thing ever. The teachers approached them differently and in a way that helped them do their best and the pool was even set up a lot differently than the other swimming pools we had been to for lessons. Maybe you could ask around for whoever in your area is known for teaching special needs kids. My girls spent the first two lessons with these people screaming and crying, but by the 4th lesson they were telling me they wanted to be swim teachers when they grew up! I wanted to cry. They still can't swim independently (about 6 lessons in) but they are now teachable and not scared and I think we'll be able to transfer them to a less expensive group class at another place. We'd love to stay at this school but it is just too expensive for us to keep doing.

Some of my fondest memories are of staying the week with my grandmother by myself. She was an older grandmother and would only take 1 of us at a time because she knew her limits but I liked the alone time anyway. I would not send the 2yr old but I think without a solid reason why not, then you may be being a little over protective. My brother and I never stayed overnight with my other grandparents. We visited often but we never built the same kind of relationship with them as we did with our grandmother we did stay with. My other grandparents weren't bad or creepy, they just kept a household that my parents didn't want to leave us at alone. That is different, IMO, than not wanting them to stay just because. My children's grandparents have always lived more than 6 hours away and they have rarely stayed with them because it is hard to arrange getting them there and back and I'm not comfortable with them soooo far away. We have done it a few times, though. My older stayed a week when he was 3 and then he and the older girls have stayed for a night while we were in town and staying at another house with relatives. They love it! I wish we lived closer because I think the kids are missing out on not being able to spend the night more often with their grandparents. I don't have a problem with trusted men helping in the bathroom. They are all fathers too.

Comic books? My 8yr old DS loves Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, and other Sunday paper cartoon type of comic books. He was/is a reluctant reader as well but will choose to read those in his free time.

My almost 9yr old doesn't draw well most of the time. If we go to a restaurant with a coloring page he scribbles like a 2yr old. Actually, my 2yr old does more realistic scribbling. But- he doesn't want to draw like everyone else. He wants to do it his own way. He will say he's "drawing a story" which does not involve realistic pictures but just something else entirely. Maybe your son isn't interested in drawing like the average person would expect but has his own ideas of what type of art he wants to create. I also agree with the others, however. I can't draw well either. I hated art classes at school because I always felt inadequate.

Do you keep and give letter or numeric grades for your children? If so, how do you keep track of it and decide how much weight to give each assignment? I hadn't planned on it as I expect my son to complete everything correctly before moving on but I am reconsidering. I am thinking of keeping grades for daily work based on his first attempt, adding in chapter tests in subjects that have them, and presenting him with a report card every 6 weeks like in school. He would still always have to fix his work and redo it until he shows he gets it but the grades would be based on what he turns in first. It seems that he isn't careful in his math work because he knows he can just go back and fix it if he misses something. I thought grades with some sort of incentive attached for good grades may encourage him to aim for accuracy and to pay closer attention. He seems to go through his work as quickly as he can and he's making many silly mistakes because he misreads the problem, answers the problem in the wrong column, overlooks a problem, etc.

That is scary! My DH was diagnosed with dengue several years ago after a trip and it was horrible. It is a miserable illness. I hope they can keep it contained.

One of my twins (6yrs) was behind her sister in reading last school year and I signed her up for time4learning for a few months. I really like their phonics program and she liked it a lot too. She did everything else the same as her sister but did the Time 4 Learning by herself. Her sister was actually jealous and wanted to do it too so sometimes I let her sit in and watch or do it with the other one or I would let her do a different computer game. The second grade time 4 learning reading program is also pretty good, in my opinion. I had my son do it between 1st and 2nd grade and he liked it a lot too- and he hated to read at that time. The 1st grade is mostly phonics and the 2nd grade is mostly for improving fluency and comprehension. It is kind of expensive but you would also get the math, science and social studies that you could use to supplement however you wanted and you have access to 3 grades' worth of stuff. I don't like it as a stand alone curriculum but I do like it as a supplement. We aren't using it anymore because it is too pricey for a supplement when we don't really need it anymore but I thought they were doing some really cheap promo for new people this summer.

We are using Beginning and Practice Cursive: Sailing Through Handwriting. It is secular. My children are in 3rd and 1st but I think it is appropriate for any age.

