Following. The reviews for Science Fusion around here aren't good. But I have no idea whether they have improved it since it launched (a girl can dream, right??). It looks so good. Sigh.

RightStart Math is fantastic! I didn't know that my son had dyslexia when we started homeschooling in first grade. Many dyslesxic kids have trouble memorizing math facts, but he was so busy trying to beat me at the games, he learned his facts easily. RS is excellent for kids who struggle because the manipulatives help them to understand the math. The second edition apparently uses the manipulatives more, so do be sure to use the second edition if you go with RS.

I'm looking for learning to play chess resources (books, Web sites, things like the WinterPromise "Knight in the King's Court" program--is it worth the $99?) plus suggestions for a good affordable board and any other tips. I am so bad that my 12 year old just beat me playing at a bookstore! So really, this is to help both of us learn. We are both beginners--just know how the pieces move. No idea beyond that.

I suppose the fact that it came out in October isn't helping. Not a great time of year for people to start using a new program. I found it at Rainbow Resources for quite a bit less than the $89 at Apologia. In case that helps anyone. UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama--I prefer secular curricula. Since you own it, would you agree that the religious parts seem to mostly be in the author interviews? That's what I'm seeing in the 130-page sample. But it would help to know I'm not totally wrong. I know, it's Apologia--why am I even looking at it if I want secular? But I have looked at and tried so many writing programs (ds is dyslexic, ADHD, SPD, and probably dysgraphic), and this really looks right for us. Jealous that you found it new for $50--what a score!

We finished Quark Chronicles: Botany in December, and I enjoyed following the schedule in the notebooking pages that had us read other books after we finished each Quark chapter. My son loved Ellen McHenry's Botany in 8 Easy Lessons--so much so that we spent the past semester using her Elements book for Chemistry. Ds also enjoyed the DK encyclopedia of plants (really cool pictures) and I felt like both books lined up well with the Quark chapters. True, we didn't worry about the experiments or the vocabulary b/c we're working so hard in Barton remediating dyslexia and I'm a weenie about experiments. But I still think it was worth the $$ to have the suggested other readings (we read other books suggested throughout the guide, too). The notebooking pages break down suggested reading lists by grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, which I found very helpful. We like Quark and when I buy the Anatomy for the fall, I plan to get the notebooking pages for it, too. Edited to fix a typo. Not a typo!!

Thank you for telling me about your friend's positive experience with the program! I know it's new but it surprises me that no one else is responding! Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?

I can't find anything in any searches on the boards about this program. Attempting to add a link here: http://www.apologia.com/writers-in-residence-/455-writers-in-residence-volume-1-full-set-text-and-answer-key.html A local HS mom told me about it, and I've been reading through a 100+ page sample of it today. I like what I see so far. I thought I was going to use Treasured Conversations for my son in the fall (he's ADHD, dyslexic, and has SPD so we aren't at grade level for writing at all). But Writers in Residence has serious potential from what I am seeing. Now I just need The Hive to sign off on it ;-). We prefer a secular program (and we would have to skip some or all of the author profiles if the first one is representative of the others--way to Jesus-y for my son). But besides the author profiles and the intro in the student book, it seems fairly neutral and to be nicely incremental, which my kiddo needs. Thoughts? Opinions?

RightStart Math is amazing for wiggly kids bc it's manipulative heavy and abacus based--also has lots of games. My son loved RS and so did I. It's scripted, too.

My shortest reply ever: check out Wayfarers by Barefoot Ragamuffin. Classical Mason. Amazing.

Vitamin D pills are usually tiny. Mine are 2,000 IUs, and it's an itty bitty pill.

They keep track at Barton of who has ordered which levels new. They absolutely will not sell you a set of tiles for a level that you did not purchase new from them. You can occasionally get lucky and find a kind soul who will order a level's tiles for you b/c he/she ordered that level new, but I would not count on that. Don't get me wrong--Barton is amazing and has transformed my son's ability to spell! I love it! I just wish they didn't make it so hard to get extra tiles. We finally (at the start of Level 7) just transitioned to the tiles app. It was just too many tiles to get out and put away most days. Even I was fed up with *that* many tiles!! But I agree with a previous poster--I would not have switched to the tiles app much before now. Ds needed the tactile feedback from those little wooden tiles. I'm glad we got extra sets of tiles up until now. Oh, BTW, we started Barton before we even had a dyslexia diagnosis for my son. He ticked every box on every list and it's in the family. So I got the first two levels and dove in. It was the right choice for us for sure. Glad we started when we did. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It does sound like there is more work to do with the VT based on your last post, OP, but so many of the things you describe in other posts sound like my son, who just turned 11 and has done VT, is dyslexic, ADHD, and SPD. Even at 11, he still has to look at his hands to remember left and right (I taught him the L with the left hand trick and it seems to help). I'm glad you are working to get an eval because it does seem like there are flags for dyslexia. OhElizabeth is the expert but I'll just add another plug for Barton here. It is a fantastic program. When we started Barton, my eight-year-old son couldn't spell "the"--he used no vowels at all in what he wrote. In two years, we've gotten almost halfway through the 10 levels, and he can spell things like "epoxy" and "Wisconsin"! I would never had expected to see this level of progress. Yes, it's hard work, but between the scripting and how incremental it is, it works! And even though my son whines a little when we start Barton, he doesn't complain while we are doing the program. I get less pushback during Barton lessons than during math even! I tell you, Susan Barton is a word genius. She has created an amazing program for dyslexic kiddos. Everything OhE said about buying and selling the levels is spot on. You do have to get extra tiles from Level 2 on if you want to sell your set used (or use the Barton tiles app), but basically you just need to come up with the money for two levels at the start, then you sell Level 1 and use the money to buy Level 3. Once you finish Level 2, you sell it and use that $ to buy Level 4, and so on. Barton is popular and holds its value, so you get most of your investment back. And it is absolutely worth it if your kiddo is indeed dyslexic. Best of luck! Christina

