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Blessed with seven

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  1. Hi, Thank you for this! Okay...we did our lesson w/ Saxon and I am still going "yuck", I don't know if I can adapt, honestly. For example, today we had the word Flu, okay...I know U as /u/, /U/, /oo/ as in put. They teach it as 2 long sounds of U, U as in Unit, U as in Flu. Okay..how does SWR do the word Flu, because it is /oo/....this stuff drives me nuts. The way Saxon does it is they learn the sounds of the letter but then during the "spelling" portion they write all the ways for the /A/ sound, which to me is very confusting. I just read a really good article by Wanda Sanseri on NOT doing both ways like that and it really makes sense. But..honestly there are things like the word Flu that I think...how can you make that say /u/, /U/ or /oo/ as in put? Thanks for walking through all this with me...you guys have been very helpful!! Kim
  2. So..does the Alpha List have all the phonograms in it, I know it differs from program to program, like ..how many sounds of O or OUGH etc.. And it has the spelling rules? That might be all I need. You said you switched to SWR? What do you mean? Thanks for all the info!!! Kim
  3. Here is info from www.doctormurray.com, I use his recommendations often with much success! I would not worry about the mulit, greens, oil, although I use those, just not his brand, well..sometimes I do, depends on what I can afford. The 5HTP is supposted to be really good in combo w/ St Johns Wart! Depression What is Depression? Depression is characterized by feelings of low self-esteem, pessimism, and despair. Clinical depression is more than feeling depressed. The official definition of clinical depression is based on the following eight primary criteria: Poor appetite accompanied by weight loss, or increased appetite accompanied by weight gain Insomnia or excessive sleep habits (hypersomnia) Physical hyperactivity or inactivity Loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, or decrease in sexual drive Loss of energy; feelings of fatigue Feelings of worthlessness, self-reproach, or inappropriate guilt Diminished ability to think or concentrate Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide The presence of five of these eight symptoms definitely indicates clinical depression; an individual with four is probably depressed. The symptoms must be present for at least one month to be called clinical depression. What causes Depression? Depression can be the result of psychological as well as physiological factors. The most significant psychological theory is the "learned helplessness" model, which theorizes that depression is the result of habitual feelings of pessimism and hopelessness. The chief physiological theory is the "monoamine hypothesis," which stresses imbalances of monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Serotonin deficiency is the most common biochemical cause It is important to rule out the simple organic factors that are known to contribute to the depression such as nutrient deficiency, drugs (prescription, illicit, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, etc.), hypoglycemia, and hypothyroidism. What dietary factors are important in Depression? A deficiency of any single nutrient can alter brain function and lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders, especially deficiencies of vitamin B12, folic acid, other B vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. Alcohol utilizes many of these nutrients in its metabolism and drinking alcohol regularly replaces calories one would otherwise get from food. In this case, nutrients are just not adequately consumed, and those that are consumed are often needed to rid the body of the alcohol. In the case of hypothyroidism, inadequate iodine intake can be a cause. Since the brain requires a constant supply of blood sugar to function properly, hypoglycemia must be avoided. Symptoms of hypoglycemia can range from mild to severe and include depression, anxiety, irritability, and other psychological disturbances; fatigue; headache; blurred vision; excessive sweating; mental confusion; incoherent speech; bizarre behavior; and convulsions. Several studies have shown hypoglycemia to be very common in depressed individuals. Simply eliminating refined carbohydrates and caffeine (which can aggravate hypoglycemia) from the diet is sometimes all that is needed for effective therapy in patients whose depression results from reactive hypoglycemia. Food allergy is also a significant factor in some people suffering from depression. Eliminating offending foods can bring about tremendous relief (see Food Allergy for more information). What nutritional supplements should I take for Depression? Foundation Supplements. There are three products from Natural Factors that I think are critical in supporting good health: MultiStart (age and gender specific multiple vitamin and mineral formulas). Follow label instructions. Enriching Greens - a great tasting "greens drink" containing highly concentrated "greens" like chlorella, spirulina, wheat grass juice, barley grass juice, etc., and herbal extracts. Take one serving (one tablespoon) in 8 ounces of water daily. RxOmega-3 Factors - A true pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplement. Take two capsules daily. 