This is exactly what I want to do. Even without disease, I a big believer in diet and nutrition. My mother lives close by them and is making dinners for their family, so I want to give her ideas and my brother snack and small meal ideas. Thank you.

Thanks everyone. She is seeing a specialist, the best in her area, but that's not much. I wish she'd come out here to the tristate area and see someone better. I just feel useless and want to help as best I can.

Thanks, seems obvious now, but my brother is going to try an make an appointment for us to see dietitian/nutritionist through the hospital. She does have fluid build up and has been drained 4X already. And, I think perhaps hepatic encephalopathy is happening. When I speak to her she seems "off" somehow. She seems to slur her words and she can't stay on topic. She's not an alcoholic and they both immediately stopped any drinking when they found out. Thanks, Beth

I need the hives advice. My SIL was recently diagnosed with cirrhosis stage IV. She doesn't want to research anything dealing with it, she'd rather let the doctors tell her what's what. (She's in pretty bad shape. She has lost a ton of weight and she's looks liked she's aged 10 yrs in the last 2 months.) My brother is trying to deal with everything medical, financial, household, and work. So, my sister and I are trying to help with the food/diet and meal planning. I know from a little browsing (I'm usually on education board) that a few of you have direct experience with liver diseases and I know a lot of others just have good advice about diet and nutrition. I have done a lot of researching on the internet but there is definitely conflicting information. But from what I am sifting through it seems: plant protein and lean animal protein from eggs, dairy and fish raw vegetables (artichoke is suppose to be excellent) turmeric and milk thistle limit fats but include fats from plants, avocados and nuts Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Beth

One not mentioned that my ds loved is Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong.

So it will be. Thank you for your response. Now I can finish her costume.

How do you say "I love food" in latin? I am putting it on a family crest for a halloween costume. Would it be 'Cibos amo'? Can you say 'Ego cibos amo'? I'm not sure of the ending on food or if this is even the right word for food. Thanks.

Here's another from my 9 year old "man of few words." It's from lesson 4, the rewrite of The Fox and the Grapes. He considers himself an animal. As Christopher was walking past a mountain he spied a tree on it and on that tree was a giant pile of books. "They look like the most exciting books in the whole world," he said. Instinctively he tried to climb to them but he failed. He tried again but failed yet again. So he walked away thinking, "Those books were probably boring anyway." His rewrite of the fable is much closer to his summary of the fable than to the original fable. Here's his summary: A Fox saw some grapes. But he couldn't reach them. He jumped, but still couldn't reach. So he walked away thinking they were sour anyway. Hmmm? Maybe tomorrow, I could work with him in adding details and following the original fable more closely. It's odd because he loves a good story. He loves words, vocabulary and grammar are fun for him! But, he is enjoying this program.

You can learn gemology from http://www.gia.edu/gem-education/distance.

I'd like to join in on this thread as well. We've been doing WWE all along and it's difficult for my ds. But this year I am seeing much improvement. However, thanks to some thread here I found out about CAP's W&R. We did the first free lesson and he liked it well enough, much better than WWE. I ordered the books and they arrived last week. We seem to be taking two weeks to do each lesson. The physical aspect of writing has ds frustrated. I really like the program and how I am able to help understand the parts of writing. But I still like the idea of WWE. Anyway, this is his first rewrite: The Mouse and the Bee A Mouse was nibbling some berries when a Bee came along and got stuck in a spider web. The Mouse helped the Bee get off the web. The Bee said, "Thank you for your kindness, some day I shall repay you." The mouse laughed squeakily saying, "How can a bug like you help me?" The next day the Mouse was nibbling some more berries, when a cat pounced on him! The Mouse cried for help. The Bee heard the Mouse. He stung the cat so the Mouse could get away. "You see even a small Bee can help a mighty Mouse." And his summary in lesson 2: A Lion tried to attack three Bulls, but they kept together. He was no match for three Bulls. One day the Bulls quarreled. When the Lion came back the Bulls were in separate corners of the field. The the Lion attacked them one at a time. Tomorrow, he does the amplification of the Hunter and the Doves. Thanks

