I only have FLL 1, but It's my favorite thing on my kindle.

IMHO, comprehension is the most important aspect of reading. It really is what makes reading enjoyable, don't you think? I wouldn't push your son past what you think he could understand, but he my surprise you with how much he gets:) I agree that doing narrations can be really useful as it teaches that books are something that can be understood and enjoyed for the big picture. I think it also teaches focus that might prove useful in moving towards longer and harder books. Dd had read most of the easy reader section at our library, but was still intimidated by the longer books, so I started checking out the chapter books along with the audio (we started with pippi longstocking...very funny and I think both boys and girls would enjoy--farmer boy and runaway ralph are also some more boyish ones that we enjoyed:), and that took some of the pressure off. I think it helped her reading level increase as well as her fluency...she can read extremely fast, and I attribute that to having to keep up with the audio:) Picture books can also have great vocabulary and a higher reading level. Robert McCloskey is a favorite here:)

While I think there is a great benefit to starting kids young, he'll be fine. I never took a foreign language until high school and I ended up becoming fluent in Russian (native speakers would not believe me that I wasn't a native speaker) and am moderately competent in Spanish. I'm a linguist and language teacher, and from my experience, the people that most struggle with languages are those that don't have a good foundation in their native language.

I would just do the MRI...you can call around to different imaging centers to find the best deal if it helps. When dh needed one I called around and they were happy tell me based on our insurance. And as others said, it's not radiation and could give really helpful info.

If you have an ikea near you, they have an supervised indoor playspace that you can leave your kids in for up to 1.5 hours if you get their free family card. You also can get free coffee or tea. Kids also eat free on Tuesdays so we'd often go, have dinner ($2 for all you can eat soup or salad bar--our family of 8 could eat for $4:), and afterwards take our kids to the playplace while dh and I sat and sipped tea...I have to admit, we go often enough to feel guilty :blush:

We use the ticonderoga pencils...the eraser seems decent, but it seems like any pencil eraser always gets used up long before the pencil.

I don't have the fire, but my regular kindle can read pdfs...I can e-mail them to my account or download through my computer. Easy:)

To save time, I usually read through the lesson, talk about it with dd, and only do the experiment if needed to illustrate a concept.

I'm plus size with a short torso and DDs, and I've found the babyhawk OhSnap to be the most comfortable for when my kids got bigger. I had a mei tai like the regular babyhawk until my kids were about 25-30lbs, but I can carry my kids comfortably even now at 40lbs in the ohsnap. I also tried at least 5 other carriers (including the beco) and this is adjustable in so many ways it just makes it fit just right. Love it! I found mine used on thebabywearer.com forums...amazon has them too with free returns. http://www.amazon.com/BabyHawk-Snap-Carrier-Sophia-Black/dp/B004Q9SDMS/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1323553836&sr=1-1

We've been using aquaphor. But it's comforting to hear that I don't have the only 5yo with this issue!

Our state department of education website has a listing of charters, and have the ones that have homestudy options are highlighted in a different color. I found ours through a recommendation from a friend, but I checked out the different options on that list. btw, It's been a really good fit :)

When I knew dd could read chapter books but she preferred picture books, we started checking out the book and audio versions together from the library. She still gets tons of picture books, but for rest time in the afternoon she will read along with the cd, and really enjoys it. I think Pippi Longstocking was the first one that she really loved, and she's done 4 of the Little House books and a couple EB White books. I think it's helped her confidence tremendously and when a cd skips, she has no problem continuing to read the story on her own;)

I find it odd that she doesn't have a lawyer. I know that here parents can get a court appointed lawyer. Maybe she should check to see if that's a possibility.

No solutions...we have the same child:D :bigear:

I think we're about in the same place:) My 5yo just finished 1A about a week and a half ago and we've been on vacation this week, so just playing around with stuff. I'm thinking we'll do CWP for a change of pace and then start 1b in January too.

We use a cubby thing we got from Costco...it's similar to the ikea cubbies with 8 cubbies, but each cubbie is much larger and it comes with 8 canvas type baskets. I can fit large textbooks or binders lying flat or standing up. They cost $100 and I love them:) They're super sturdy too:)

Thanks for all your responses...really helpful! After a couple days of asking her a few problems orally at lunch etc., she seemed to be able to do it really well and can do any number up to 100. I think the problem was 2-fold...having to count everything out in the pictures was overwhelming to her (she has her number bonds down solid), and just an attitude thing since everything else in the book was so easy--just not wanting to have to think. When she started getting them right I asked her what she did to figure it out and she said, "Oh, I just thought about it and then I knew.":tongue_smilie: So is this information in the HIG? Maybe I skimmed too quickly, but I didn't notice the text saying anything about opening a 10 (or any other method particularly...I did the nearest 10 method just because that's how I think, but didn't see it in the book). Opening a 10 seems like so many more steps than just subtracting part way and then the rest. Should I go back and teach her that way too? Is there a benefit I'm missing? Or just let her go on with her own way...she can do any number like 86-9 mentally quickly. I don't get the reason for counting backwards as a subtraction method either(again, it seems really slow to me).