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is extracted from the seed of an African plant (Griffonia simplicifolia) and is the direct precursor to serotonin. In addition to increasing serotonin levels, 5-HTP causes an increase in levels of endorphin and other neurotransmitters that are often decreased in cases of depression. Numerous double-blind studies have shown that 5-HTP has equal effectiveness compared to drugs like Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft (the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressant drugs like imipramine and desipramine in terms of effectiveness, and that it offers several advantages: it is less expensive, better tolerated, and associated with fewer and much milder side effects. The typical recommendation is 50 to 100 mg three times daily (best taken before meals, preferably use an "enteric-coated" product to prevent gastroinstestinal upset). 5-HTP should not be used in combination with antidepressant drugs unless under the supervision of a physician. It can be used in combination with St. John's wort extract. St. John's wort extract (Hypericum perforatum) is now a well-known natural antidepressant. Over 30 double-blind studies involving over 2,000 patients with mild to moderate depression have shown St. John's wort extract to be very effective. However, while St. John's wort extract appears to be as or possibly even more effective than conventional antidepressant drugs in mild to moderate depression, it does not appear to be as effective as conventional drugs in severe depression. The main advantage ofusing St. John's wort extract as opposed to antidepressant drugs was found to be not so much a difference in therapeutic outcome, but rather a significant advantage in termsof side effects, cost, and patient satisfaction. The dosage for St. John's wort extract (0.3% hypericin content) is 900 to 1800 mg daily. In severe cases, St. Johns wort extract can be used in combination with 5-HTP. People taking prescription drugs need to check with their doctor or pharmacist before taking St. John's wort extract as it appears to induce enzymes in the liver and gut that detoxify certain drugs. Drugs that are metabolized by these enzymes include cyclosporine; digoxin; indinavir; oral contraceptives; theophylline; tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline; and anticoagulants, such as warfarin (Coumadin®). Do not use St. John's wort if you are taking any of these drugs without consulting a physician first. St. John's wort extract may also potentiate prescription antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs. There is one case report of simultaneous use of St. John's wort and paroxetine (Paxil®) producing nausea, fatigue, lethargy, and weakness. Do not use St. John's wort if you are taking a prescription antidepressant or anti-anxiety drug without consulting a physician first. DHEA levels typically drop as people age. People over 40 patients with depression and low DHEA levels respond quite well to DHEA supplementation. The dosage recommendation for men 45+ is 15 to 25 mg daily; for women 45+ the dosage is 5 to 15 mg daily. Comment: If you are currently on a prescription anti-depressant drug, you will need to work with a physician to get off the drug. Stopping the drug on your own can be dangerous, you absolutely must have proper medical supervision. I have used St. John's wort and 5-HTP successfully without incident in patients taking Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, and various other antidepressant drugs. The real concern that physicians have when mixing antidepressant drugs with St. John's wort or 5-HTP is producing what is referred to as the "serotonin syndrome" - characterized by confusion, fever, shivering, sweating, diarrhea, and muscle spasms. Although this syndrome has never been produced when St. John's wort extract or 5-HTP have been given alone, it is theoretically possible that combining St. John's wort or 5-HTP with standard antidepressant drugs could produce this syndrome. If symptoms of serotonin syndrome appear, elimination of one of the therapies is indicated. How do I know if the program is working? Feelings of depression are mostly