Here is my enormous contribution to this marathon thread (which I read today since I have a cold and spent the day in bed): mini ham sandwiches! This is for Katy re: what to take to new moms. I was a total wreck with kid #1 (granted, we were back in the hospital for five days on the very day we took him home, but still, it was brutal and I was so hungry but didn't know how to figure out food while holding a cranky baby). A friend brought us a package of homemade mini ham sandwiches (and a bunch yogurts). You know those little minion-shaped rolls that come all attached to each other? Or a package of Hawaiian sweet rolls. You take those, cut each one in half and insert slices of ham. It sounds simple but it was absolutely a life saver. I ate those mini ham sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for like five days. Hubby even mentioned those life-saver sandwiches last week . . . and our son just turned 13! HTH, Christina P.S. Chellie--your friend's son sounds so much like my son, who just 11 and has dyslexia, ADHD, and SPD. I wonder if on top of what appears to be an extreme social media addiction and major avoidance of her kiddos, your friend might be overwhelmed by her son's undiagnosed learning disabilities. Getting him tested could give her some guidance about what is going on and why it is hard for him to understand things (as others have said, MUS Alpha should not be hard for a NT 10 year old). Maybe some of her avoidance of school is that he struggles and she's helpless to help him "get" things b/c she doesn't know what is causing him to not get it. So she (very occasionally) musters the energy to do school, he gets frustrated and doesn't understand materials that are years too easy for a NT kid, she gets frustrated since he should get it, and she gives up for weeks or months at a time. A recipe for disaster.

I have an ADHD kiddo and my hubby found this book last year: Sitting Still Like a Frog. It is mindfulness exercises specifically for children, and it is fantastic b/c it comes with a CD: http://www.amazon.com/Sitting-Still-Like-Frog-Mindfulness/dp/1611800587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424668074&sr=8-1&keywords=sitting+still+like+a+frog We have been starting every school day with it, and I think I enjoy it as much as my son does! Sometimes I pick what track we do; sometimes he does. Many days, we do more than one track. We are Christians and I haven't heard anything yet that I object to. It is absolutely about being mindful and not at all anything woo-woo. Nothing Buddhist or anti-Christian. Very secular/neutral. I have frequently seen it transform how my son is feeling, especially if he's having a rough day (he tends to beat himself up b/c big brother is NT and he's got ADHD, SPD, and maybe some auditory stuff). Don't know that it has extended his attention span but I do know that we have much calmer better school days when we start with mindfulness using the frog book. We've also got Mindful Movements by Thich Nhat Hahn. It has a DVD that shows monks doing the movements: http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Movements-Ten-Exercises-Well-Being/dp/1888375795/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424668367&sr=8-1&keywords=mindful+movements Haven't done this one all the way through, but so far it's neutral. The movements are very soothing but right now we prefer the other book. I have personally benefited greatly from this last book, but the meditations would probably be too long for most kiddos. I mention it b/c it is really good and might benefit teens (or any moms out there with brains that feel like a hamster on a treadmill--this really really helps!): http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Eight-Week-Finding-Peace-Frantic/dp/1609618955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424668564&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness+an+eight-week+plan+for+finding+peace+in+a+frantic+world

In case this is helpful, here is our experience with an ADHD/SPD kiddo. For years, I didn't want him labeled and just thought he was a typical, active little boy. But as he got older, he started to get frustrated by his inability to focus/concentrate (we started homeschooling halfway through first grade b/c p.s. was a disaster). When we started to hear negative self talk last spring (he was in fourth grade), we jumped into trying to get to the root of things. Here is the cool part: once we confirmed that he did have SPD and worked with an OT, his ADHD was way way way better. It's like he was so out of sync that it was causing the ADHD. My hubby says you would think we'd found a miracle pill for his ADHD but instead, it's just us helping him to stay regulated via a few exercises that he does daily. Now he often goes and does his regulating activities on his own when he's extra wound up. Oh, have you looked at food coloring? Removing that from our son's diet was huge. We had an accidental ingestion of a soda with food dye last week and the behavior was (once again) dramatic. Finally, he sees it and has promised not to cheat. There are other things like high fructose corn syrup and even gluten that many parents of ADHD kiddos see making a difference when eliminated from the diet. One interesting thing to note: for our son, "heavy work" is the key to calming down/getting regulated. Obviously this depends on the child and where he/she is over-responsive or under-responsive. But I wanted to mention it since that is going to vary by child. I think you are on track with starting to address the SPD first. Maybe you'll still need to deal with the ADHD. But maybe it will get worked out as you address the SPD and consider his diet! Best of luck, Christina