Dd (turned 5 this week) seems pretty mathy...for example, when she was 3 and asked me to teach her to count to 100 we did it together 1 time and she says, "so counting to 40 is 10, 4 times, and 50 is ten 5 times" and seemed to understand how to multiply other smaller numbers. I'll often see her writing math equations just for fun or she'll come up with her newest revelations like, "I was thinking, that since there's 2 5s in 10, and 20 is 10 2 times, then 5 4 times must be 20." Now here's my dilemma: we started singapore 1a about a month and a half ago. We do it 3-4 days a week and we're about done, except for the subtraction of numbers over 10 (not ones like 19-3, but more the ones that cross 10 like 14-7). She Just. Won't. Do. It. She says they're too hard, but when I ask her similar questions orally she gets it if I anchor her first with a question like, 14-4, then ask what is 14-7 (she can do any number up to 100 this way, but only wants to do it in her head). I'm not sure if it's the pictures that bother her...even in the addition section she'd cover them up and absolutely refuse to look at them for help in figuring out problems. She insists on doing everything mentally. She also has told me multiple times that she really likes the pages where they just have problems all in a row without the pictures that you have to count or circle or anything. We have the c-rods which she likes playing with, and does almost every day, but she won't use them for math problems. We also have the multifix cubes and it's the same thing: yes for building with, no for figuring out problems. Should I just skip the section for now? She gets how to do it mentally...is it just too tedious maybe? She really likes the cuteness of the pictures and often colors them afterwards, but just doesn't like having to use them to figure out a problem. Any advice? EDIT: I guess I'm wondering if this is something I should just skip temporarily to play around with other math (we went ahead and did the last 2 parts of the book already) or just skip entirely and move on to 1b? I think she gets the concept, but I don't want her miss stuff. I also don't want to bore her. I hate this second guessing myself! BTW some of you will relate: even with all she's learning, we're doing spelling the other day and she wanted to number her words and wrote 8 out of 10 of the numbers backwards:lol:

:iagree: I also taught remedial reading and it also seemed to me that most of the kids I taught got into the habit of guessing from sight words. I think many kids might do just fine with a combination of sight words and phonics, but for many students it causes real problems as they get into the habit of guessing instead of reading.

Link?

In my hair! I don't know if it's a hormone or lifestyle change after my last baby, but since then I get major tangles. My hair isn't super long...just below the shoulders, but I'm talking huge knots that take a really long time and lots of pain to get out. Any recommendations?

We're going through, and I'm never sure about the pace...2 activities? 3? or does it depend on the chapter? I know it won't be exact, but is there a schedule somewhere? Or just an average amount? Thanks!

Your post made me cry...I'm sure things won't be easy, but it really is a huge breakthrough! I'm sure it's wonderful watching her blossom under your care!

I'm sure this is a silly question, but I'm not sure if I'm doing this right...we're in level 1, step 1 and dd knows all the cards except about 5 of the multi-phoneme cards...she knows the sounds, but doesn't say them quickly when she sees the card. Do we have to stay on step 1 until she knows them all? Or can we move on and just keep reviewing them each time?

I have 6 kids under 6, so I totally know where you're coming from! It can take a lot of energy teaching and directing them, but it's definitely worth the effort! (I have to remind myself many times a day:) I wanted to recommend a couple things: 1. Like someone else recommended, we do read-alouds during lunch or with afternoon snack. If the kids get crazy at mealtimes, it's extremely tiring for me, so I'd rather provide direction so things are interesting and still under control. At lunch I'm usually tired so read-alouds occupy us without too much brain power on my part;) They also have to sit and eat anyways, so less likely that they'll want to run around and not listen. 2. Like someone else mentioned, interruptions can be good, but I'd like to put a caveat to that. When you have lots of littles, interruptions can lead to long rabbit trails to the point that you never actually read the book...talking and making connections is great and a vital part of reading, but another aspect is hearing proper intonation, grammar, complex sentence formation, and even paragraph structure...that doesn't happen with constant interruption. Personally, I don't allow the kids to interrupt, but I interrupt myself often, but I can do that at the end of the paragraph, etc.:) so they don't have much of a problem with it. We also talk about the stories often throughout the day, so during the story is not the only chance. 3. We've read E.B. White, a few of the Little House books, and tons of picture books, but the one I've enjoyed the most is Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Each chapter is very short (2-5 pages), so it doesn't take a huge investment of concentration for long periods. We'll usually read 3 or 4 in a sitting (and they always beg for more), but since each chapter is somewhat independent (although with the same characters) it's a lot easier for kids who aren't used to keeping focus for long periods. It's also extremely funny...the kids always sat open jawed (even my 1 year old!) and I'll admit to reading it on my own at times:D If read aloud time is a chore for you, it probably is for your kids too...a funny book can really put the joy back into the time:) 4. If something isn't working well for your family, don't sweat it or beat yourself up...I'm sure you're doing other things well that others can't fit in, it's just how life works:) Just enjoy the ride :grouphug: