I believe those skills are used repeatedly in LoF Fractions, and again in Decimals and Percents, and again in the PreAlgebra books. Have no fear. If your student still needs extra practice or simply a point of view different from Fred from time to time, try Khan Academy-- it's free, and provides both video instruction if needed and a source of never-ending practice problems online. The kids love it-- they can earn badges, watch a video explanation of the concept if they need it, get a hint to see how the problem is solved, and see how different concepts are related to each other in a "map" of sorts. khanacademy.org. But really-- Fred will continually reinforce those skills.

My niece got married today. Beautiful ceremony, beautiful bride, handsome groom, wonderful reception. My husband's brother/bride's Dad died when she was just a baby, so her brother walked her down the aisle-- that was both endearing and difficult for those of us who still miss my husband's brother and hold him close in our hearts. But we also treasure how close the sibling bond has been between those two (older brother was himself only three when their Dad died). But the true waterworks hit me tonight when instead of a "father/daughter dance" the DJ announced a "Brother/sister dance" and the two of them danced to "Lean on Me." I never, ever cry at weddings but I sure did tonight.

I know this is not exactly rocket science, and kids have been making this slide since before my grandmother was even an idea, but the biologist in me was very proud of DS11's first slide (we've been HS for about two years, and this is our first go-round with biology) It is ye olde onione skine stained with eosin. Nothing fancy in the image-- just my digital point and shoot jammed up against the eyepiece and handheld, trying not to get too bad of a glare from the slide.

At ten, my son knew that rape was having sex with somebody without their permission, and that really messed up adults might try to form a sexual relationship with children, who do not have the maturity yet to consent to this, and to understand all the issues about imbalances of power between a grown-up and a kid and so on, and therefore cannot really know enough to really give permission. This is why this difference between a healthy adult and an unhealthy adult is that a healthy adult can mentor a kid and listen, but will not ever try to be a kid's "best friend," "tell them secrets," or tell them things that should only be shared with another adult and put adult responsibilities on the kid. Those are some danger signs that need to be disclosed to Mom and Dad right away, as healthy adults know that kids need to have kids as best friends and that adults don't make kids keep secrets from their families. Healthy adults don't turn to kids for help without checking with their grown-up first (we will discuss nuances of this later, such as noticing and assisting an elderly person or someone in a wheelchair or on crutches with a door or a dropped item after asking them if they would like help etc; anyone can be COURTEOUS regardless of age). Knowing these facts has helped my son to differentiate between a "stranger" smiling and saying hi as we walk into a store, vs a stranger asking him for help looking for a dog-- the guidelines say-- an adult should not ask a kid for help, but should go through the grown-ups first. Smiling and saying hi is just fine. When overhearing the news or seeing a newspaper headline, he understands what he has heard or seen, but generally he doesn't seek the details. It doesn't seem to have disturbed him as a human being, despite being a very sensitive kid. As a family, we have never really been in the "not able to talk about stuff" mindset.

I kept ours confined to one bedroom for 48 hours to let the incision set, but she was a very crazy one, and I gave her shredded paper for litter so nothing would work into the incision. The vet sent her home with a "cone of shame" and that was removed immediately; I have never seen a cat wear one before, and after watching her for a minute, decided she would do more damage in the attempt to remove it than by not wearing it. Just check the incision now and then to make sure no stitches popped and nothing is red, hot, lumpy, or oozing; minimized handling, and relax, everything will probably be fine.

Ooooooh that is not what I was getting. By built in cutting board, I was thinking of the butcher block countertops that my MIL and grandMIL have :). Now THOSE are wonderful! I would think a pull-out one would be kind of awkward-- you'd have to leave it pulled out all the way to let it dry properly after cleaning for correct sanitation.

My MIL has always had built in butcher block cutting boards; as did her MIL (my husband's grandmother, whom I also knew for many years). Neither was a sanitation problem at all, and they looked beautiful as well. There will definitely be one in my kitchen as soon as we can swing a remodel there, no question.

Look at Khan Academy-- free online resource; kids love it. Look at Life of Fred Elementary. It has some things he will already know, but also things you have not encountered yet. Look at some readable math books that have a story to them that introduce interesting concepts-- Penrose the Mathematical Cat, the Sir Cumference series, etc. Check your local library. Look over online samples of other curricula that are not quite so drill and repetition intensive as Saxon, and do more to explain the relationships and beauty of math instead of just the algorithms of how to get it done as Saxon does. If Saxon really works for you, fine, stick to it, but if your son really loves math, it could mean one of two things: a) Saxon really works for you, and sticking with it is a good choice or b) he's really good at math, and needs something more, and it may be worthwhile at this early stage, to look at something that may engage him more. Math Mammoth, Singapore, and other curricula are worth considering. Don't let anybody tell you what you "have" to do. I may have my own opinions, but he's not my kid, he's yours, and you will know best. There is no one magic bullet that is right for everyone.