Thank you so much for all the great ideas! He doesn't mind following directions the first few times to learn something but also wants to be able to take what he learns in the kits to do his own stuff. He likes to make the pop-ups on the Robert Sabuda site, for instance, even though it involves following directions, because he can then mix it up and make his own cards once he's learned the techniques. I think I'll let him look through these ideas, give him some gift money for his birthday, and take him to Hobby Lobby, and see what he likes. Today he said he wants to make a stuffed griffyn for his new cousin who is going to be named Griffin. :lol And he would love to have a bucket of tools and craft pieces! eta- If you haven't seen the free pop-up cards on the Robert Sabuda site, they are great and so much fun for my kids! http://www.robertsabuda.com/popmake/index.asp

A friend recently recommended the Oil Cleansing Method for a facial cleansing. I was skeptical but tried it because it is super cheap. I think I like it. I just mixed 2 parts extra virgin olive oil with 2 parts castor oil but I don't do it every day. You rub it on your face for a minute, then wet a wash cloth with hot water, lay it on your face until it isn't hot, wet the cloth with hot water and repeat a few times (the goal is to get a little steam), and then just wipe it off with the same cloth until you don't feel oily. If your skin is dry, you should use less castor oil- maybe more of a 1:3 ratio. The castor oil also acts like an eyelash conditioner.

My son likes to make things. So far, he has been making little games and things with paper but he wants to make things that are more real and useful now. I've been considering some origami or pop up book sets which I think he'd really enjoy. He has expressed that he wants to do something other than paper crafts, however. I'm having a problem finding craft ideas for him that aren't paper crafts that aren't too girly. He doesn't like the sets where you just put a prepackaged set of things together and paint it. He wants to learn an actual skill that he could then use to make things he creates on his own without a kit. He does not like to have to follow someone's directions for everything but wants to use his own ideas instead. He'll be 9 next month and I think he is too young for wood carving which is all I can come up with. He'd like to make toys for his sisters and wants to sew so he can make soft toys. I found a spool knitting kit that makes little animals but then saw a review that said it was too hard. Since I do not sew at all, now I'm hesitating to get it for him. Does anyone have ideas for what a creative, masculine boy can make? All the other knitting kits that got good reviews were way too girly. I can sew a straight(ish) line by hand, so maybe I could just give him some scrap material and stuffing and let him figure out how to draw a pattern, cut it out, and then make stuffed creatures himself? I'm a little nervous about him with needles but maybe he is old enough. He also has a snap circuits set which he loves but he feels he isn't really making anything useful and he has to follow the directions.

My son (3rd grade) is working through a money management workbook right now called Money Matters: How to Become a Smart Consumer I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, he has really learned a lot in the chapters we've done. Some chapters, however, seem more appropriate for upper middle or high school students. I have been able to adapt them to him but I know he is not really able to get the most out of it. I think it has been worth it because it is inexpensive but I hope I remember to pull it back out when he's older to review some things.

My DS can be very scattered and lives in his own world a lot of the time. We have recently started having him do a daily yoga DVD for kids. We've only had it a week but he really enjoys it and I do notice he is calmer and more focused immediately after. I haven't done it with him yet but I've watched it and it is good about teaching the breathing and focus skills and not just the physical movements. We are Christian too, and I see no mystical/eastern religion ideas that would offend us. I'm hoping he will be able to carry the calming and focusing techniques into other situations. My friend from high school was very much the ADD type and as an adult she began talking about how her yoga classes were helping her focus at work and calm herself during the day and it gave me the idea for him. We have the Shanti Generation DVD and it includes a lot of different routines and things to do so he isn't bored.

One of my twins has mild cp- she doesn't have low tone but was extremely weak in one leg. She couldn't even wiggle her toes or flex her foot at all a couple of years ago. Some things we did that her PT suggested and she liked are: mini-trampoline, smashing playdoh with her foot, using a scooter, swimming lessons, taekwondo, and frog jumps (look it up). You could also have him color standing up with one leg on a stool- having the balance off like that will strengthen the leg that isn't on the stool. I have seen huge gains with her with the taekwondo. Also, if he can't jump yet, you could practice almost jumping. Mine still can't jump on her bad leg by herself, but we would hold her hand and practice just going up and down without actually lifting off and jumping. She can now jump with both feet and with her good foot, and with her bad leg, she can hold my hand and make 1 or 2 small jumps before getting too tired. There's also the little hippity hop balls- we use them inside but they sit on them and there's a handle and you bounce on it. She liked that a lot too. Another thing that helped although she didn't like it at all was taking the stairs when we could and when she wasn't too tired. She had to work a lot on going up and stairs the right way and just doing that also strengthened her legs. ETA- the smashing playdoh thing was done with playdoh toys. So, instead of using your hands to smash the play doh waffle iron, use your foot.

Have they looked into encopresis? At 7, I think it is very unlikely he is doing it on purpose or just waiting too long. If this is a regular thing, he probably doesn't know when he is doing it until it happens and it is most likely not his fault. There is a free study to help kids get better that he may be able to enroll in if his parents have access to the internet. http://ucp2.bht.virginia.edu/welcome I should add- it isn't just free, but they will also pay you up to $200 to participate, so it is win-win!

I just use regular whole milk and it turns out fine. I get my starter from some eurofoods place on amazon. I can use yogurt made from the starter as a starter about 4 times before I can tell that it isn't working so well. We don't like runny yogurt so I also always strain it in a cheese bag.

I need some ideas to help my 6yr olds stop crying all the time. This is nothing new for them and they have been the type of children who cry over every little thing since they were infants. We thought they'd outgrow it but they haven't and it drives me crazy. I'm homeschooling my son and would like to keep them home but I'm sending them back to school because I cannot deal with the crying. They have begged me to teach them cursive, for example, and cry about it the whole time. They cry when they see the page and that it is a new word, cry if their first try doesn't look just right, and cry when I gently try to show them how to do it or have them practice doing the letter in pieces. Then, they will cry if I suggest taking a break or just learning it later if it is too stressful because it isn't important now. I am very sweet to them about it and encouraging that they can do it because their handwriting is beautiful and I'll show them pages they have done before that look great that they cried about before doing it. It is like this for most things new to them. They cry about everything and anything- not just things about learning! Basically, anytime they are frustrated or don't get what they want, they cry. Their teacher last year said they didn't cry in class and weren't shy so maybe it is me. When I went to their classroom they would hang all over me, be shy, and cry about little stuff too but the teacher said they weren't like that when I left. They are frequently like that, however, in their taekwondo class if someone corrects them. They not only cry about things, but they'll pout about it for a long time too. For example (and things like this happen frequently), a child accidentally bumped one of them in taekwondo. It could not have hurt much and probably just surprised and offended her. She cried for about 10min, wouldn't respond at all to the instructors or us, and then ended up sitting out the rest of the class because she wouldn't get over it! She didn't even tell me what was really bothering her until we were on our way home. How can we make them stop crying so much at home? We've tried to teach them that crying doesn't help them solve whatever problem is upsetting them. We've gotten to the point where we will not help them until they stop crying and tell us what they need with words, and we don't let them draw attention to themselves with it anymore. If they are going to carry on and cry, they have to go to their room until they feel better. I am saying "they" because they are twins. Not that I'm sure it matters but I do think they reinforce each other's behaviors some. They don't always cry over the same thing or at the same time but they are identical and their personalities are very similar so overall we have equal problems with each one. It drives me nuts! I have 2 other children who aren't big criers so I do think it isn't completely what we are doing as parents but I am out of ideas and I was over all the crying 2 years ago. :banghead:

We're doing the anatomy and forensics for younger grades from Winter Promise next year. I was worried it may be too hard but I've already received some of the books and I think it will be great. At least one of the texts is written from a Christian perspective and it incorporates history, experiments, projects, and written work. If you want a topical focus I think a lot of their elementary science programs look fun.

Ours doesn't charge but it requests a $5 donation per child. Nobody keeps track of who pays and who doesn't. I would be very offended if I saw a church charging for VBS. We send in the donation, so it's not that we don't have the money, but VBS should be something to bring kids and families who haven't been exposed to church into the church, and IMO, charging leaves a bad taste and is not welcoming. I agree with some of the others- if you want to charge for it and treat it like a camp, call it something else! The $5 donation doesn't bother me, but a fee that would require you to discuss your situation with someone in charge to get a scholarship or waiver is offensive for what has been a traditional outreach program. None of the churches around here charge either. Our church does have a day camp in the summer too, and we probably charge typical camp rates, but that is very different.