It was The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. It's quite a thick book. I started reading it aloud, and when I had had enough, he asked me if he could read it himself. He has read many "thick" books since then! He was the same age as your son, a reluctant reader, and I was desperate to get him to love reading. He now reads several grades above grade level (he is 12), even adult fantasy books like David Eddings, although he is dyslexic and finds writing difficult. He loves reading. Just before Sea of Trolls were the Tashi books which also helped a lot. ETA: He likes to "own" books too.

I am not sure, in your situation. For my ds12, having him tested this year helped us considerably because of his self esteem around how difficult schoolwork is for him. He came out of the testing saying "mum, that means I am not actually stupid, i am just dyslexic". My heart broke. The woman who tested him also made him realise all the famous dyslexic people out there (there is a list of 100 famous dyslexics on her website). In the end, the woman who tested him said just to keep doing whatever I was doing because he was the most wel adapted moderate to severe dyslexic she had seen, and no program she could devise would improve on the one on one attention he was getting from me. So, all in all, I am glad he was tested. He would however have to go for more formal, extensive and expensive testing in order to, for example, get exemptions on handwriting in public exams (be allowed to use a computer). The problem is, by then he will have improved significantly, as he already is, and the testing may not result in him being considered so severely disadvantaged- even though he is. Well, I will cross that bridge when we come to it. I dont know your testing situation, jsut thought I would share the only real advantage for us in having him tested, so far, is that it helped his self esteem. Oh- and mine- since I wasnt sure what i was doing wrong.

I have looked into it seriously at times when I was frustrated with how much help my kids need, since it encourages that the kids do their work basically independently. If they don't understand their math, they sit there till they do. The Robinson kids work 6 days a week, no TV, on a farm with many chores, no sugar. Its a specific lifestyle that is recommended along with the program. Each time i have looked into it I have come away feeling actually one of the reasons I homeschool is to study and learn with my children, to help them, to teach them at times. They eat sugar. They watch movies. We are not isolated or live on a farm. I am not sure if the results the Robinsons get a dependent on their whole circumstance or not, but i suspect they are to some extent. It does appeal to me though. Woulndt it be great to just buy the CDs and not have to think about anything again, just follow the schedule and do what they recommend and get the same results. In real life, I think most people tweak it considerably and adapt it to their situations. In the end, its not for me.

I have a comment....if you want your dd to develop a love for learning and a joy for life, unless R&S happens to be a good fit for her personality,which it must be for some, I would say its unlikely to be a good choice for so many subjects, because it is so intensive and dry. I have only seen the maths and the English though. We use the English some years, my kids do not like it but it is thorough- we do it mostly orally and I hope you didn't start her too high. R&S is advanced. But it is dry. I would make the most of homeschooling, research some Charlotte Mason ideas about short lessons, read on the couch together, do some outings, cook together, play some games, don't work all day, get outside each day, have some fun. Your dd sounds like she needs some healing- she's 8, she has some time- make sure you take time to de-school, which is a term for getting the damage of school out of her system. I would trust your gut feeling if you feel some of the books expect too much in the way of memorisation of insignificant facts etc. It take a while, but we all eventually find our own way with using curriculum in the way we choose- don't be a slave to the books- use them to teach your dd.

I understand the difficulty- I have low adrenals, low blood pressure, low iron....I get tired rather easily. I cat nap in the afternoons, I go to bed early and rise early. For exercise, I walk, or do tai chi/ yoga type exercises. For diet, I try to eat plenty of protein with each meal, even though we are mostly vegetarian, and I eat whatever I like, whenever I like, but basically healthy- some fruit, plenty of veg, carbs (rice, potatoes). I eat plenty of fat because I find it makes me feel satiated- so I put butter on my potatoes, cream in my soup. The one thing I have dropped is food with sugar added, which means lots of processed foods are out, sugar in my tea and coffee is out, sweet treats are out. if I need a snack, I eat something savoury, or a piece of fruit. But really, if you are fighting low thyroid...there may not be much you can do other than take as best care of yourself as you can. Once your thyroid hormone levels go up you may find its not so much of an issue. I dont think pushing yourself is the answer. Wait a few weeks and go easy.

