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

You've gotten fantastic advice from OhElizabeth and others. I'll just reiterate that Barton truly is amazing. We've used it for two years for our son, and it has transformed his abilities. The boy couldn't spell "the" when we started--he used no vowels at all and was eight years old. He can now spell "epoxy" and "compliment" thanks to Barton (we're halfway through Level 5). It is absolutely worth it (1) to get your kiddo tested so you don't overlook anything (for example, SPD or sensory processing disorder wasn't even on our radar but our kiddo was off the charts in six of the eight areas) and (2) to dive into remediating with both feet so you can stop the frustration for both of you. What you are doing now is not working, and good for you for seeing that and asking for advice. Give yourself grace to do a little researching ($2000 seems exorbitant for a diagnosis--maybe seek other options?), then get her tested, and jump into helping. Yes, it will take a lot of time at first to juggle the various programs if you need more than one, but when both of you see progress, it will all be worth it--especially for your daughter's self esteem when she sees for herself that there were issues beyond her control preventing her from reading. It was not her fault that it was so hard. That is priceless--not to mention how much easier it will be for you to help her once you address any underlying issues and/or are using the right program(s). You can do it! Christina

So while I was typing my novella, Storygirl said exactly what I was trying to say in one sentence. Srriously. Any my son at 10 still wears his clothes inside out and backward, too, though it's mostly down to pajamas now. He mostly gets his day clothes right these days. Why did I just realize that? Sigh. Another sign of progress and I had overlooked it!

Did you fly to my house and peek in my windows anytime last year?? Because you are describing my son to a T before we figured out that SPD was causing his ADHD. Last year (he was nine), he got diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, not that either was a surprise to me, since we'd been homeschooling for 2 1/2 years at that point. We were already doing the Barton Reading & Spelling. What did surprise me was that ADD/ADHD is no joke. I'd always known he was a high energy, distractible kid and public school was a disaster for him. But reading "Driven to Distraction" was seriously eye opening. It showed me that instead of just thinking he would outgrow it, we needed to help him. It talked about how ADD/ADHD kids tend to have more car accidents, spend their money unwisely/impulsively, even have higher percentages of substance abuse because they try to self medicate to get focus. Seriously threw me for a loop, and this wasn't some wacko book--apparently it is the gold standard in ADD/ADHD research/books. So, we tried three different stimulant medications but they made him jittery and he felt awful/sick on every one. Then a friend mentioned again that I consider Sensory Processing Disorder. I thought it was just for highly reactive kids. I was wrong. People can be over reactive or under reactive in eight different areas. Our son is under reactive to touch (always bumping into things), for example. We did a questionnaire with our OT and he was off the charts in six of the eight areas. Even the OT was surprised by the extent of it. Fast forward six months, and he is a different child. We did about four months of OT really focused in on the SPD and it has transformed my son. He feels better. We feel better. School is so much better it's hard to put into words how relieved I am! The best part is that *he* is so proud of himself because he can focus way better and he is functioning so much better. Warning: the OT made us cut screen time back to two hours per day. I thought this might kill all of us, but it has been a big part of how much better he is doing. We see this when he has lots of screen time on a sick day. So now that I've written you a novella, OP, hopefully this is a little bit helpful in terms of seeing that you can remediate or ameliorate ADD/ADHD and/or SPD with help from an OT and without paying a fortune to that program you mentioned. He does his regulating activities each morning before school (jumping on the trampoline, weighted ball presses, wall presses, etc.) and they make such a difference. I would encourage you to look into how you can help your son, since it will help all of you. He will be getting a lot less negative feedback from the family, and you will have much more peace b/c your kiddo won't feel so out of sync. BTW, that is a book you can read "The Out-of-Sync Child" about SPD but it is much less fun to read than "Driven to Distraction"--it's a little dry. Best of luck! Christina