For Science, don't overlook NOEO Science; I don't know if they still have any preview pages or table of contents previews online, but their level 1 stuff is pretty fun, particularly the variety of books used with the program. The company is not secular but the material presented is (the program uses all third party books, and what they sell you is a schedule of how to implement it). BFSU has a strong and loyal following here; in the end I didn't agree with Nebel on his approach in enough places that I ended up reading it but deciding not to use it (I forget whether it was in the first or second book that he declared younger kids were incapable of understanding the periodic table and would only be confused and get wrong ideas if you showed it to them in chemistry; I thought :confused::confused::confused: ah, no on that opinion as one example). Although we didn't start until my kids were older (youngest was finishing second grade) the only first grade materials I have used were SWB's WWE level 1, which I felt was fantastic, and converted me from a skeptic to a believer in that system of developing several links in the writing chain. Beyond that, because of the ages at which we began homeschooling, I can't offer you anything beyond best wishes and good luck!

Butcher block countertop is on my wishlist, too. They sanitize very easily, can be sanded and refinished, and are beautiful.

Awwww! So glad he was able to get the less cumbersome casting! Here's hoping for a rapid recovery!

Susan, Thank you for considering including a chapter on this topic! I would toss out some of these thoughts: Kids with executive function disorders may still struggle even with a planner, though it is a good start. One goal of schooling is to prepare them for life, so think long-term; it may seem easier to just hand them small chunks of information at a time, and when they are young, this is a very good idea. Over time, however, even beginning toward the end of grammar stage, it is time to begin involving the child in planning. Give them a longer piece of the list at a time, and sit with them and help them number items in the order they are to be done. After a suitable time, give the student practice in choosing the order for himself. The goal is that by graduation time, the student is capable of organizing and prioritizing for himself. When there are specific challenges, sometimes breaking them out of the academics and treating them separately for a time helps, until the roadblock is sufficiently mastered to reintegrate it back into the schoolwork. Example: For a child with dysgraphia or another handwriting-related difficulty, treat handwriting (and/or typing) as a standalone subject, and for academic pursuits, provide solutions such as scribing for the child, allow them to type (or provide typing lessons), having them record themselves narrating, providing alternate writing surfaces, or whatever else works. Don't tie the child's academic advancement to their ability to write. Consider the value of activities such as copywork and dictation in the development of integrating the skills of writing and coping with later academic work. As with the ability to learn how to prioritize, the long-term goal is once again independence for the student, but until the ability to function, in one way or another (improved handwriting ability, recording and transcribing, or typing in some workable combination) arrangements should be made to not permit the child's writing struggles, no matter what the basis, to hold him back academically. Please remember: we all get frustrated. There are days when we all get tired, grumpy, and frazzled. Your child is, in all likelihood, working his hardest and doing his best. The vast majority of children wish to please, and his inability to follow directions, remember what you discussed yesterday, learn to make his 3's forward, or whatever is making you nuts, is NOT deliberate. Give him the benefit of the doubt and remember, he is probably trying very, very hard. Believe in him. Support forums such as The Well Trained Mind Forum are fantastic resources and a source of terrific ideas. They are also a source of anxiety and suggestions that must be taken with a grain of salt. There is NO magic bullet curriculum that you should force you kid to try to like, no matter how many parents seem to be chattering about it. You are not failing your kid if you don't use Singapore Math or AoPS if CLE or Rod and Staff is working for him and makes sense. If Teaching Textbooks is making math happen, ignore posts that insist that it is "behind." Behind what? Your child is exactly where he is, no matter what curriculum he is using. If he was ready to accelerate and do higher math, he would just move more quickly through any curriculum you were using, would he not? Use what works for your child. Don't worry about the poster who says her kid is taking AP Calculus in second grade. The kid might be a genius, or might be on a fast course toward crash and burn because the Mom has no clue what she is doing. Not your problem in either case; you are parenting YOUR child, and nobody is standing at a finish line handing out medals for "first to finish all math in the universe." (Here is a clue: the kid could prove Fermat's Last Theorem, and still have more math to do. People who got their PhD's 40 years ago still haven't done that). Your kid does not need to measure up to that of a stranger on a message board. Take inspiration where you can find it, and ignore the rest. You have a huge community of other parents here on TWTM who know that a great day means noticing that at age 9, your kid finally learned how to use the swings properly, or is showing signs of potty training, too. Homeschooling can address one terrific weakness of school: In bricks and mortar school, a child can get a 75% on a math test, then move on to new material that requires him to use math of which he has failed to master 25%. In homeschooling, we have the luxury of avoiding that problem because we are not managing a class of 30. Go back, review, and master foundational material before moving on. This is three times as important with an exceptional child. Classical education can be fantastically successful for the exceptional child. Learning Latin can help the child with language difficulties master "exception" spelling words that don't seem to follow the rules-- they do follow rules, it just happens to be the rules of Latin, not English. Those Latin vocabulary words and stems also help build vocabulary very effectively. Children with memory issues can benefit from the logical progression of information from grammar to logic to rhetoric stage, in which much information is encountered multiple times but in different contexts, and skills are built sequentially. Critical thinking skills are acquired through the study of logic. Music has been shown to aid in mathematical reasoning, and much music and art history is tied to human history. The organized structure of classical education is often more sensible than the hodgepodge approach for exceptional children, who may have difficulty organizing information in memory. I am sure I will have more, but the dinner bell beckons . . .