subjective. Anti-depressants, whether natural or synthetic, generally take 2-6 weeks to demonstrate an effect. One of the first improvements noted by many is in sleep quality. Feedback: Please let Dr. Murray know how this program has worked for you by clicking here This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Testimonial: Dear Dr. Murray, Despite the many different antidepressants I'd been prescribed over the past several years (gaining 70 pounds in the process ... ugh) the ONLY thing I could take that would give me any sense of feeling "normal" was Vicodin. Thankfully, I found your book on 5-HTP. I took my first 100mg dose one morning, and WITHIN TWO HOURS I felt better than I had in ages!!! It was/is the most amazing thing, Dr. Murray! It has been five weeks since I started taking 5-HTP, and not only do I have more HOPE than I've had in years, but I also have felt absolutely no inclination to take Vicodin since I started taking 5-HTP. I no longer need Ambien or Valium to sleep, nor do I need to sleep 14 hours at a time on weekends. Instead, I sleep 7 - 8 hours per night and wake up refreshed and ready to start the day. It truly is like a miracle to me. I cannot thank you enough for touching my life in the way that you have, and I hope this email finds its way to you so you will know how very grateful I am to you. Best regards, Nancy
  4. Wow...thanks for all the ideas, the problem I have w/ AAS is that I would probably have to start at level 1 and so on...don't want to do that and I have pretty much decided not to do AAS, just don't want to..for several reasons. Ummm...wow, I was expecting to get hammered on about trying to use only "part" of SWR..... Thought for sure I would have people "screamin" at me, but not really screamin, you know what I mean? So...just use the WISE Guide, is alpha list helpful though if you are not using SWR and need to look up a word or can you do that pretty quick in the WISE Guide? PR is going to be a program I start w/ my 7 and 5 year olds as I can go at the pace of PR and not try to fast forward. I do not want to re vamp something completely as I would not do good with that but I would like to make Saxon work by not having so many sight words and marking them, maybe I can use the marking system from PR, just don't know as I will only have level 1 for now. Kim
  5. Hi, I am wanting to use SWR for my older children, possibly, for spelling. However...they really like what we are using now and do not want to change. I am using Saxon Phonics Intervention, mainly to fill in some gaps and help w/ spelling. I am going to be using PR w/ my younger ones. Saxon Phonics Intervention has a lot of "sight" words, schwa stuff, I want to use the "think to spell" and the SWR marking system. If I got Alpha List and WISE GUIDE can I use it for spelling, and the phonogram cards, do I need the SWR Manual also? I know...complicated...I just don't want to change a program they are really liking but I HATE all the sight words and stuff, I don't really like there marking system either, it confuses the kids when we actually change what the letter looks like. Okay..so..why not just switch to SWR? Well....I didn't do well w/ SWR, which is why I am using PR with my younger 2 but..I do believe in the philosophy of it. Why not use PR w/ my older two, I don't like having to rush them ahead through a program that intense, or quickly go through the levels to get them to where they need to be, I want to use what we have but incorporate the SWR method and marking system. I know....that is not the best way to do it but, I believe it would work good. I love everything Saxon has, the vocabulary, alphabetizing, stories they read for comprehension...it is all good so.. Thanks for any and all who try to muttle through this..ha! Kim
  6. Hey...I would love to know how you all do the Y as /E/, so the Y says /y/, /i/, /I/, /E/...correct? This is something I asked Mrs. Beers about and also on the SWR list, they absolutely say do not use E because of what? I still don't understand and this is something that drove me nuts when I tried to teach from SWR years ago, ok "think to spell" Baby /b/ /A/ /b/ /i/.... Is it hard to add one and teach the rule, I have told them that the Y says /I/ in a single syllable word at the end and they Y says /E/ at the end of a second syllable? What are the 4 sounds of O, /o/, /O/..../oo/? Thanks! Kim
  7. I do know ONE thing, I am not comfortable unless I have some sort of lesson plans, my brain needs lots and lots of help!! I have WRTR 4th but if I were to combine grammar/LA, and need to put together my own lesson plans for 3 or 4 different children, I would get NOTHING done. That is just an area that I have realized...no matter how great something is, I really, for my own sanity, need the lesson plans.
