Now, that is a new idea. I'll try it. TxMom says sinus infection, but I have no drainage. My doc really didn't think that was what I had. I wish that were the answer!

I don't chew gum, I don't grind my teeth--I'm pretty sure that I don't, and my teeth show no signs of grinding. My jaw does not pop or click--a classic sign of TMJ. The dentist put his fingers in my ears and had me open and close my mouth to check my jaw. The only symptom that I have that's in any way related to TMJ is the pain. I have a good bite as well.

I thought Migraines were only headache pain. I usually don't have headaches, although since the pain started, I have had more frequent, mild headaches. Or, are you saying that a pain specialist diagnosed this for you, as he could my pain as well? I have seen trigeminal neuralgia on the net, but the pain description I've read doesn't seem to be the same. My pain is dull and more like pressure. Mmmm.... would a pain specialist diagnose TN?

Starting in mid January, I had pain/pressure in my jaw joint. About a week after it started I got sick, and was told I had a sinus infection and that was probably the source of my facial pain. I took antibiotics that cleared up everything but the pain. Six weeks later and still in pain, I had my sinuses X-rayed--my sinuses were declared clear. I went to the dentist--no teeth problems, no TMJ. About week 7, the pain moved to under my cheekbones. Some days are worse than others as far as the pain. I don't even know what doctor to go to next, but the pain under my cheekbones has persisted until now. Pain relievers do not help. What in the world could this be? I've searched the internet and have come up with nothing. What doctor could diagnose this? I'm pretty discouraged with the pain today.

I'm considering Sonlight 7 for next year too. If I decide to go with it, I will probably do it over two years, and add in other books as we go. I'd love to see Regena's list as well.

I'll be attending ours this month for the fourth time. I still feel like I wander around aimlessly at these things. Also, some of our speakers are Christopher Klicka, Diana Waring, and Todd Wilson. Does anyone know anything about these speakers? I always have a hard time choosing who to go and listen to.

Thank you Cheryl for this info!!

It's a kind of oriental medicine. The practitioner does muscle testing to see what in your body is causing a weakness. He/she then treats you for those things. The whole system is bizarre to say the least. However, my friend whose sons are highly allergic to cats/dogs/tree nuts is having great success with NAET (Nambudripad allergy elimination technique).

I'm glad to hear that some of you have at least heard of it! I'm actually seeing a NAET doc right now-I've only been twice. She's got a great reputation, and has been practicing since 1996. It's just SO expensive, and of course, insurance doesn't cover any of it. Before we sink any more money into this, I was wanting some feedback. I too have a friend that swears by it, but does it work for everyone?

Does anyone have experience with this treatment? Would you recommend it?

Elizabeth Prentiss's book--Stepping Heavenward. The main character gave me something to strive for as a wife and mother. For the Children's Sake by Susan McCaulay --this one helped me when starting my homeschool journey. Babywise--how would I have survived babies without this book!

You've gotten some great recommendations. Another catalog that I like is the Lifetime Books and Gifts Catalog. It gives great recommendations for books and tells the age level they are good for. Here is a link to their website: http://www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com/

I like what Gretchen suggested. I sit by the kids while they take the timed test to make sure they aren't spacing off or dawdling. I poke them if they are. I time the test, and keep a record of their time. The next I time them, I try to encourage them to beat their last time. I don't move on to another set of problems until I see that they are working them fairly quickly and not having to think to much about the problem. I used to say "Okay, you have 2 minutes to complete these 40 problems" (or whatever it was). What I found was that this discouraged them and put too much pressure on them. They would freeze up if they didn't know an answer, then feel like "why try--I've failed already". Also, my ds knows the answers quickly, but can't write very fast, so to set a certain time was too difficult--I could never discern what a "good amount of time" would be for him.

Biblioplan does.

I was looking into this a little for my dd age 10. She has been learning piano for the last 3 years, but she really does not like it, and wants to try a different instrument. We can't afford to buy another instrument, but recorders are inexpensive. What kind of recorder would I want to buy? What book is good to use for teaching the recorder? How much musical ability would she gain from learning the recorder--would it be worth our while? Any input would be appreciated here seeing as how I really know nothing about the recorder.