Our intention is to homeschool through high school; however if one of the boys insists he wants to try public school again one day, I don't think we would forbid it, providing they could get into one of the decent charter schools. The local public school is out of the question-- the front of the school is locked behind bullet proof glass and is manned by a fully armed (loaded gun, taser, baton, you name it) police officer. Actual local police, not just a hired security guy. He is needed on a regular basis from what I hear. No thanks.

We used the Science WIz DNA kit; it was excellent. I used to perform DNA extractions from human blood and spit as part of my previous job in genetics, so I am in a position to judge :) The kit contained materials (except the alcohol, standard isopropyl 70% from any drug store will work fine) for a fruit and cheek swab DNA extraction (spit DNA used to create your own identifiable DNA ink) a Karyotyping exercise with cardboard chromosomes, a model double helix to build, separate, then replicate, possibly more, but that is what I recall, and the DNA extraction worked beautifully. For the price I highly recommend it.

I have nt used that kit, but it looks excellent. Nutrient Agar is pretty easy to deal with if you follow directions.

There are many alternatives to the AG. Just read and discuss. Do narrations or summaries. Use MapTrek or some other source for maps. Use your local library or Amazon or GoodReads as a book resource. Use History Odyssey instead, which uses SOTW as one book among many. It's your school; run it your way.

Draw it on 1/4" graph paper, 4 squares per unit, then measure the diagonal side with a ruler. Use two rulers butted onto each other to form the square. Buy a set square. Any of those will work, and a set square is very useful for parallel lines later.

Good luck. It sounds as if you have someone who is really paying attention!

Bummer. I can't imagine doing physics with no math; physics basically is math. The rest of the program looks kind of fun though . . . *sigh* I can already see myself cobbling together a monster . . . part NOEO, part Life of Fred Physics, part Knight's College Physics . . . I have time to plan; we're only a few weeks into bio still . . .

Is Physics 3 quantitative at all? I have a book lined up for DS11 next year in case it is not, but I can't really see a lot of quantitative work lined up in the books on the website for NOEO Physics 3. He will be probably most of the way through Algebra 2, and self taught on some trig by then (no calc). He is already pretty comfortable with the basic trig functions.

It depends on when you start it. The Magic Lens levels are very challenging; if you did not start them in early middle school, you can start them in mid to late middle school without insulting the student at all. The vocabulary program includes explicit instruction on how to do analogies (are those still a big part of the SAT?).

Have you looked at NOEO science?

For what age? Michael Clay Thompson (Royal Fireworks Press) starts at about grade 3, and includes grammar, grammar practice, writing, poetics, literature, and vocabulary that will provide a long-term assist with spelling because it begins with Latin-based vocabulary and stems (which over years expands to include Greek, Old English, and more). The cool thing about its design is that the program is integrated... Although you can pick and choose components freely, they definitely reinforce one another; poetics reinforces grammar and vocabulary and so on. None of the components requires all year by itself, so you can stagger them a bit so you are not spending all morning on language arts, but because they reinforce each other (and because of the way the practice book works) there will be review all year long.

Combo of organized and non-organized activities works here: Organized: Homeschool PE class, mixed group 7--15 yrs. fantastic instructor teaches technical details and just has fun, very inclusive of all ability levels. Karate and Fencing for DS11 Swimming and Gymnastics for DS9 Disorganized: Good weather-- Bike rides together daily Run laps around the yard, inc. number weekly for endurance Play football, baseball, soccer, tag, swings, rock wall, lacrosse, frisbee, monkey in the middle, dodgeball, sword fighting, etc. Stomp rockets Hiking General unstructured play Heavy bag work (do NOT attempt this unless you really understand it. Heavy bags and kids can be a very dangerous combination and damage their growth plates and ligaments and tendons. My kids do this only occasionally and under close supervision). BB Gun Bad Weather-- Ping Pong Playground ball catch in basement Wii Fit, Wii sports Resort, other active Wii and PS3 games. Feats of strength <grin> (ie how long can you hold a plank, do push-ups, crunches, etc) Hyper dash Hopscotch Toss Across How fast can you scrub the kitchen floor? Gentle weight lifting/stretching/resistance band work Bosu Ball work Work with Physio Ball Movement is pretty much a daily requirement in our house, rain or shine. My kids are not really athletes, but they are active.

I also ditched YMCA lessons after a few times through. It felt as if the kids at our Y spent 25 minutes sitting on the edge and 5 minutes in the water. We found lessons at our gym were far better-/ the kids were in the water for the entire 30 minutes and learned a lot more, and it was more fun.