As I understand it, Atkins diet initially stressed low car/high protein, with a side note of unlimited amounts of certain veggies. I think many people failed to add in enough of the veggie component. Recent atkins books focus more on the veggie/fiber component. I checked out New Atkins for a New You from the library where the sample menus are very heavy on veggies. You are supposed to avoid fruits at first, but the diet does eventually add back in fruits and grains in limited amounts. The first two week phase was really hard for me to do, but it got easier after the first few days. I now pretty much do my own thing and try to limit carbs, but it is hard!

I do appreciate the comments. I young woman I know who took the SAT last year also mentioned the difference between the RIGHT answer and the CORRECT answer. She felt on the SAT the correct answer for a given question might not always be the factually right one. I wasn't able to get any specific examples out of her though. DS is taking chemistry at the public high school, a topic he self studied last year. He wanted the lab experience this year. Anyways, we have had to have some discussions about answering the question the way the teacher wants him to answer it, versus answering it with the completeness DS thinks it deserves. SAT sounds like a similar situation. We are still getting settled into our school year, but hopefully this fall the kids will sit down and take sample tests from SAT and ACT. I kind of do want him to wait til next year for hte PSAT and I was also worried about him having too many test score for admissions. Thanks!

Yes that is great thanks! We only need a page or two so I'd prefer not to buy anything. :)

I lost 15 lbs in about 6 weeks on Atkins Diet, a low carb diet. From this I realized how much I relied on carbs in my diet. I am not still on the Atkins diet, but I do try to keep carbs down and I have upped dramatically the amount of veggies I eat, increased my activity level and haven't regained. I make sure I eat a big salad every day. It is a very filling diet, and I did not lose if I tried to curb calories while on it.

oat bran muffins--I make them with either bananas, blueberries or pumpkin plus apple sauce. I add in finely chopped nuts, sometimes raisins, use whole wheat flour, add in some flax seed and use low sugar but add in some stevia. They can be very good--moist and yummy! I add in extra oil though, but I use half olive oil. Blueberry pancakes can be frozen for later eating, although not quite as good as fresh. I also make these whole wheat and I think they come out great with all whole wheat flour. I did transition and used to use half whole wheat and half white. I also use pastry whole wheat flour which I think is a nice texture. Baby carrots, raw green beans, boiled eggs, half a sandwich (pb&J, tunafish, cut up chicken breasts, leftovers in a tortilla), cheese string, yoghurt are frequent snacks here. I also slowly got both kids to eat salad, which took a while for one of them. We are also working on frozen blueberries and cherries as snacks. Grapes, bananas, apples are my fav fruits to have on hand since they are easy to deal with. One of my kids likes walnuts and pecans. When chicken breasts are on sale, I tend to broil several and then freeze them to have on hand. We cut down on snacking on the go by making sure the kids had eaten something before we left the house such as a few cubes of chicken and some broccoli, a salad, a quesadilla, etc. I think snacks can just be smaller portions of foods more typically reserved for meals. My kids do like other snacks such as goldfish, chips and snack bars, but we have really cut back on that type of food this year. I had gotten pretty bad about preparing food and it did take some transitioning for all of us. Good luck to you! I really noticed my kids complain of fewer stomach aches now. I think they were lacking fiber in their diets for a while there.

Hi, Anyone know an online site to print out cursive hand writing without tears practice sheets? last year I had a link where you could do this for free, but now I am not finding it. Any thoughts appreciated!

We used to but as the kids hit high school age I am trying to come up with a study plan that will fit better on a transcript. SO far, it honestly hasn't been going too well! DS #1 has started Glencoe World History by Spielvogel but he seems to just be trudging through it and rarely cares to discuss it outside of *class*. In the past history would enter family discussions more frequently, so it saddens me somewhat that with a dedicated text some of his interest seems to have dwindled. I am thinking of getting DS #2 started on the same text and that may tip the balance toward more family activities, etc.

You could check to see if you local public library offers Mango for free--many do. My kids are self-studying Mandarin using Mango, but we are looking into finding a tutor and having them take class at a Chinese language institute affiliated with our local state U as well. I did look into online tutors and they were asking over $20 per hour per child. This seemed high to me, but perhaps we will find local tutors are just as much.

I'd third Animal Farm. He could focus on one aspect, such as the use of propaganda. This worked very well for my then 7th grader. He enjoyed it and it build up his confidence in lit units. Good luck! Sounds as though it will be an interesting and challenging class.

Hi All, I was wondering people's thoughts on whether out-of-the-box thinkers tend to fare better on the SAT or ACT. Also, if anyone has preparation tips for unusual thinkers, we'd greatly appreciate it. We do have the College Board Blue book and the kids have started answering the SAT question of the day regularly. Comments in the zoology post got me thinking about this. :) DS #1, interested in studying physics at MIT or CalTech, is not the greatest standardized test taker. He is already aware of the importance of high test scores and feels fairly frustrated with the whole process. He is, however, self motivated enough to work on maximizing his score. While he hasn't actually taken a standardized test in a while, from the practice tests in SAT books, we can see there are some areas that need improvement. I know we need to spend some time pin-pointing the areas where the most work is needed. The year has just suddenly gotten so busy! Where'd summer go?! This year (9th grade) he will be testing at the high school so that will give us some info at least so go on and he still has time. I have read online that SAT covers more out-of-the-box thinking, but I am not so sure that is really the better test for my kids. I wonder if more straight forward questions would be more approachable for their thinking styles. I know we should have the kids sit down and do a structured practice test of each type and see how it goes, but any thoughts on the two tests are appreciated. The testing issue brings up a greater debate for us also. Part of me wishes he would stay in state and go to the local U where DH works. They have a fine program in his area of interest and we would love to keep him close to us, as well as keep costs down. The other part of me feels that he would do better at a highly technical school (not necessarily even MIT or Cal Tech as there are other specialized schools for his areas of interest) because he has long struggled with meeting kindred spirits. Sigh, the parenting decisions just keep on getting more and more complex (although interesting and challenging in a good way too :)). Thanks for any thoughts!

