I had A LOT of self doubt when my kids were younger. My oldest is a homeschool grad and now a college sophomore. I withdrew son from ps in grade one when he was dx dyslexic. The special Ed teacher said they really didn't have much to offer him. After trying to stick to worksheets and curriculum for a year or tow, I finally started a much more relaxed, semi unschooling, consisting mostly of reading and doing stuff--measuring pouring, counting building, exploring, etc. He transitioned to more formal school work in grade 8-9 and then started dual enrolling for science and math. He is a very self motivated learner. I think public school would have been seriously bad for his mental health. He is confident and happy now. Just half a year of ps made him feel stupid and misunderstood. :(

Can you find a special thing for toddler to keep them occupied? Blakey or stuffed animal that needs to be tended to? We checked out books on cd from library. Lots and lots and lots of them! Does your library use overdrive for digitally checking out audio books?

When my kids were younger I had A Lot(!!!) of self doubt over our homeschooling. I felt pressure to do more school type work. Over time my views on education in general changed and I finally got over clinging to worksheets and text books as the magical solution. I'd go to the the library regularly and bring home books on all kinds of subjects. There are so many great science and math books geared at younger kids now! If read to the kids every single day though. Read read read. If they are fidgety, let them play with play dough or pipe cleaners of something. But keep on reading. Read short books and long books. It can be very soothing for all. Also audio books as others have mentioned. Don't feel bad though if some books just aren't big hits.

I feel as though DH works harder than I do. But I do all the worrying. :p That's a big load to carry.

This happened to me yesterday. Turned out all my regular inbox emails had gone into a folder. I had been using my phone outside to curl and write emails but I have no idea how I could have accidentally done this.

Interesting:) My homeschooled son was accepted to U. Rochester last year without completing the listed requirements. He didn't even do an interview of any kind. We came across these details rather late in the process. He was, however, a very strong applicant with high test scores, university classes and glowing recommendations from instructors. He apparently also wrote a great essay because it was mentioned by a dean during convocation. So, I suspect they are not so strict on the requirements but want to gather as much information as possible about potential students to ensure a good match.

OK, kind of a long shot here, but I figure I might as well try The Hive first. :) DH is looking for a vehicle with a lot of head room. We find that the online dimensions do not always correspond to how you actually fit into the vehicle. Some vehilcles with smaller head room measurements can actually feel more spacious, probably due to how high the seat is fixed at its lowest position. So...any tall drivers with a vehicle they love? We were really hoping to buy a pickup truck but are only interested in a mid sized one, not one of the behomoth models.

I pretty much agree with AK_Mom here, althought I htink your DH could be more of a Do-er in his professional life. I think it is very unlikey your husband has much control over this tendancy. I also do not think this means your husband does not value your time or does not care about pleasing you. I think it is just one of his limitations whicih is quite unlikely to change. My husband does not ask for help the way you describe, but he is horrible at all the little logistical tasks that life requires. If he was in an accident, I would fully expect to do the paperwork for him. Recently he did ask if I could find him a hotel for an upcoming conference. He had missed the priority registration and was having a hard time finding anything on teh public transportation line. THis took me about 15 minutes to do. I handle all our bills and general life details. When he was in college his utilities were often shut off due to lack of payment, not because he didn't have the money but because he just did not allocate energy and time to tending to those kinds of tasks. When the kids were younger I felt a fair amount of frustration over these tendencies in DH bc I needed more help. I have grown more accepting over time. :) Pllus, my husband works incredible hard and would do anything needed to support the family. If I also worked full time I think I would be pretty frustrated though. I think I would look for strategies to get the kind of help you need so that you don't feel over burdened.

This thread, from the high school board, lists many good books. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/492610-physics-for-poets-my-attempt-at-a-living-books-approach-to-physics/?hl=+physics%20+for%20+poets

I understand your frustration over college costs. When I first started looking into tuition for son's target schools i literally felt sick to my stomach! He is a senior, heading to college this fall. He ended up picking a school that will cost us quite a bit, although he did receive some merit and need based aid. From what I have read online, an annual income of 80K seems to be a common cutoff point for receiving complete need based aid at schools that meet full need. Our EFC (expected family contribution) plus 80K is very close to our annual income. From reading online, this seems pretty common. I have not discussed finances with many people though, so who knows, maybe we were just fortunate. Honestly, this seems pretty just to me. As long as we have kids in college, we will adjust our lifestyle down to the same level as if we were eligible for full need based aid. We have the benefit of enjoying that income before and after the kids are done with college tuition costs. We also have assests accumulted from years of our income level. I would not want to earn less than we do in order to receive more need based aid. I do wish your family well. I know how hard financial set backs can be. We have had some as well including lay offs and losses during financial crashes. We just keep on trugging along.

