My favorite is easily the 1999 version. We watched several a few years ago while my DS was prepping for an audition that required he do a monologue of Puck's. (None of the versions actually have that speech.) But it was fun seeing the various versions and it helped him understand his character a lot better.

Protein for breakfast helps my entire family. Our pediatrician is a big believer in it. (Both my sons have been prone to migraines caused by low blood sugar, plus the younger one is ADD.) My younger son has much better school days when he eats protein in the morning. He can be a very picky eater, so sometimes the best I can do is get him to eat a cheese stick. But at least he's off the super high carb breakfasts he used to eat.

I agree with other posters' recommendations on the works of Jane Austen and for the film of Jane Eyre. I haven't seen Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, but I think his Henry V is fantastic. (I don't have a favorite Hamlet yet; I didn't like Laurence Olivier's version. Heresy to my husband.) My favorite Romeo and Juliet is the Zeffirelli version, partially because the stars are young enough. While not a classic in the league with Shakespeare, the film version of The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford is amazingly true to the book.

Thanks for the information; I'm all signed up now. OhElizabeth has spoken so highly of the EF books that I've become very interested. It's definitely a weak area for my DS.

I can sympathize. My older DS is still in ps because I couldn't find anything in our area to rival the level of Spanish he's taking in the local immersion program. We do outside enrichment activities, but he's staying in ps. This meant he was also able to try JROTC which is only now becoming available to homeschoolers in our area. His younger brother is homeschooled. I had to pull him out of an arts magnet, and now we have to pay for his acting classes out of pocket. It's a serious financial hardship and frequently a logistical nightmare. Certainly parents should try to think creatively, but I understand that sometimes we have to make difficult choices. You know your child and your family situation better than we do, so good luck. I'm sure you'll make the best decision you can for her.

I suspect it is probably a lot to do with his age and gender. One thing that is always helpful for my DS is plenty of time to exercise, short breaks when he needs them, and fidgets for when we're working. And he's 13. (When he was six and in ps, the absolute worst thing that could happen was losing recess.) :001_smile: In elementary school, he did qualify for TD (our system's gifted program). But for the most part, he seemed pretty average in class. We didn't find out he was 2E until 5th grade, and I think perhaps the gifted vs. LDs were averaging out before middle school. Since we started homeschooling, we've had to backtrack on lots of things he didn't learn in ps. So a lot of the time at home, we've been seeing the LDs more than the giftedness. But then he goes off to theater class and wows the teacher. So I'm hoping that as we build a better foundation for his learning, he'll be able to shine more.

I haven't tried to get anything from the school system since I started homeschooling; I wasn't getting much when my DS was a full time student in ps. First, he needs an evaluation. Sure, the school system is supposed to provide it but they freely admitted he would be at the bottom of a long waiting list. So we pay for the independent evaluation and get a 504 instead of the IEP the psychologist recommended. Two years later we need to get another round of testing (independent again) to prove the new diagnosis of Aspergers. The upside was that his three LDs were apparent by then as well. Beyond the downside of paying for it, I started in August to try to get an updated 504 that reflected his new diagnoses. I got the new 504 in early March. That was the spring of 5th grade. In 6th grade, I needed revisions to the 504 plan to reflect all the changes that middle school brought. What I really needed was an IEP by this point since my DS often didn't know which class he was in at any given time. Yes, he was that confused. What I got was a gutted 504 because the academic adviser kept crossing things off the list, claiming that they "did that for all the kids." Then she and other school officials blamed my DS for the bullying he was getting. Somehow he was supposed to know who the kids were that were punching and kicking him during class changes. Never mind that this school was for grades 6 - 12 and he mixed with the entire population. (We had been told that 6th graders had their own floor in the building and would be mostly isolated that first year.) Even if NC law gives me the option to get any services from the ps, I am never going to bother again. If I got such lousy service when he was enrolled full time, I don't want to know what it would be like as a homeschooler.

