How old is your child? What grade? In school or homeschooled? If he's in school, I'd start by meeting with the teacher. If he's homeschooled if you ask specific questions I'm sure there are lots of parents of gifted children who could help. My 2 oldest have really high Cogat verbal scores and,homeschooling, it hasn't really made much of a difference for us.

I'm gonna have me one of those days! This is the installment I for real need you to do: How to Celebrate Solve Your Own Problem Day When You Live With a Dramatic Tween/ Teen. I have 3 of these. Two loud ones and one quiet/anxsty one

Sadie recommended the Smiling Minds app on another thread. I got it and tried it and it is wonderful. It's also free and the narrator has an Australian accent. I have tried mindfulness myself, but having a guide really helps me. I just might be getting addicted.

I am. Two of the kids run from the room when they know I'm about to sneeze. LOL Dh asked me to warn him when we were first married--all I can managed is a strangled "snee" before I let loose. I can't control it--well, if I put my finger under my nose, I can delay it. I can choke it in, but that makes a weird noise, too, although better for church. Generally, I hurry from the room. Fortunately, I am not a frequent sneezer.

My mother in the 80s had to produce her diploma to take some classes at our local university . She had a college degree, but they wanted to see the actual high school diploma. So, he may not need it now, but it is worth making one in case it ever comes up.

1 1/2-2 hours of independent.

SWI CC-B follows CC-A The topical ones are good, too.

Yep Mine was seven weeks. Easiest plane trip with kids ever! Sling, nurse on take off and landing, no problems.

I know Norwich. One of my good friends from college dated a guy at Norwich (later married him) and I went there once for a formal dance. I liked everyone there and had a great time (much more fun than at the West Point dance I went to. . ..) I know that was a long.....................time ago, but I have such great memories of that school, I had to comment. LOL

Yes, with number 3. I also had way worse morning sickness until week 7. I often wonder if it was an absorbed twin (fraternal twins are rampant on both sides of my family and my cousin had one about the same time).

We got a set in the mail, but it was our first paper version. Maybe some people didn't get the paper and so they sent them all out again.

$25

Here's the link to the sample: http://www.soundfoundations.co.uk/en_US/product/apples-pears-teachers-notes-a-2/ You really need the teacher notes to do the program. Hope it goes well for you. It's been a blessing to us (and don''t try to do too much a day and burn yourself out --one page or 1/2 a lesson is fine)

I hear you, Sadie. But it might not have worked out the other way either. That's what I'm beginning to understand. "The way it all turns out" seems less related to each of those choices we made. We can work so hard at connection and building our kids confidence and still see them suffer. So, should we have done all the things we turned our back on? I don't think so b/c life isn't just about the choices we make in order for good to happen in the some day. It's about the right now, as well. And all you or I or any other of us poured into our children who are not now happy actually may be grounding and helping them in ways now and in the future that we don't even know or that we can't even guess. Even job choices. I think of the folks in my country who, when leaving school, entered factory work locally b/c it was a good stable job, with benefits and long term financial security, only to see the "rules" change on them when they were in mid-life. Did they make the wrong choice b/c they didn't know what was going to come? No, they made the best choice on the best info they had. If you can, try to focus on the good--you are re-training. You love your kids. You are doing your best. You are a good mother. I think you are in a stable relationship, right? And, it seems, being a good mother may not be about making all the right choices that end up in a "happily ever after". Huh. This may not be a paradigm shift for most of you, but it appears it is one for me.

I hope you do, too. (And all of us really). I'm beginning to think that it's possible the sacrifice was meaningful the most for how I am changing and growing. I never thought I was judgemental, but I know that right now I have way more compassion than I did a few years ago. Last night we had a young man and his wife over. Both were homeschooled. He went to school in highschool b/c he was driving his parents crazy. It sounds like he was a handful. He is now a delightful 30 year old, stable, happily married and, at his own admission, in a much different place than he was at 14. Neither expressed regrets for homeschooling. (Even the wife, who lived rural, rarely did anything outside of the home--you know isolated--so many of our biggest fear!. She is now an optometrist in a major city, has gone to Europe several times and is a delight) We have so much less control than we think. That is so hard for me. But I am determined not to decide based on our right now. (Which actually, when I shift perspective is not so bad). . But I do have some contemplating to do on the path for me next ds and my younger by four years seven year old

