Try some research on systemic disease and dental health. It's a learning process if you've never explored this issue before. Try to preview quality reference material, peer-reviewed etc. I also have experimented with elimination diets (removal of specific foods) to test my body response. The most dramatic first test to try is the removal of all starch based foods. Try it for ten days or so to see if you may have a style of candida. You'll know at the end of ten days just by the way your skin responds. If you see major improvement or not.

I'm very familiar with detoxing. I use a juicer, all organic, lots of water and supplements (vitamins). For a critical element of fiber, I add psyillum husk and throw in a salad every few days. It takes about 30 days to hit a highly noticeable effect (skin, energy, sleep, clarity) pattern. I would also say the foundation of all is exercise, positive thinking changes. Be advised that once you start and begin to feel "better" and respond, and then you go back to anything processed or chemically added your body may revolt by responding with immediate signs such as hives, nausea, mood problems etc. Once a person is "cleaned" out, it's rather difficult when you go "back". I would say it's a lifestyle change absolutely; but for me, a good one. Do not mess with net literature for a guide, it is dangerous and innaccurate; do try to find a professional (I use a naturopath) to assist you, check blood levels etc. I would also say that pro-biotics are critical to the process, you must keep your intestinal flora in balance. Being organic is very expensive as well; and this takes more planning and thought than you may expect. There is a lot of discipline involved. Protein is something to be aware of also, I happen to use supplements, two different types. One is a whey, the other is a slower release protein for night. It is a day and night difference. Even if you go through this detox for a short time, you will see great benefits. Good luck to you.

That's a really nice idea plum, it is good this works so well for your children.

It sounds from the responses this is a really common situation that happens to the home school families, and it isn't going to stop. So I guess if it were me, I'd try to find a way to turn it into a good thing. Is there a way you can re-frame your thoughts for your own sake? Maybe every time it comes up, look at it as an opportunity to display gracious response in front of your children or count your blessings? This way, a re-framing, can provide you with strength and gratitude and cause you to be thankful. For myself, personally; I would never ask something so personal of a stranger or make it my business, one never knows the situations behind lives at the moment. I recognize such a statement as bad manners. But I would encourage you to think of a way to turn it into a positive moment if you can.

I'd go with the standard goals but...add one element that's really special (I did this) I made a chore chart with the same reward system for MYSELF and put it right there next to the the kid. Really a fun thing for the kids to see what you are responsible for, helps build a mindset of a family team. Also, I made it a point to make responsibilities and behaviors that are positive in tone. It makes it fun and a character builder, good conversation. So for the things you mentioned in your post, pick the positive opposite behavior.. (hateful)- good things...loving expression, generosity..etc. (messy) - good things..being tidy, helping out Kids love photos of themselves doing the activity I think. Take some photos of them and paste them into the chart actually doing the behavior you wish to see. Here is an example of a series of my kiddo doing baseboard work (lol) http://4962997.blogspot.com/2011/07/housekeeping-101.html We reviewed it, talked it over and I was able to say how proud I was of her, why we need to do housework, the reasons and all that kind of thing. Let them also help guide you one what they want to see positive out of you..hugs, fun, parks, this sort of thing. Just some ideas..

What kind of people are asking you these questions? Is it just generalized casual folks in public?

For me, a visit to the naturopath & dentist worked. Turns out I have sensitivities to chemicals in foods along with good supplements.. and about six months of dental work fixed it. I had no idea how much infection was literally in my face from poor gum health. I now eat a totally weird diet called raw, but it's marvelous for me. Have you tried diet or dentist?

I happened to view this TED talk today by Sir Ken Robinson. I think it speaks to your directly to your post. http://art4kid.blogspot.com/2011/07/art-advocacy.html Might be food for thought for you in there.

I'm a parent who *always* has the threat of a sudden move hanging over the family; and it's only due to employment issues. Consider families that fall under this umbrella of moving all the time. Homeschooling is a solution for these families who have to move all the time. A few off the top of my head: Military families, Migrant Families or any other families that may have to move without warning due for employment reasons.

Absolutely there was a huge misunderstanding going on, and we've talked about it at length. And I did wonder at times if she was re-hashing it all or making comments to see if it hit a "hot" button with me. I carefully watched over time, the expressions, words, behaviors associated with it as an issue. I didn't faint away and go all Jerry Springer or give a strong response; but kept questioning, listening and observing. I believe there was a misunderstanding that festered deeply for her, she went and had herself a glorious childhood moment. There was genuine hurt, confusion as a result of the way she received and understood the conversation. I can honestly say I've never seen her hold onto something that long, it really had impact for her. It really hit her soul. One night, I went in to check on her after she was asleep, it was weighing on my mind. I know this is a very edge-of-the herd thing to say, but I was looking at her, thinking about it; asking for any "sign" of guidance...I went to rearrange her covers...and that kid had clutched in her hand her brushes like other girls cuddle a doll. It was a moment like a key opening a lock for me. The last thing I ever want to do would be to over-react, and I don't think I've waited too long or anything like that; and I can see the possibility of this fading into nothing as she grows. For now though, it's important.