Are there any general non-profit youth support groups in your area? Sometimes groups such as these, even if they do not focus on Aspergers, have counselors who will work one on one with kids to help them develop life skills.

How about Caesar's English or Building Language by Royal Fireworks Press? They are written in a somewhat conversational style. http://www.rfwp.com/series/vocabulary-elementary-program-by-michael-clay-thompson

I just watched the homeschool sked tracker tutorials and have to say it seems VERY nice. I think it might do the things you are looking for. Looks as though it takes some up front time getting it all set though. You can add in vacations, etc.

I just started with homeschoolskedtrack.com but I cannot figure out how to put in days in advance...I can only do one day at a time. Any quick tip on what I am missing?

I'd definitely pursue dietary changes/supplements. DS has some of these tendencies and it does run in the family. I started giving him Nordic Naturals Children's DHA, Chewable Soft Gels a few years ago and noticed a marked improvement within a few weeks. We still supplement with fish oils and try to incorporate more fish into our diets (getting harder and harder theses days though!). Talking through things helped him a lot too. We had to discuss often the concept of how most wrongs and rights were not black and white, clear cut issues. Your son may ultimately need some kind of professional help (washing until hands are raw and bleeding seems like a warning sign). He probably is also still dealing with your life threatening illness. That's lot for a kid to process through! You could discuss this with your son's pediatrician. They might be able to suggest some local resources, support groups, etc, or at least give you a medical perspective on how sever his condition is. Hope all goes well and wishing you continued health. :)

I also stopped refereeing whenever possible, although may be different with 2 kids close in age. My reasoning, and I did explain it to the kids this way, was that even if I heard both sides of the story, I'd never be able to untangle the actual turn of events. Even if I could, the whole story hardly ever contain a black and white solution. That being said, I do get tired of constantly making decisions! What should the kids study? What should we eat for dinner? Do I need a bigger garden?! etc etc.

We call it "Applied Learning Time". Agreed it is not all fun and games, but what we do around here doesn't much resemble school.:)

Have you considered some of the specialized technician positions such as a radiology tech or EEG tech (Electroneurodiagnositic technology)? It seems that in these types of jobs the technician is interacting with a patient for a specific procedure resulting in less concern over *earning* the patient's respect. For lower level medical technician/lab tech jobs, do you have a high tolerance for repetitive actions? Many lab techs spend the majority of their time sanitizing glass ware, measuring compounds, filtering samples, etc. How would I advise my own kids? I'd advise them to get as much education as they can. If you get a BS degree and then head to grad school, chances are you can get a Graduate Teaching Assistant job or Graduate Research Assistant job to help with expenses. Reading between the lines in your posts, it sounds as though if you do not at least try for grad school (the more difficult course of action) you will be filled with *what if's*. If you get a job after a 2 year AA degree, I suspect it is unlikely you will go back for a bachelor's degree. If you want the BA/BS, then you should go for it now. Also, by following your interests, you will be more likely to meet other people with similar interests. From your posts, I suspect you will flourish at a University setting. :001_smile:

If OP doesn't purchase this, I'd love to. Please keepme in mind. Thanks!

Where would you start with CC for your 9th grader? My kids are doing IEW now. I plan to find other programs mid way through the year as I feel they would benefit by moving beyond the keyword outline method.

I'd try to supplement it with some free online material such as videos from hippocampus or khanacademy which both have alg video courses. Also, I'd get her doing dice games or using simple manipulatives (unifix cubes, beans, cards etc) for learning her basic facts. The family could start keeping a family coin jar and you all count it up from time to time. This can help a lot with grouping in 5s and learning to add more based on 5s instead of 10s. Learning to base addition facts off 5s helped my kids SOO much, i.e. think of 8 as 5+3 in stead of just 8, or even think of it as 10-2.

I started homeschooling with a lot of concerns and fears over whether or not my kids were going to miss out on too much. Now my boys are in 9th and 8th grade and I can tell you I am so grateful I stuck with my gut instinct to keep on homeschooling them. I have never been one to be *down* on schools, but among the neighborhood kids I see so much anger, frustration and resentment towards other kids as well as the kids' own parents, I cannot help but wonder if the school schedule contributes to this. I understand the worries, but I'd try to put them aside and just enjoy your time with your son. He has plenty of time and opportunities to make friends and to find other adults who will play positive roles in promoting education in his life.

Wondering what other games you all have tried. My boys were into phun and incredibots for a while. They look similar. They also like bridge-building type games.

We were going to do a year of US History (civil war to present) and then American Govt next year which I expect to have some review of early American History. I know this is a bit backwards, but this way my younger son will have the American Govt credit in high school. Also kids have done early Amer. history when they were younger.

I'd try to gently tie it into her interests. History of Taekwondo maybe? But, in general, I find whenever I pressure my kids TOO much, it backfires on me. Sometimes they need to find it for themselves. GOOD LUCK