{{Sadie}} I think it's hard when you are in the midst of adolescent parenting to have any perspective, imo. Well, anyway, for me. Things swing so wildly. There are days I think we are making a mistake and days when I see clearly that we could easily be in the same place or a worse place if they went to school. These young ones we raised so carefully have to make their own way and, mine at least, want to make their own mistakes. I've been encouraged lately by someone to focus on what's going well, even in the midst of what is hard. So, when my oldest is upset about how his social life imploded this year I tell myself that he is processing it. He is wondering how he used to make friends so easily and how he can do that again. Even though he's not putting himself out as much as I want, he is still involved. And most of all, the imploding happened bc he set strong boundaries with a friend who turned toxic and that is very, very good. Anyway, OP, that's a hard question. Life has actually turned out well for me, if I'm honest. There are things I didn't expect and things I didn't expect to be hard have been way harder than I would have expected. I, too, found SAHMing harder than I would have imagined. We don't have my exact vision of homeschooling, but it is good. The only thing I would have done over is kept working one day a week when the kids were small. That would have been very healthy for me. However, the reasons that didn't happen (including being in a different country from my teaching cert) are not ones I necessarily would have wanted to change, so who knows. I did the best that I could.

How can they possibly count that? That's wrong. Can you protest? Sorry things aren't going well.

It's never gone well for me. However, if you are okay with gaining weight (and it sounds like you do want to move in the direction of focusing on healthy habits/goals over weight on the scale) than I think you should try and see how it works for you. I don't seem to have a great internal sense. Somehow the jean thing doesn't work as well for me as for Regentrude. We are all different.

We did an economics class, art, PE, speech. Speech and econ had outside homework. Art I combined with music and drama and made a Intro to Fine Arts course.

Best advice that I've never seen anywhere! It would be awesome if this had been automatic for me instead of something I have periodically had to remind myself to do--to show my love through a smile. (And it's not about "making nice" or hiding feelings. So many times I've been happy/fine, just tired, but my face has shown something else. My sensitive first dd would have benefited SO much if I had been able to do this more consistently over the years.)

Exactly what I would recommend. Make one of the science classes the priority class along with the other classes (I wouldn't could the English classes as separate--but I'd have in my head or on paper the amount I was shooting for and if it ended up being overwhelming I'd drop some units). The other science classes can be worked on if there is time--and I would do them one at a time not all at once. So, if he finishes one science, he can go on--so he can put extra time into the science if he wants so he can get to the others. High school subjects take longer. Also, if your ds has not had his puberty slump. . . .. . (that's what happened to us!Derailed by hormones).

Well, we use the 1.0 version--but I don't think it was revised. Ds is handling Saxon Calculus just fine. He did do a month of Alek pre-cal in June, though. He didn't learn anything new, just solidified his confidence. I think that was more about him and less about the program, though. I just didn't answer you before b/c of that. Pre-calc and Alg 2 have a lot of overlap. The trig in the Pre-calc was fine.

I'm not saying life sucks b/c we don't have a lot of money. The OP asked what she could do and the number one controllable area that I've noticed makes a big difference is good budgeting skills/no loans. It doesn't mean you shouldn't have kids or homeschool without those. Not at all. I am just trying to say that *if* you can do one thing, it would be that.

I don't think anything has changed. Many of us have seen *what could happen* happen. My bestfriend married at 19 and had a baby right away. She was never going to divorce. A few years later she separated from her dh and could only find a job doing daycare, which did not support her and her kids. Death happens, disability happens, special needs kids happen, recession happens. You asked what you should do and those of us who are older see that being financial secure has been a boon. I married in my early 30s. It was great for our marriage that I had no school loans or any loans and $13, 000 saved and a retirement fund started. We have weathered the Great Recession (where we lost $30,000 overnight when the Canadian dollar fell right before we transferred our money back to American), my dh being between jobs, etc, and it helped that we had no debt, were both frugal, and great at making and sticking to budgets. I have seen lots of families who didn't have these advantages have to change what they had hoped would happen or exhaust the mother who works and homeschools. Even so, I have cried over our lack of being able to afford extracurriculars in our HCOL area. There is no way on earth I could work and homeschool my kids grades 2-11 right now. No way. No how. If I had to work, at least 2 of them would have to go to school. Teaching such a range of grades takes all my mental bandwidth and a great deal of my time.

Well, I felt that the days were uneven in how much work was required so it would be hard to pace. I often split a day over a few days, but sometimes it was hard to tell ahead of time. I also don't think it would appeal as broadly to the students, or lead to as interesting essays to share. I don't think it would be a disaster, I just wouldn't find it as easy to use as IEW or Jump In.