Actually, I've found three..one an art professor at the university, another at a gallery show, and the third we've planned for a few weeks at an art show with about 200 artists in attendance, some under the age of 17 (I hope this is inspiring for her). I've also been collecting a few addresses here and there from museum directors and the like, I'm working with her to craft some letters and send them to them. Hopefully they'll write back (I'm including SASE) and say a few words of encouragement. It's been emotional watching her express this discouragement, disappointment and doubt for weeks. I did wonder if the genesis and the attitude were stemming from other issue. It just went on for too long and I knew I needed to step up and address it. Ever sit by your child's bed side at night while they sleep, look into their face so peaceful and get that feeling that's so soft but fierce at the same time? I do and don't mean to be melodramatic about it, but I thought and prayed about this for quite some time. I waited for the answers in my heart to surface. I feel and know that this is really important. This is not the first or last time someone will tell her point blank to give up on her dreams..but as long as I live, she needs and will receive from me every bit of support I can give her in this world. It's my duty as her mother, I do not know any other way. We'll turn this into the best bad thing that ever happened. Everything for a reason and all that.

Ever read any Alice Hoffman? My all time favorite is "Here On Earth". I've probably read that on vacation a million times. She makes you feel like a little kid getting lost in a fairytale for the first time ever. Sheer magic. Also, Olive Kitteridge is a standard fave of mine, I always buy this when I see it around and give it to friends. I love discussing it. Both are fiction works, which for me, is unusual to read, I'm generally all non fiction.

For myself, I took art classes all the way through high school, then into my college years. When I think of "the arts" - I think of all disciplines; musical, visual, written, dance...but for the little one right now, I think "art" for her means generalized studies such as painting, drawing and other "crafty" media. When I asked her, "What is art?" she replied, "Creativity, making things to share with others in a new way to get ideas across, to see things a different way." So I think by that, she understands it's a method of communicating and expression. I think the iron is hot in the fire for her. There is something about this age where a window is open, some sort of drive that begins. I'm not exactly sure what to call that...maybe just some sort of developmental opportunity. So I would like to do some exposure to different disciplines, environments, tools..things like this. I don't know if any of you out there use netflix service, but I do. There is a website called instantwatcher.com that will search the netflix database (in what I think is a better way) and help locate obscure or hard to find documentaries. That website holds an amazing amount of information. I'm hoping that one of the DVD's I've ordered for her will arrive in the next day or so, it is called "My Kid Could Paint That". It is the story of a young 4 year old child who was given art materials (painting) by her parents and she splashed quite happily on canvas. Her parents took the canvas to a friends coffee shop, hung them up, and some of the NY City patrons of the store wanted to buy them. One thing led to another, and the next thing you know, the childs paintings are in museums, her parents were invited on Oprah, the kid was labeled a prodigy and went into a media frenzy. Ahem. Anyway, it's the story of this family, the child and of her art journey. On the other hand, I'd like to show as a contrast the collector side of abstract art by watching "Herb & Dorothy". That is the story of two elderly folks who amassed a fortune in art on very modest salaries. They then, at the end of their collecting lives, donated the collection (which is genuinely a hoard) to various museums all over the world. I've seen this documentary before and highly recommend it. So, my second attempt will be a contrast/compare hopefully. How one would cover all the disciplines and sub-categories involved under the umbrella of just painting is amazing in its own right. Modern, Ancient, Classical, Romantic, Modern, Contemporary, Cubist..yow! I need seven lifetimes just for that. We are moving in a few weeks, and in our new apartment, I hope to create a small gallery inside to create an "exhibit" of her drawings and such..there is pottery, photography, paintings, drawings...I think it's important to create those spaces in our home to support her. Fortunately/unfortunately, there will be a Michaels craftstore about three blocks away. Pray for me. :) :) lol

Rosie, I owe you one. How insightful. The fish thing, diversity.... I'm brainwashed by the Blooms pyramid. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Lesson Plan. In order. Cover all bases. I'm being too "Federal Guidelines" about it. B I N G O Where do I send my check? :) Thanks so much! I haven't had what feels like an original thought for days. You nailed it.