No commercial TV at all. During school term, maybe two movies a week. Sometimes we watch a series on weeknights if we are hooked into one (eg Smallville) but on DVD, not on TV. Computer time- officially 5 hours a week- a hr Fri, 2 hrs each Sat and Sun. But its usually more than that, because both kids socialise on the computer a fair bit and it tends to sneak in during the week after they have finished their schoolwork. Particularly dd14- she probably spends an hour a day socialising on the computer, and another few hours on the weekend playing games. Ds has friends in the street, dd doesnt. During holidays- about 2 hours a day of computer time plus a movie. They tend to do lots of cmaps and things though where there are no electronics. Dh has cable tv in his bedroom. The rest of us simply don't watch it.

Its interesting....a friend of mine has been traveling recently to Alaska, stopping off in NZ on the way home. She said that in America, the security system is hostile to foreigners- she and her family (dh and two kids) were made to feel virtually like criminals until proven innocent. She said it was very unpleasant going through security in America. When they went into NZ, the personnel were very friendly and efficient- and discovered several prohibited things in their baggage which had also been in their baggage going into America, such as a small pair of scissors. So the NZ security was friendly and actually worked, but the American security was unfriendly, over the top- and she felt, inefficient and more concerned with appearing to be doing something, than actually doing something. Interesting times. I read a statistic the other day- more people have died of peanut allergies than have died from terrorist attacks (in some given amount of time, I can't remember). (not to be insensitive to those affected by terrorism, but making everyone terribly frightened and upping security to incredible levels has more to do with taking an opportunity to increase control over people than genuine care for the population. IMO).

We go to swap meet (large public garage sale at the local shopping centre carpark) every Sunday at 6 or 7am, since before the kids were born- to buy, not sell. If its raining, we do garage sales. We all love it, we get amazing things, clothes, "stuff" there. Its like Christmas every Sunday. We think its the hunter gatherer instinct we are allowing to come out in ourselves :) The kids know the 2nd hand market very well, what things are worth, when they are getting ripped off....so there is always a way they can make money if they choose, and recently dd14 did run her first stall there are made some decent money.

I cant help- I literally just learned to crochet today! I am making a small carry bag and I knitted half of it today already, and I am about to go watch a movie with the kids and crochet some more. I am addicted. It's so easy! (says me who just learned today and has crocheted a whole 6 inches or so :) )

I think there is quite an art to compost- it needs just teh right ingredients. I am not really up to it, myself...our scraps go to the chickens though so they are not wasted.

Oat porridge with protein powder and milk, cream/butter, minimum sweetener (none for me except stevia and/or fruit like banana). Yoghurt. I am not eating sugar so I have actually learned to like fruit with plain yoghurt and LSA (ground linseed, sunflwer seeds and almonds). Mostly, I have eggs on toast.

I have one child who has always had a temper and an irrational emotional response to many things (the other is uncannily reasonable and level headed, even as a teen). His father is very strong and disciplinarian but still gets stumped how to deal with ds's emotionalism. We get strict when its out of hand. We try to reason, but that usually doesn't work. It often comes down to "because I said so" and " I am the adult, you are the not-yet-adult, you do as I say or you dont get XYZ" kind of stuff- which I wouldnt idelaly agree with but we kind of run out of options. This kid wants everything to be fair- for him. he has written gratitude diaries. It helps. Mostly, we tell him we love him every day, hug him heaps, and try to maintain our sense of humour.

The fridge sits in an alcove in the kitchen, and the broom and mop fit between the fridge and the wall in the alcove.

I was tested as a child and ever since then my grandmother, an educational psychologist, had terribly high expectations of me, and I disappointed her terribly. For years as an adult she would tell me I was wasting my good brain. I was so emotionally immature as a child, (I was young for my year and it really made a difference for me) and also very sensitive, I think I took a long time to "grow up" so to speak and be a more balanced person. If I had followed the academic path my grandmother wanted, I wouldnt have developed other parts of me that I did instead and which I believe fulfill me more than what she thought I should do. So, even though I supposedly come from a line of high IQs and have a high IQ (not super high), and I actually do appreciate being basically intelligent, I think there is a whole lot more to life, and intelligence, and happiness, and love, and peace, and having a good life, than having a high IQ or not.

I went back to pen and paper too. And a simple table made up on Word that I fill in before each term. Easy peasy. HTplus made my head spin.

The only thing I can think of to add to the wonderful previous lists is saffron, black and yellow mustard seeds, fenugreek and asafoetida, but I do a lot of Indian cooking that involves a lot of spices. I buy spices in large packets rather than the little bottles or pkts. Recently I had a windfall of finding about 50 empty spice bottles- many the normal small size but many larger sizes too, 2nd hand, for just a few $. I have quite a bit of cupboard space devoted to spices.

I am not sure how you are intending on doing it, and I havn't seen 2, but 3 and up involve a lot of writing if done as they are written. Many of us have done a lot of R&S orally in order to save those aching little hands. So if that makes a difference.... I agree with those who say wait. I think R&S is advanced rather than on grade level. My son was 9 or so when he went through book 3 and he learned more grammar than I ever did, just in that book alone! I woudl have fun and work on other things.

About 7 for one and 8 for the other.

I haven't read many of the responses. Wealthy is when you feel you have abundance, plenty, enough, or more than enough. We earn much less than that and feel wealthy but we don't earn enough to buy a house in the city we live. We live well though, but we know the secret- not to live for money, to appreciate what you have, and not to spend your whole life earning money so you can enjoy life later. Enjoy it now. I know people who have much more income than us but choose to live differently, and feel poor because they compare themselves to others, and live for retirement. Wealth is such a subjective thing.

Yes...both kids learn theory as in scales (key sigs) and how to read music and ds in particular learns a bit about each composer etc I meant theory as in on paper...both have done a bit- ds lasted one lesson- dd did her first exam but dropped it after that. I don't have a problem with them learning mostly by ear. Ds does- but his recorder teacher makes sure he reads the music too...and he has become an excellent sight reader- but I think the first step is always by ear for him. I think with his dyslexia, "patterns" make sense to him, so both sight reading and and a good ear come naturally. I had dd do a year of Simply Music, where you only learn by ear for quite a while- when she was about 8 or 9. She begged me to change her to a teacher where she could learn how to read music straight away, and she has been happy with that. But if either had been content, or their teachers had been content, to just let them learn by ear, I would have been happy with that too. I am happier that both read music though, as well as having good ears- it is a gift in life, like knowing another language.

You know, if I was in this situation....I guess I would seriously, seriously consider it, but I still don't know that I would go for a full masectomy necessarily. I realise many cancers are not affected by diet, lifestyle, mental condition- but I think I would optimise everything I could. There is some reason women are getting breast cancer by the droves, and I dont think many researchers are getting paid to find out if it is diet, or stress, or whatever. No money in that. They are getting paid to find big expensive drugs to cure it. (Actually I am quite ignorant about it...but am cynical about pharmaceutical companies and paid research because as an educated natural therapist, I see so much abuse of power and conflict of interest in that world, when potentially they could do much more good than they do- but they are money oriented). Then I would pray, trust my intuition, listen for inner guidance, and follow that, too.... Basically, I would explore ALL my options, including doing nothing, and then trust my gut feeling about what to do. I dont give up my power to modern medicine very easily.

I knit socks. A lot of socks.

:lol: I have family members who do the same :001_smile:

I am not sure that growing anything will save me money. I knew it before I started, but i just built a relatively small vegetable garden in my rented back garden- it is not quite 2metres by 2 metres- with limestone blocks as a border to make it into a raised bed. The soil here is sand and I have spent thousands of $ over the years pouring manure and compost into it, which disappears within weeks. So I am making a layered no dig garden and I have just finished it- with the blocks, which cost me $100, and the hay, manure and compost, and blood and bone and mineral fertilizer and a soil wetter because the soil doenst absorb water- its all totalled well over $300. Oh well. I love to grow things so I am doing it for fun. I am putting in lettuce, tomatoes, kale, I cant remember what else. I already have herbs in pots on teh verandah. I am using old fashioned non hybrid seeds to grow my own seedlings, so that I can re-use the seeds from the plants. When you buy seedlings from the shop they are hybrid and you cant re-use the seeds, which is a good lark for them as you need to buy more seedlings next year.

I think it is good if the parents realise the child may need help to structure their time and learn the self discipline to do their homework, but I dont think it is the parent's responsibility to stand over the child to make sure it gets done. I would have handled similar to you, I think- there is a point you just back off. My parents didnt even know if I had homework- the whole thing was left up to me, and I became very responsible about it (overall- plenty of times I skipped it, too). I became self reliant and motivated to do well at school- or not. Mostly I did, but if I had been pushed and cajoled I could have done better- but I am glad I wasnt because I stood on my own feet, I wasnt molycoddled, and I am glad about that. Parents nowadays get so invested in their child's success, and often it is more about the parent than about the child. I think it is important that we separate ourselves from our kids and let them fail and encourage them to stand on their own feet, but be careful not to feel that their failure reflects on us, or that doing poorely sometimes means their whole life is down the drain. There is a fine balance there.