I read that if you draw a line between Atlanta and Los Angeles, everyone north of that line can't get enough Vit. D from sun light alone. That was in a publication from Center for Science in the Public Interest; they tend to prefer clinical studies over fads. Vit. D does store in your fat, so you don't want to risk overdose. My pediatrician asked me to start giving both my boys (ages 13 and 16) 1,000 IU daily after she tested very low on Vit. D. She decided that if her outdoorsy lifestyle left her family deficient, most or all of her patients would be too. My husband and I have been tested and are deficient. It took about 2 years of 4,000 IU daily to get me into the normal range. We all live in North Carolina, hardly the frozen north. I strongly suspect that 400 IU, even for a child, isn't enough.

I don't know if they'll have what you need, but my favorite place for fidgets is The Therapy Shoppe. They even break out the quiet fidgets separately.

Yes she is! I'm most likely using that for our science. I even sent the PDF to my rocket scientist friend for review because we struggled with science curriculum so much last year. She's blessed it as thorough, so I doubt I'll look further. We only started homeschooling in the middle of last year, so we're playing catch up in the core areas. Language Arts - R&S 6; Apples & Pears Spelling C Math - MUS - Not sure what level; it depends on how much further we get this year; we've completed Alpha through Gamma this year so far. Handwriting - continued practice with HWOT Cursive Logic - Discovery of Deduction I know we're doing early American history but I haven't finalized the book choices.

I ended up listing everything they tested, so evidently not.

I take Carlson, but I have yet to find anything that my DS will take. I brought home various samples of chewables and liquids from Nordic Naturals and he hated them all. I'll be reviewing all of y'all's suggestions to see what I haven't tried yet, so thanks for all the tips and tricks. Shop Smart, published by company that publishes Consumer Reports, recently did an article on fish oil. They tested to see if the samples had the listed amounts of EPA and DHA, whether they disintegrated properly, if they showed signed of spoilage, and if the contained contaminants such as mercury, leady, dioxins, or PCBs. Even the brands that passed the tests had contaminants, despite claims of being free of mercury and/or PCBs; they just didn't exceed USP or other regulatory limits on those contaminants. Carlsons, Norwegian Gold Ultimate Fish Oils Critical Omega, Nature's Way Fisol, and even some drug store brands passed the test. I'm actually using the Nature Made brand this month because we were tight on money. However, it, like many or most of the drug store brands, does not break out EPA and DHA separately. I'll be back to Carlsons next month, I hope. Other brands that passed are Spring Valley Omega-3, Finest Natural, Walgreens Omega-3 Concentrate, Barlean's Organic Oils, Nature Made 1,200 MG, The Vitamin Shoppe Meg-3. Nordic Naturals did not pass; all of its samples showed high levels of oxidation compounds which can indicate spoilage. (I had bought the brand several months earlier when Carlsons was sold out; my batch had that hazy look that Nordic claims is spoilage when it appears in other brands.) Also failing were Kirklands, CVS Natural, GNC Triple Strength, Nature's Bounty Odorless, and Sundown Naturals. I thought the test results were interesting as there was no correlation between cost and quality. It would be nice if we had better information about what's really in our supplements; I like to know I'm getting what I think I'm getting.

All are great ideas. I remember listening to the author of The Gift of Fear doing an interview on NPR. He mentioned that one way we can get our fear sense out of whack is watching movies that overstimulate it. In my case, that was an overdose of women in peril story lines. I gave them up immediately and it did help. Sugar is also a problem for my anxiety prone DS. He does better when his diet is very low sugar, in addition to the other steps you're taking. For children with more serious issues, professional counseling and even medication can be very helpful. But there's everything right in trying less drastic approaches first. If your current efforts aren't producing enough relief, I've tried a couple of potentially helpful books if the main issue is anxiety. There's What's to Do When You Worry Too Much which is probably better for the poster with a young child. It's something you do with your child; my DS's psych recommended it to reduce office visits. For older children, there's The Anxiety Workbook for Teens. Reviewers tend to say it's better for younger teens. We've recently started working through it; my DS is 13 and it seems to be a good fit for the age. My therapist, who also treats children with anxiety disorders, says that there isn't much literature for parents about anxiety in children. Books are more targeted for the professionals. These two are the rare exception. Good luck and stay calm; it'll help your child stay calmer.