Oh sure, I recognized the insult, I felt it, but my thought that followed was this.. "And this is exactly why your kid wants to spend 10 hours a day at my house and not yours..." Is that very mean of me? ps: I'm a much better cook also. :)

Well, I've been sketching and writing things for a week or so. Saving little things from here and there as I've read. I put a little area to *try* to organize the thoughts here: http://art4kid.blogspot.com/ (nothing to really see yet). I know that this child is a visual learner, followed by auditory, then tactile, next verbal and last kinetic. She's impatient (classic 8 yr old). Of course I know these things, I'm her mother..lol.. What I've done is to gather up about 25 or so art video/documentaries. I'm trying to put them together by *her* sorting them out top down. She was very convinced she wanted the first artist to be Alex Gray (link here for trailer: http://art4kid.blogspot.com/p/art-ed-video.html ). Well, I began to play it and she said, "This makes me sleepy.." Huh? Um, sorry kid..mom already has worked out your vocabulary sheets, the projects after the movie..all of this stuff..and now..you say..."this makes me sleepy.." What a kick in the pants that was for me. My rational mind kicked in and said, "Look, it's bad timing, that's all..that's all.." and we did nothing that day. I'd already gone and fetched the evil eye beads (this is a related element of Alex Gray's work), had the kit ready for after viewing...(the creation or top level of blooms..) I thought I was all smarty pants ready, crossed my t's and dotted my eyes and was stood up! Huge lesson plan failure. Or just the execution of it anyway. I'm not throwing the baby out with the bathwater by any means, but..that's how things have started out. I need to stay motivated too, my mama-bear anger is only going to take me so far of course. I want to see the growth and excitement. I've lined up three community visits. One to the local university to meet a REAL professor of art history, then another to the local art gallery where an artist has agreed to meet with her, and last...an all day adventure at this art show with about two hundred artists in the show, outdoors..a fairly big deal. They'll have "junior" artists there doing exhibits (and selling art) which are people under the age of 17. I was talking about this with a group of other mothers, bouncing around ideas, and one of them said to me, "You are just one of those mothers who do too much period." I was insulted. Deeply.

She is attending a different school next year. In the most gentle terms I can manage, the reason is simply that I've had it. Excuse me, I should say, "we've all had it." You honestly don't want to hear what this teacher said about staying home, having babies while the husband goes to work. I didn't want to either; I was driving, going down the road at 45 miles an hour in rush time traffic when this conversation first happened. I was not prepared to have a teachable moment just then.. lol... I'm familiar with Blooms taxonomy as a method of education, and I've gathered up many ideas to work on. It is the finer details of putting them into practice I need help with. Have you ever bought one of those Sauder assemble-it-yourself dressers? Get it out of the box, look at the pieces scattered all over the floor; glance at the instructional pictures and say to yourself "oh boy, this might be harder than I thought.." That's sort of where I am at right now. I have the pieces, parts, ideas, and objectives...but how do I put it together the right way? This is where I'm stuck.

This is an example of her photo editing, the first picture is the before, the second is after. Before: http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061.jpg After: http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061-1.jpg I'm trying to put together a little web spot for her to store her work on. I hope that her next art teacher will be interested.

Thank you everyone for the viewpoints. I am gathering up your suggestions. I would like to create some at-home/community style lesson plans to work with her on. It's the planning part I need help with. I'm not feeling confident about organizing this. She is interested in all kinds of art. One I think she does well with is photography. I will post a sample of her editing. I think hearing from someone else besides me would be helpful for her. I keep thinking a mentor might be a good idea. Even a virtual mentor? What do you think?

Hi, thank you for reading. I need some help and ideas. I have a daughter, she is 8 years old. She wants to grow up to be an artist. The problem is that her teacher told her, "Being an artist is not a good idea, there is no money in that career." I am trying to overcome the damage this has done to her. I would like to work with her at home on this. She is very discouraged, and now makes statements like, "All artists are stupid. That's what Mrs. Jones said." Every single day she's said something about it since school let out over 3 weeks ago. There is a treasure in this trial somewhere, I'm sure of it. I've come up with some ideas on my own, but I'm not exactly sure how to organize them, if they are good ideas. Would anyone like to talk about this with me? Thank you.

Okay, thanks for the guidance. I will post for help in the general section. I'm not quite sure how to ask my questions to the people that might be interested in helping. I hope I do this right.

Okay, here is the issue. My 8 yr. old daughter heard her teacher say to her: "It's not a good idea to want to be an artist, there is no money in that career." I am working on overcoming that statement and the damage it did. I'd like to weave together ideas on how to do that. Would anyone like to help?

It sounds like the right fit so far; is self-created curriculum & lessons okay?

Hi, I'm not sure I'm in the right place, what do you define or use to describe "afterschooling" here?