  8. Doesn't REALLY matter a whole lot to me personally but I am very curious because it dawned on me how much I hear Spalding and OG referred to and, not having read in depth on either of them, liking both, wanted to understand the difference...just me wantin some info..
  9. Very true...see...I didn't even think about that! Great explanation. Thank you...
  10. Thanks Ellie, Well...to me, the Spalding method seems more logical, and I will go with that, probably via PR BUT..I was curious....I have not read through all the manuals completely but I find it interesting that so many things are compared to the OG method, yet they are all different. :glare: Kim
  11. Hi, I have The Gillingham Manual and WRTR 4th Edition. I am confused by something. Spalding created her method after the OG method correct? But aren't they quite different? In the OG manual they start w/ the short sound of the vowels, use picture cards etc... In Spalding they learn all the sounds of each letter plus use NO pictures... Also...one uses more sight words, schwa etc.. the other uses "think to spell" minimizing the number of words by sight and no schwa. Am I missing something, I had always viewed Spalding and OG as completely different yet when reading Spalding's book they mention OG etc... Anyone care to compare these two "methods" on phonics and on the differences, positives and negatives of each.. Okay..that is all for now..ha! Kim (homeschooling mom of 7)
  12. Yep...it is funny, I have been lying also :001_smile:, my husband heard me tell him that in Subtraction the biggest number always come first and he goes "no it doesn't"....I said...OK...yes it does for now! I tell him to check it by adding it back, I expain that if he adds there will be a bigger number than the first one and that won't work and he sort of shrugs and says "ok" and works the problem but it isn't "sticking" He is doing what I suggest but he still isn't getting it. I might get out some hands on stuff and show him, I have an abacus and the RS activities manual, maybe I just need to stop for a bit and work on this area w/ some hands on stuff...
  13. Yes...I do sit with him but maybe not enough. For some reason the problems where they do 87 - A = 42, he keeps adding, I have gotten out the dry erase board and showed him, he will get it right for awhile but them go back to adding 87 + 42. I don't think he fully "gets it" in problems like these, everything else he does great, no problems. Kim
  14. He just doesn't get it, it is so frustrating for him, I am wondering if the Teaching Tapes would help him, does anyone use those, Saxon Teacher. He is just having a hard time understanding the concepts, I don't he needs more of "watching" something being done first? Any ideas? Thanks, Kim
  15. She has decided she wants her Foreign language to be French, what on earth is a good program? I have looked at Rosetta Stone but WOW! Can't afford that and it is like 4 or 5 levels? Anyway... Let me know what you all think! Thanks, Kim
  16. I have not seen the DVD's yet but I am the same way, just reading is hard for me to fully grasp, when I see and hear, I do well...I am really glad you said that because I do WELL when I have DVD's to watch.. I agree also about the confidence and learning to read and write being so important! I am on my second go round w/ this, didn't do so hot picking curriculum the first go round, I want to do this right! I have older children and now am starting w/ 3 younger ones. Thank you for saying this, I think this just nailed it for me! Kim
  17. Hi, I have been wondering about the handwriting, I am considering purchasing PR for a few of my children. We also use GD Italics and I like it. So...it will work to use the handwriting of my choice with this? Kim
  18. Thank you for this! I am not worried about the "writing" part for a young one, I learned this from my first son, if I had known what on earth I was doing I would have let him form his letters in the sand/dirt, dry erase board and ditched the "notebook" paper stuff till he was ready so..now..with my 7 year old daughter...she LOVES to write, the girls gets her Bible and sits down and copies chapters for fun, I never have asked her to do that..she enjoys writing...so..I know with her it will be fine but we are doing Italic handwriting so I will continue w/ it. I would like to do Latin Road myself also...just don't have the time. So...do you all feel that PR really helps you with the concepts, are there answer keys in the later levels for the grammar and things, this is a weak area for me. I was looking at samples of SWR and when it says to go over this or that but doesn't really give you the structure, that would be hard for me I think. I really like it all laid out, even if there are parts I choose to skip. Kim
