Just wanted to add that if it is just hypermobile joints, she could outgrow it in time.

You can also go to an orthopedist. He/she may want to send you to genetic testing for syndromes associated with hypermobile joints. My younger daughter has this and her knees were dislocated at birth. We are going to the geneticist in a couple weeks. Hope that helps!

I think a tutor is a great idea. Especially at first, he will need help learning the tones of the language and the sounds. I agree with learning pinyin as a tool. Does he eventually want to read/write Chinese, or only converse? Pimsleur CDs are great as well, though they do teach you adult things like how to order a beer. :) They are very travel oriented and maybe not day-to-day. CCTV has many video lessons online: http://english.cntv.cn/learnchinese I am so jealous that your son is motivated! My kids can speak pretty well, but don't enjoy Chinese tutors/classes/etc. They don't mind reading or writing now, though. They would drop Chinese like a hot potato if I let them. :) (How they got to their level is a few years of bilingual school, two years of afterschool classes, one year of tutors & Saturday school).

Tutoring online? Or maybe it might be easier to cut $100 from your monthly budget in another area (cancel cable or ...)?

I think this is dredging up a lot of feelings for people! It is a little too easy to think of this in '80s movies terms - like the jocks versus the nerds or something. :) My kids are younger, but we have had issues at parties where the more active kids basically bulldoze through and the quiet kids are on the fringes. Some kids don't match up very well in party situations. Both groups would have had more fun with each other, I think. It was still fine, but I do see how it can be a problem. My kids like both kinds of kids, but they don't always play very well together, kwim? That said, I would either invite him or have the party somewhere other than your home. He is a friend and right down the street.

I wonder how much the generation you grew up in influences this as well. I'm thinking of how many movies/TV shows I watched growing up had the rich guy as the bad guy. I grew up with the idea (not from my parents, but from T.V.) that rich people were selfish and/or snobby. I'm not saying that is true, just that it was the message of a lot of media growing up. So I'm not sure American culture as a whole encouraged people to strive for wealth, at least not at that time.

Ugh, we had one doctor (ENT) that was ALWAYS running super late. There was one time we waited in the waiting room for almost an hour, then we had to go. They were shocked that we were leaving. Surely we were not the first ones to have to do that. From that time on, we only took appointments first thing in the morning. (Yes, they still managed to be running late even first thing in the morning! But by 15 minutes or so instead of 30 or 40). I was so happy when we were done with that doctor! I also left an OBGYN appointment after having my son. I had waited around 45 minutes in the exam room and had to get home to nurse. Again, they seemed surprised that I was leaving. It turns out the doctor wasn't even there at the time, but nobody told me until I was leaving.

Does he think cartoons are babyish? If not, I would recommend: Brainpop ESL Peppa Pig (you can find many episodes on Youtube) Muzzy (check and see if it is at the library) He may have seen "Pleasant Goat and the Big Big Wolf" cartoon in China (it is really popular), so he might enjoy and learn from watching episodes in English.

I have the same question as *Jen*! Can 6A/B be skipped? Or maybe gone through really quickly before starting DM 7? I promised ds he could start pre-algebra next year after 5B. :)

.

How cute! :)

I'd love to hear from people who live or have lived there! We are thinking of moving from the Bay Area CA to Portland (maybe Beaverton?). We have family there and would love to live somewhere more affordable. I do have some hesitations, however: 1) I heard the job market is tight. We wouldn't move without a job for dh lined up, but what if that company goes under or the job doesn't work out? Does it take a long time to find a new one? Dh is in tech on the business development side. 2) Am I really going to be depressed in the winter? 3) Is there a big teen drug problem? I get the sense that there is, but don't know how it compares with the bay area. 4) Will I be sad that Berkeley won't be in-state tuition anymore? (The answer to that one is yes...) :) 5) Other things (good or bad) I may not have thought of?

nm

We have white dishes from Ikea. We haven't had them long, but I like them so far. I did drop one and it broke (as I would expect from ceramic). They were inexpensive and we bought extra beyond what we thought we would need just in case. So far, so good!

I added up that we do about 30 hours per week, but around 10 hours is on foreign language - so we are pretty similar in that sense.

I check Amazon first. If it is selling for more than $6, I will list it there. If not, I bring it to the local used book store.