He's 7 and doing 2nd grade work this year. Here's what's worked well for him: OPGTR for phonics along with pathway readers He now reads on his own with the Putty and Tabby and Poppleton books SWR for spelling FLL for grammar/writing (I have to cut out pictures for him to glue on when he's asked to illustrate anything. He actually likes the poetry memorization) MUS: He LOVES it! Any Science books or experiments go over well with him. History: He likes it as long as I'm just reading stories to him--no projects unless they involve dressing up like a character and saying a few words about that person. I read a lot to him. This year, I bought him the "Big Yellow Drawing Book", and he works in it just a little bit about twice a week. It has helped him to get over his drawing phobia somewhat. He still hates to color, but now he will draw something simple if I ask him to.

This is pretty much the same conclusion I have come to. I also don't allow illegible handwriting, but beautiful or even nice won't happen with at least one of my dc.

I use a software that I downloaded for free. It makes drill sheets that you can customize to suit your needs. It was recommended to me by someone on these boards last year. I love it! You can set it according to how many problems you want your child to drill as well. I make mine do 40 problems daily as quickly as they can. They start out slow, but with each day of practice they get better. Some days, I will time them to see how fast they can finish the sheet. We make it like a game--you know--beat the clock, or beat your last time. Here is the link: http://www.schoolhousetech.com/Math/Default.aspx

None of my dc were able to concentrate for an hour in math at age 6. My 7 year old usually finishes his math assignments in 20 minutes. If the work is harder, and he can't finish in that time, he slows way down, and can hardly get one problem finished. My dd's were the same way at that age. I just have to say, "Okay, that's enough for today." Lessons are kept very short--10 to 15 minutes. Assignments are also kept short. If I were you, I would just shorten everything. 30 minutes for history, science, art, etc seems like plenty of time for a 6 year old. My dc couldn't silently read for very long at that age either. My son currently reads for about 10 minutes on his own. He reads well, but just doesn't have the attention span yet for longer periods of time. I don't worry about that anymore because I know that as he gets older, his ability to work longer will increase too. Hope this helps.

For about three years, I just chose books in the time period we were studying and listed them in order that I wanted to do them. Basically, that was our history. It was easy. I just looked at my list, went to the library, checked out a few books, read them to the children, and moved on to the next book. When my dc were young, this approach helped them to develop a love for history. I'm using Biblioplan this year because my dc were ready to do a little more. We learned a lot in those years, and the kids still talk about the books we read and the times we learned about. It was fun! The website that I used to help me was www.abookintime.com Good books are divided up in time periods and listed in chronological order. The list gives summaries and appropriate grade levels to help you choose.

We use Math U See, and I use the software from Schoolhouse Technologies to create daily drill sheets. I got the idea from someone on the boards last year. Math U See is great for learning concepts, but what I found after testing with the IOWA is that my dc needed practice on speed with basic facts. The software was free when I downloaded it, and I think it still is. Here's the link: http://www.schoolhousetech.com/Math/Default.aspx

We bought this at our state's convention two years ago. It looked neat at the convention, but we did NOT like it at all. The whole program bored us to death. The DVD was not very well done imo.

My dc have 30 minutes of silent reading that they do at the same time each morning. This time is when they do their assigned reading. As to how long it takes to finish it book--I can't answer that one. My dc just read until its finished, then we go to the next book. I don't pay attention to how long it takes.

I used it with first dd. She was not reading well when we finished lesson 100. The program does not include all phonograms, so imo it's not a complete program. My dd struggled with reading because it didn't teach everything. That being said, I like the program for young readers. I start my dc out on 100 easy. They learn well how to sound out words from it. About lesson 60 or so, we have to move on to something more rigorous. We use OPGTR after that.

http://www.abookintime.com I love this site. It's a book list that gives all kinds of books for the time period you are looking for. It gives a brief summary for each book, and it gives a suggested grade level. Best of all--it's free! I've used the site for the last three years to plan readers for my dc based on the time period we are studying.