I intend to use both HO and SOTW AG this year. In ancients I used HO and SOTW. By the end, I got annoyed that it jumped around in the chapters. So, for 2nd and 3rd years I used SOTW with AG. Then, I was getting annoyed that I was jumping back and forth around the globe. This year I intend to use both. We are doing modern and my ds is 4th grade. With the HO I'm hoping he'll be able to do much of it independently (and check those little boxes off). However, I got the SOTW AG because, SWB starts having them do outlines as well as narrations. So, I will do the narrations and the outlining with him.

How about Easy Peasy, if there is access to internet. http://allinonehomeschool.com On the right you'll find some science sections. Each topic (in science) has sections for younger and for older students to follow.

For my ds, Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, and Tuck Everlasting. For my dds, I'm doing their first read aloud, besides picture books, and we are doing the first Harry Potter (their choice).

The reading list for my 4th grader to be is: Reading List (in no particular order) Maniac Magee Where the Red Fern Grows Island of the Blue Dolphins The Giver Wrinkle in Time The Time Machine Heidi Sherlock Holmes Swallows and Amazons Hatchet Inside Out and Back Again The One and Only Ivan Among the Hidden Historical Reading List (in order, of course) The Land Blizzard!: The Storm that Changed America The Great Fire Billy Creekmore The Great Horn Spoon Esperanza Rising Out of the Dust Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon Number the Stars One Crazy Summer Breaking Stalin's Nose Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam I haven't order HO or SOTW AG yet so, I'm sure there will be some other selections. My ds is an avid reader and will easily get through these and others. As we go, I will decide which ones to "discuss" more thoroughly with him. Some of them I definitely want to do as read alouds.

Thanks so much. I rec'd in my email and trashed right away without looking. Oops! I've always been wondering if it was worth the money and if it'd get used.

Great link! Thanks. I think storytelling is so important on so many levels. I looked through the 4th year class so far (and downloaded it) for my rising 4th grader.

I have the griffin survivor as well. My brother had my mom buy all of us this case for Christmas. He did his research and concluded this was the most durable. It works for us and I'm no longer nervous when my two littles use the iPad.

Hi, it looks great. I'm excited to try it out this summer. I haven't actually bought it yet, because once it's in my hands I don't know if I can't keep myself from dropping our regularly scheduled program and jumping right in to the new and exciting program! But I've been looking for an evolution unit since there was a whole big thread a while back about evolution. This is so up my ds's alley. I do have a couple of questions. 1. It's an 8 week study. Could it be compressed to 2 or 3 days a week? And I'm thinking of having him do it with someone(s) else during the summer, do I need and why would I need the group unit plan? 2. Would it be too much to mesh Grade 6 American History II with SOTW4? My ds will be 4th grade next year, but history is his favorite subject and he would willing read and listen to history 24/7. Thanks

I'm not helpful. I've never tried it. However, I like the looks of it too. I am going to do the evolution unit (8 week unit) this summer and take it for a test ride. I think I might somehow incorporate their grade 6 American History part II with SOTW4. Hope someone else responds and gives an actual review.

For the Antarctica, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Lansing is a great read.

Darn! Nothing in the mail today. But congrats to your ds. I'm not even going to mention to my ds that results are coming in, or he'll keep bugging me.

I just saw yesterday on another thread an evolution unit study by buildyourlibrary.com. That is what we are doing this summer! Of course, we are also going to keep moving forward with math.

Thanks so much for sharing. It really does put Thomas Edison in perspective. Thanks to all those scientists with passion and motivation to keep moving forward and bringing us along with them.

Thanks for sharing. I think I'll use this Monday. This is exactly where we are at in SM. He gets it, but there is a lot of hesitation. This just might shoot it home.

All the time. Depending on the main salad I'll do other simpler salads, like a tomato salad (if there are none in main), a cucumber salad, a bean salad or a strawberry and spinach salad, a fruit salad and there is always corn on the cob. The possibilities are endless!