I wonder if the RightStart games book would be helpful. My son is dyslexic, which we didn't know when I chose RightStart Math. I just knew we needed something hands on with few worksheets. Well it turned out that the games were absolutely perfect re: helping him memorize his math facts. He was so busy trying to beat me in Go to the Dump and other games that he didn't realize he was learning the math facts up to 10 and then 11, etc. I think the book that comes with all of the cards is only $30 and it is stand alone/independent--and it goes up through division, I'm pretty sure. You would just need to play the games with your kiddo or have another child play, but it was fun for me, since my son enjoyed it so much. And I could see it working. Flash cards and drill and kill would have been so painful with this boy. Games were golden. FYI, I will say Math-U-See has been the ticket for us in getting our multiplication facts mastered. We switched to it in April when he didn't understand how RS taught multi-digit multiplication and it was going to start division two days later. He has cruised through 18 lessons of Gamma in about 10 weeks. But given what you said about the crazy cost of getting MUS to you, maybe the RS games book could bridge the gap/help her learn her facts in a fun way? Best of luck! Christina

I feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas!! Sorry, all, for the disappointment with this. I had no idea that they had a wait list or that they prioritized p.s. teachers over homeschoolers. Boo hiss. The only reason I hadn't put in for the kit is that our year of science is packed and we are already behind, plus it is human body science and my son is on the lowest end of the age range. Since he's a young fifth grader, I figured we would wait a year or two so we could get more out of the kit. I wasn't trying to make any of you the guinea pigs--promise! Christina

I would love to hear from some of you about how long it takes for the kits to arrive (and whether they are as cool as they sound!). I couldn't tell if it was pretty quick or if there is a wait. Would help to know these things as I plan for next year. 'Cause you aren't completely busy educating your own children or anything . . . TIA, Christina

My son loved The Sentence Family and I did, too! We mainly just read the info on each family member and did some examples of words/sentences that used the newly introduced person last year. I would review everyone we had already read about, then add a new person or two. He actually asked for more most days! True confessions: I was lame and did not have us draw each character (and I wasn't thrilled with a number of minor typos in the text), but I am amazed by how my son understands the relationships between the various parts of speech because of The Sentence Family. Just last night, we were talking about parts of speech and discussing which sister (adverb/adjective) helps which brother (noun/verb). After using it to review our parts of speech at the start of this year, we are using IEW's Fix-It Grammar (the most current version) for the rest of the year. It isn't nearly as fun as The Sentence Family but my son is gradually getting better at finding the nouns, articles, and now pronouns in each sentence. The Sentence Family is absolutely worth the $$, especially for kiddos who thrive on story-based learning. I got a printed copy used from the WTM boards, but I think used copies go fast. Christina

Hi, all, Someone on another board posted about this impressive-looking resource and I wanted to share: http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/engineering-box/ It is a free four-week instructional engineering kit from the Dyson foundation (and no, I don't have a Dyson vacuum) where kids get to disassemble a Dyson vacuum. The site says they will send you the kit and return it for free, as long as you hit the four-week window. It does look fairly classroom oriented, but I don't see why we can't make this work for the homeschool environment. It is aimed at fifth through eighth graders. I've spent some time today trying to figure out how I can work this into our science for next year. As a four-week unit after physics maybe? I can't tell if it is completely different and just needs to be its own "engineering" thing we do for a month or if I can tilt it toward/use it as science. Anyway, just wanted to share, Christina Edited to fix the URL.

I've been looking into science for next year and came across Sassafras Science last night. Was excited until I saw the reviews here about the many typos. I am an editor. I despise typos. So I e-mailed the authors to ask if they were working on this and guess what? They are! Here is the reply I received this morning (I asked if I could share this, he said yes, and because the guy was really nice, I am not making snarky comments about the lack of commas in his e-mail): "We have hired a new editor and had them go through the book again and make the necessary corrections. Also we have had several customers look over the book and give us feedback on the issues and all have been pleased. We have updated the file with our printer and the corrected version will be available in 2 weeks." Hope this is helpful! I think we'll use volumes 1 and 3 next year for science. One thing crossed off my planning list. Yay! Christina

Bump (I'm curious about this, too--have been wondering if this could work for us after RightStart Level E). . .