I would call as early as possible and ask for it to be called in to a pharmacy close to home. I think you can do this and still be *nice*. I don't think expressing anger at anyone will help. I might ask why there was this kind of a mix up so that we can avoid it in the future though. I have noticed at our Dr's office they call in prescriptions before we leave and it is entered on our check out material. Hope your little one feels better soon!

My junior son just witnessed older son going through the whole application process and announced that he will attend our local flagship rather than go throught the process himself. I am not sure if he will still feel this way in a year, but if he stays local, that is fine with me!

This happened to a young lady I know. No tick in sight. Extending well wishes for your son and family. :grouphug: :grouphug:

Also look for Teaching Company videos at your local library. These usually come with a guidebook outlining the material covered which can help your son see how they break down the material.

I am also deciding on LA for my niece next year. This year she did WWS 1, condensed version based on the WTM Academy catch up class. Continuing with WWS 2-3 would be a relatively easy option but she has asked for some variety. She just started Lively Art of Writing and I feel this is pretty promising for working on the persuasive essay. :) It was very inexpensive online and I know someone has a study guide here which I downloaded. We are going to try it out for the rest of the year and see how things progress. NOt sure at all what to do for literature, a sore spot with her. Have you considered LAoW with Windows to the World to cover persuasive essay and lit?

We are looking into auto discounts for son while he is away at college. Our provider, Nationwide, does not offer much of a discount. We have been considering looking into other insurance providers for a variety of reasons. Any suggestions for insurance providers who offer good discounts for young drivers away at college?

We switched to hanging up most of their clothes abd ut is much easier fir them to keep their rooms clean. Still though...dirty clothes often end up two inches away from the laundry basket. My kids now mostly do their own laundry. That helps too!

Also DH set up two password networks in house. One shut off wifi at a certain time and the other is on all the time. We had to look into this kind of stuff when we suddenly had a new teenager in the house. Some family members need controls in place and some do not. Making phone calls is about the least used feature of the smart phone for this particular teen. :D Also the family base informs you of contacts. I remember a post a few months ago about apps for controls too. I kept meaning to look into the ones mentioned but it slipped my mind.

We added on a feature which allows us to turn off different services at different times. I think it is an extra $5 a month though. DH set it up so I am not sure on details.

Yay! Thanks. :) You all rock! We will probable go middle of August. Then I will be back home getting ready to send son off to college. :(

I would love some sightseeing tips for Chicago this summer. We will have two German teenagers with us who would like to see a big US city. Beyond that, I do not know much about particular interests. We live just over two hours from Chicago but I have only gone to the airport and stopped off at the arboretum in the way back. Any ideas for places to visit would be great. My niece was interested in the aquarium and shopping but beyond that, I do not know what to do. We might be able to make it to one of the Shakespear in the park plays. BTW--These teens are my niece's friends. Also, I would love a hotel recommendation. I don't mind spending a bit more for a convenient and safe location. I actually have no idea what would even be a convenient location.

Aw nice! Grats!

My kids took some classes at the local public school and it worked out very well. Yes, they had to take classes that fit our schedule, but the school can only offer so msny sections of some classes. I can't imagine expecting the school to reschedule class offerings based on DE students. One of my kids continued to homeschool throughout highschool ( graduating this year!). My other son decided to enroll at the high school full time. Homeschooling high school can be done in a variety of methods. I try to stay flexible. :). My son ended up dual enrolling at the high school or university for all of his science classes and mist if his math. So many options are available and the high school board is a great place for brainstorming and finding solutions that work for your child . Good luck! :)

Yes, she is almost done with the first ten weeks of that schedule. I think she just started week 36 in the book. She did all of the first three weeks or so and then started on the condensed schedule. It does skip some things such as plot elements and poetry. At first I tried to pick and choose subjects but I did not feel sure about priorities so we just went with that schedule. I think the program has a lot of review and condensing it has gone very well for her.

We were talked out of the Bosch by a salesman. He told us we could get the same features for less in a samsung. I do not love the samsung but it is ok. Kind if wish we had gone for the Bosch, On the other hand. Same guy suggested a great carpet.