Another useful book is No More Meltdowns. My husband bought it after hearing the author speak. I learned some useful ideas from it.

My husband's hobby is military history; he thought these books were very good. They were clear enough for me to follow too. He does a lot of table top wargaming with miniatures. They sometimes re-enact famous battles, usually with some randomness to see if the outcome is the same. If anyone wants suggestions on rule sets, PM me and I'll ask him.

Well I don't think so; only my shelf space limits me. My Fitzpatrick translation got nasty with mildew while in storage. Now I have a great excuse to read Fagles instead. (I don't think there's anything wrong with Fitzpatrick; it was the standard when I was in school. But after four reads, I'm looking forward to an alternative.)

Here's another thread about balancing out Hakim's liberal coverage of later American history: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=340791. I only have one of her History of US books so far. It was very readable and fairly well balanced. I'm planning on using the set next year.

I've often wondered how my DS did so well in school. He even did well on the standardized tests. We didn't hear much about the academic issues (beyond his poor organizational skills) until he hit 6th grade. I wish I knew what had been going on all that time.

My DS is about to turn 13; we started homeschooling a little over a year ago. He's an Aspie with ADD, and he's 2E. When I pulled him out of school, I discovered he hadn't progressed much beyond his third grade curriculum. I had expected that in math, but it was an unpleasant shock in other areas. We're working through MUS (almost finished with Gamma), R&S5, SOTW 3, HWT cursive, and Apples & Pears Book 2. We're also doing science and logic, but the curricula listed seem to be working particularly well. It's a big improvement over last year, as we stumbled around trying to find things that worked and discovering additional things he hadn't learned. His older brother is in 10th grade and still in public school. He's straight up gifted and wanted to stay in ps. He does envy his brother some days though.

Anything else on this topic would be greatly appreciated. My husband and I struggle to get our kids to understand what a big deal it was and the huge impact it had on our generation. Not to mention the trial and utter failure of communism as a political system.

My son hates shoes and rarely wears them outside, even in the winter. Of course our winters are milder than most, but it's also because he doesn't feel the cold much. I stepped on a nail in the neighbor's yard, but my kids have never had problems.

A really good book on the subject is Protecting the Gift. It is not, however, a pleasant read. One tip I got from that was to tell my kids to walk up to a woman who looked friendly if they were lost in a store. My husband hated this because it's sexist, but the statistics support it. The book recommended against telling your children to seek out a police officer because most kids can't tell a real police officer from a mall cop. And evidently some really notorious criminals have been mall cops/security guards. The same author did another book, The Gift of Fear, about how women can protect themselves. As he pointed out, one great way to protect your children is to keep yourself safe.

We're well into the second A&P book, and I think we've encountered two rules. So they are few and far between. But unfortunately, there are so many exceptions to spelling rules that they aren't nearly as helpful as rules in other subjects. IMO, English comes from so many sources that there are far too many inconsistencies. My DS doesn't like rules with tons of exceptions, so no rules has been working better for us. Most importantly, A&P is the first thing we've tried that is working.

I started homeschooling my 7th grader in the middle of 6th grade. We struggled through the rest of 6th grade, trying to find things that work. We're doing better this year. In addition to being diagnosed with ADD Inattentive, my DS is an Aspie and 2E. So some of our solutions may not work for you. We started MUS at Alpha level; we're mostly through Gamma now. My DS loves math; he used to hate it passionately. I agree that the way MUS teaches place value is terrific. Typing is a terrific supplement to writing; I agree that he should be learning it. I do think our children should be able to do some handwriting; there isn't always an option to use a computer. We started HWT cursive this year; my DS picked it out as the script he liked best. It's helping to improve his handwriting, slowly. If you don't want to try cursive, I think that's fine just so long as your child can sign his name without embarrassment. I like the pinkie idea; I'm going to try that one too. We just started WWE this month, so it's too soon to say. We're in the second book for Apples & Pears spelling. It seems to be helping; my DS has always been an awful speller, so bad that spell check can't help. He's slowly improving now and can spell many simple words that used to give him fits. Best of luck to you!

:iagree: I need to do middle school life science next year. Thanks for sharing your discoveries and resources!