We just added a two year old to our family, so I understand! It is tough. We had to postpone or drop a lot of teacher-intensive curricula/activities. Maybe you could postpone WWE until next fall. Instead, have the kids listen to an audio book and then ask them a few quick questions. Look for other things they can do independently - handwriting practice, some science things (give them a challenge - like building a bridge out of straws and see how many wooden blocks it can hold, then try another bridge and see if it holds more or less blocks), some art projects (coloring in a fancy design), math fact practice for the olders, listen to music from different composers or from different countries, play with letters/word magnets etc. Think of a classroom teacher who has 30 kids - she can't be right there discussing everything with every child. It is okay to take a step back and have the big kids doing some things on their own for this season. :) In general, I would focus on getting the older kids to be a little more independent so you can attend to the 2 year old. Most kids this age are too young to consistently play on their own. There may be times that a 2 year old is highly engaged in something - the trouble is that it isn't always predictable! Something that works one day may not work the next. With maturity and practice, eventually playing alone will be more consistent and last for longer periods. Hang in there! Definitely take that nap time to relax and recharge!

Hmm... Well, what would you tell someone if they told you the same? Would you agree with that person that they deserve less? Imagine you are talking with a dear friend and she said she deserves less because of her appearance. Would you agree?

I tried tried tried MCT because so many people love it, but honestly I think it was a waste of time and money (lots of money!). I had bought the whole set for Island and it was my most expensive mistake to date. I found the books unappealing aesthetically and unnecessarily complicated. I felt like the author was being kind of cutesy with "Mud" and the tone of the books was just weird. And I didn't get why we were learning poetry written by MCT instead of poetry written by poets? I really couldn't stand Life of Fred for many of the same reasons. Although MCT seemed a little less condescending. If you like LOF, maybe you will like MCT. Just wanted to give you another perspective, since I know many people here love MCT.

:) We have watched a few so far. My kids are younger, so we just watch it (don't do anything else in connection to it). Ds really enjoys it.

Salsa videos some beginning readers / writing prompts from Scholastic Dollar Days Verbos flash cards

It sounds like he is not picturing the story as he listens (or reads). I would teach him to visualize what you are saying while you read to him. Start with just a sentence. And ask him what he pictures for that. For example, if you read the sentence "The kids were having an egg hunt," ask him what he pictures - is it outside or inside, how many kids does he picture, what objects are in the picture, etc. Make sure he has a full and complete picture in his mind. When he gets good at picturing sentences, try a few sentences, then a paragraph (over several sessions - whatever his pace is). Eventually he should be able to picture as you read a WWE passage. I did this with ds when he was younger and it really helped. When he asked why he needed to do this, I explained that he has part of his brain that is in charge of words and part that is in charge of pictures. If the two parts work together, they are much more powerful and can remember a lot more. :)

I ordered the Stanford tests several weeks ago to give to the kids next week. When I ordered, they said they would arrive a week ahead of time. They should have arrived yesterday, but didn't, so I emailed them to ask if they have shipped and what the shipping date was. They replied to say they haven't shipped and will ship them "as soon as possible." :( I ordered test prep materials as well and planned to use them this week. Dh took the mornings off next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so he could take care of our toddler while I was testing the big kids. If they haven't shipped, I'm guessing they won't get here in time. Our test date is supposed to be April 28th and the norms they use at Abeka say they are supposed to be taken by April 30th for the correct percentiles, etc. (Last time, we used BJU and they had no such deadline for norms). The guy who emailed said not to worry because we have 30 days after our test date to complete and return the tests. But our whole schedule for the next few weeks would have to change, including dh's work schedule, if we have to complete them a different week. Now I am feeling really rushed and I don't know how we are going to juggle anything. Maybe I should just cancel? Testing is not required for us, but I wanted to do it every two years just to see how things are going. However, I'm not sure it will be accurate if we do no test prep and try to rush through them (if they even get here in time). Ugh! Just frustrated right now. :(

Kind of thinking out loud now - I also want to expose the kids to more people who are passionate about something. I don't even really care what they are passionate about. I just want them to meet people who are excited about things. For example, a few years ago when ds was in school I arranged for a snake/reptile expert to visit the class. His enthusiasm for snakes was really contagious! I'd love for the kids to be exposes to passionate people more - in person, in videos, in books, etc.

Thanks, Dialectica! Do you have any advice for making learning relevant to everyday life? I'd love to do more of this. I was just thinking I could find some hands-on projects - like making a clock or other useful item. Also, I want to look into local issues that they may be interested in. Last year we talked about some local beavers and the controversy around them (the beavers were making a dam and some people were worried about flooding, others wanted the beavers to stay). The kids were really interested in this. Maybe controversies in general could be engaging? Something where there is no "right" answer, but worthy of discussion.