Yup, I live there too. Great place to live. A picture's worth a thousand words.

No offense taken. It's been a year since I read it, so I'm trying to remember if this is the case. I think what I liked best about this book is that it "normalized" things for me and took a lot of pressure off. If I remember correctly, it did the opposite of creating an "I'm broken/inferior/frigid" notion. The summary posted on my local library website includes this: "You'll learn about the physiological and psychological factors..." (bold mine), so it seems to address a broader spectrum than the review I posted may reflect. It was recommended reading for a grad level Marriage and Family Counseling course I was planning to take, fwiw.

The Sex-Starved Marriage: Boosting Your Marriage Libido by Michele Weiner-Davis is a very helpful read.

My daughter went with this program for her fall semester of 12th grade. It's called Students Without Borders Academy. It was set up by a teacher at a public high school in a town near us. She got credit for Spanish 12, English 12, Global Citizenship 12, and Leadership 12. They worked in a classroom from September - December, and then spent five weeks in Panama. It was an amazing experience for her. Lori

For those of you who enjoyed the Clockwise e-book by Elle Strauss, she has released the sequel, Clockwiser. This one is not free, but is only $2.99 on Amazon. Here's the link to her blog (Amazon link is on the left): http://ellestraussbooks.blogspot.ca/2012/04/announcing-clockwiser-book-2-in.html Even though these are written for a teen audience, I've really enjoyed all of Elle Strauss' books. The historical fiction aspect really appeals to me. Lori

I haven't posted in ages, but thought I'd share my experiences with putting kids in (and out) of school over the years. First I should say that we're in Canada, and the public education system is probably a bit different. With my first child, I put her in a private school for 2nd grade (I was feeling overwhelmed with baby #4). She did fine. She asked to come back home after a year, and so I brought her home. In her case, continuing in school probably would have made her feel "dumb", because she was a bit of a late reader compared to other kids her age. My son was in K at the same school, and it was becoming clear that he would be better off at home too. Fast forward five years: My dh started his own business, and needed my help with the office and bookkeeping. I put all four kids (grades 8, 7, 5 & 2) back into the same private school. The two older kids hated it because of the clique dynamics in a small middle school. After a few months I took them out and put them in an online program that allowed them to be home without me doing the teaching. The two younger kids stayed at the school for a full year. Again, it was "fine", but I could see that the school culture was wearing on them, and after a year I brought them home again. Fast forward two years: After attempting multiple math programs, I realized that my math skills were not going to be adequate to prepare my oldest for university entrance requirements (my formerly "behind" reader was now an amazing reader, but her math was a struggle). Our local public high school allowed her to attend 10th grade for math, science, sewing and sign language every second day, and she worked on her other subjects at home. She went to that school full time in 11th grade, and is now completing 12th grade with online courses. My second oldest asked to go to school in 9th grade, and has been in school full time since then (currently in 11th grade). He's doing fairly well - probably better than he would be doing at home, since his personality doesn't learn well from his mom:glare:. I was feeling very burnt out at this point (low iron, but didn't realize it), so I put my other two in public school as well. My third born was in 7th grade, and the school noticed a problem immediately, and diagnosed him with a learning disability (dysgraphia). They were very helpful and supportive, but he began to develop severe anxiety, and begged me to bring him back home. He is now in 9th grade doing all of his courses online, and doing quite well (thanks to having everything on a computer - dysgraphia is a written output LD). My youngest was in 4th grade when she started public school. She is now in 6th grade, and is doing very well. She thrives academically in school, and has had amazing teachers, but the peer dynamics can be brutal, and I'll be keeping a very close eye on things in middle school next year. Middle school is always the "wild card". Even great teachers and staff aren't always enough. In all of my school experiences, the most difficult parts have been the peer dynamics for the girls (starts as young as 2nd grade), and the academic conformity for the boys (if they're quick learners, it doesn't challenge them, and if they're struggling, they feel "dumb"). I think the key is to pay attention to how they are handling things emotionally. It's easy to get into the school culture, and feel as though you need to "make it work", but sometimes you need to make changes. I often felt like a flake, and I know people didn't understand my reasons for moving my kids in and out of school, but I always just had to go with what I knew was best for them (and me) at each stage in our journey - and it's been different with each child. When I look at how my two oldest kids are doing, I know that the years of homeschooling gave them an amazing sense of confidence in how they face life's challenges. My oldest (18) is a youth ambassador for our city, and has traveled to China, Japan, WA, and all over our province representing our city. She spends most of her free time volunteering, and is confident in public speaking. She amazes me sometimes (although she still can't seem to keep her room clean!). My 16 year old son has his first job, and I've had two of his supervisors physically come out to the parking lot when I've picked him up - just to tell me what an amazing, focused, conscientious worker he is. Yes, at home he's a typical, hormonally challenged 16 year old boy who gets mad at his siblings, but he's in a good place, and knows who he is. I feel confident that the time my kids have had at home has been worthwhile, and that the time they spent in school has also contributed to who they are becoming. Well, that was long. I'm avoiding cleaning the storage room.:tongue_smilie: Lori

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I shared a link to the free e-book, Clockwise, by Elle Strauss recently. She's just released another e-book. This one is called Haywire, and she is offering it for free until Wednesday. This book is written for middle grade readers (ages 8-12). I read it, and really enjoyed it. I enjoy all of her books! Here's a quick blurb about it: Owen True is eleven and eleven twelfths and has been "exiled" to the small crazy town of Hayward, WA, aka, Haywire, while his mother is on her honeymoon. All he has to whittle away the time is the company of Gramps, his black lab Daisy, and his Haywire friends, Mason and Mikala Sweet. They don't look so hot this year, in fact, the whole town has gone to pot since the mill shut down. Owen has his first encounter with a real life homeless man who ends up needing Owen's help in more ways than one. But how does a rich city kid help the small town's suffering citizens? And what is Owen to make of the fog train and its scary, otherworldy occupants that appears out of thin air on the old tracks behind Gramps' house? Do they have the answer Owen is looking for? Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072Z5DWQ/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk Lori

Since this is only free until Monday, I thought I'd bump it one more time, and add a link to a review: http://sapphicscribe.wordpress.com/2012/01/ Lori

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An author friend of mine is offering her e-book for free on Amazon.com until Monday. You just need to download a free Kindle app to order the book (no e-reader necessary). It's time travel historical fiction, teen friendly, clean (without being sterile), and a real page turner. Here's a link to the author's blog, with info about the book: http://ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com/p/clockwise_02.html Here's a link to the Amazon order page: http://www.amazon.com/CLOCKWISE-ebook/dp/B005WOFX4M I read it, and even though it's written for a teen audience, I really enjoyed it. Lori

My 14 year old son has been diagnosed with dysgraphia. A NILD therapist (level 2) has just moved to our city. She is working for a learning center that charges $65 per hour for her services. She is able to work with my son for two 60 minute sessions per week (she had a waiting list soon after she arrived, so I'm quite fortunate to have a space for my son). I'm being told to expect the therapy to last for a few years (3-4), and it's going to cost $520 per month. We have the money, but it seems like a lot, and I know my dh is going to think it's "ridiculous". I need to know if the NILD therapy will make a measurable difference for my son if I'm going to justify the cost.

This page of the website shows a source for the graphic. Maybe if you contact her she'll be able to tell you.

I haven't been here much lately. I'm just stopping by to share an interesting link of a diagram showing origins of different languages. Lori