  19. Sorry...by young I meant a 7 year old daughter and a 5 1/2 year old son. I had decided to wait on my son though and do what you said...work on writing and reading w/ something else for now! Also...I am cringing a bit, let me clarify "fun"..ha! I don't need them entertained every second. I tried SWR w/ my oldest son years ago and it was awful, I was trying to figure out how to do it first of all...secondly he absolutely hated writing, he wasn't ready for it and that was our first attempt at "learning to read", not a good fit for this boy. So...he is older now and mainly needing help w/ spelling but I have a 10 year old girl that could use a "spelling" program also...I don't know...I decided to do Saxon Phonics Intervention w/ both my oldest son and my 10 year old daughter just to fill in gaps and help w/ spelling, I like that it covers everything BUT...I hate the sight word/schwa stuff, I don't like that. One thing that really stuck w/ SWR that made so much sense was the "Think to spell" etc... So...I just don't want it to be drudgery, awful...even if they aren't THRILLED, they don't have to be but I do want them to learn to read WELL, SPELL WELL etc... AND..I think I could do SWR now better and not feel so pressured to do it perfectly as it has been awhile and I have learned a lot BUT..I still very much like having things "ready" for me to teach because I have a lot going on in our house everyday. Anyway...sorry so long, it is a little scary thinking about PR and $199 a level..well..more than that depending on how many I use it w/. I think it is worth it for everything she does, so I am NOT knocking that. It is just a lot of money for us but I like the idea of having an all in one that covers everything for LA for 4 years, that would be awesome. I don't know if I would then want to continue w/ Latin Road though.. Honestly...I was wanting a more CM curriculum but really want to teach reading/spelling this way, SWR or PR. Thanks again! Kim
  20. Hi, Of these two programs, which one is "funner" for the beginning learner. I was thinking of SWR but when I started adding in the Grammar book, that looked neat, the instruction DVD's...very nice, the readers..all the other stuff I started thinking, one price and I get EVERYTHING in PR nicely laid out and teacher friendly correct? Also...do you have to sing the rule tunes, are they sung by Barbare Beers? We like singing and everything, I guess watching the sample DVD she sent I was thinking I would rather say them but maybe it was a bit strange because she sang a lot of them at once.. Just curious about that..... Also..on PR, how is the composition, what would it be compared to? Is the grammar and composition instruction as "easily" taught as the rest is supposed to be, with answers and easily understood by the kids because this is my WEAK, WEAK AREA!! Thanks again! Kim
  21. You know....I like that idea, I had someone who was a trained SWR person tell me I could use WISE Guide for spelling, eliminating the main guide. Now...this was with a son who I needed to get moving reading and well...long story. I had also talked to a lady who used AP to teach her children to read and then went to SWR for spelling, I am leaning towards this option because I had a BAD experience w/ SWR when my son was oh....9 maybe or 8, he HATED, HATED writing...was not good. I do wish I had stuck w/ it though...it was just such a fight everyday, I wish I had just taught him to read in short little lessons. I love the "idea" of PR, the illustrating of their stories etc...sounds great but I don't have an hour a day to spend at 2 different levels and cover everything else. I also need to remediate my sons spelling, he is 13 and don't want to have to take him through 4 years of a program, or even 3 years. It is said you can go through Level 1 and 2 in one year w/ an older student but...still. I appreciate all the posts, by the way!! Kim
  22. We have Maxwell House in the fridge and it says 8 tbs per 10 cup, we have a 12 cup and I put 10 heaping tablespoons, it was quite strong but we like it a little strong, the heaping I think made it a bit much :lol:
  23. Soo....if you all had 4 needing to learn this, probably only needing 2 levels, would you use PR or SWR? Kim
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