This might be the list you're looking for: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AumgWD14ZCPSdGNRQVVjeVotbjcwVlByV3pPS2xJRlE&output=html

FWIW, we had a vehicle totalled in an accident that was the fault of another. I dealt directly with his insurance company. They gave us a value for the totalled car that I didn't agree with based on my own research. I asked them to provide the comparison information that they used. First, it had some errors in it concerning features of our vehicle. Also, it compared it to different (lower-priced) models (with a very slight adjustment for our higher-priced model) because they claimed they couldn't find anything better. I think they had used like a total of 2 or 3 other vehicles for comparison. I went back and forth and insisted that they compare our vehicle to more appropriate vehicles. Long story short, I got a good bit more money from them for the vehicle. So my point is, regardless of whether you go through your insurance company or the other party's, look at the valuation carefully. I don't know if you can rely on your own insurance company to do that for you.

I'll second Logic Safari. My almost 6 yo really likes it. Also, if you go to www.mindware.com and search through their logic books, you can print out sample pages for each book. I printed out several for my son to try to see what might catch his interest and which ones were at the right level. Also, your son might enjoy these free Hundred Board Logic Problems. http://mathwire.blogspot.com/2010/05/hundred-board-logic-problems.html These freebies also might be fun. I have them bookmarked, but haven't tried them yet. http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/

FWIW, we purchased a 2x3 white board for AAS, but we use it for all sorts of things, especially math. I find my son writing on it almost everyday as part of what he might be playing. (And somehow, his letters & numbers are neater on the whiteboard - I don't get it!) IMO, it was well worth the $20 investment.

I started a new lesson each day, and reviewed one or more prior lessons if my ds had any issues. I didn't always review the two immediately preceding lessons -- sometimes I would jump back 10 or more lessons if there was a particularly difficult vowel or consanant combo that he wasn't remembering. Now we're almost done (about 20 lessons left), so we're covering 4-syllable words. But I still go back to review an earlier lesson each time based on some of the vowel combos he still misses. The beauty of OPGTR is that subsequent lessons incorporate concepts from earlier lessons, so you can continue to practice older concepts & evaluate if additional review is necessary. Frankly, sometimes it appeared that he really got the concept after the lesson, but a month or two later when it would pop up again, he would struggle. Follow your child's lead, and you should do just fine. Good luck!

Last year my mother purchased one for my son at Walmart. It was pretty cheap, so if it doesn't survive forever, I don't care.

Love this!!

I certainly appreciate all of your supportive comments. I knew I could rely on the Hive to "get it" and make me smile. And I'm glad I made some of you laugh. I actually chuckled a bit too when I first read it. It reminded me of many posts I've seen on here -- when I said to myself: "People don't actually say these things, do they?" And like several of you mentioned, it's wonderful to have a child who is not "normal" -- who follows his own passions regardless of what his peers might think. And most of all, this whole incident makes me so appreciative of my own mother, who is kind, caring, generous, and supportive, and who offers nothing but unconditional love to both me AND my dh.

Actually, it did go to my dh, who forwarded it to me for my viewing pleasure. I doubt he's even going to send a reply, and I'm certainly not getting involved.

Not even a chance. The rest of the e-mail was just as outlandish, if not more so, but a little personal, so I decided not to share it all.

Frankly, I've always been willing to discuss this issue, because I value having family on board for support. The more I discussed it with my parents, who initially had no concept of what it was about, the more they strongly supported it -- and my mom was actually concerned that we were considering a public school option. But with MIL, there has never been any discussion. And then, out of the blue, this crazy e-mail. Needless to say, discussion over as far as I'm concerned.

Our family is generally supportive of homeschooling, except for MIL (a teacher), who isn't too keen on the idea -- which is putting it mildly. Recently got an e-mail from her with this doozy: "There is no substitute for school and all the things that are important for normal growth and development. And if he meets in play groups throughout the year with other home schooled kids, my gosh, it's just getting together with other strange, odd kids and stranger parents." (Emphasis in original.) Um . . . okay.

That list is great. And it came at just the right time. Thanks so much!

:bigear:

I just saw them at Target the other day for around $20.

This is what we're doing as well. The MEP "puzzles" are great for helping to cement the math facts without a lot of boring repetition. I'd recommend browsing through the worksheets in MEP Level 1 & just pick out those you think would be interesting - you don't need to do every one. And we supplement with games, living math books and random math activities.

We just finished our "K" year - so much fun! I kept it pretty simple like you're thinking to do. We just did MEP for math with supplemental activities (living math books, games, etc.) and it's been working out really well. My son was also really into geography. One of his favorite things to do was play with his wooden US jigsaw puzzle, and he normally isn't into puzzles. Just from playing, he learned his states & capitals. You might consider picking one of these up to have around in case it catches her interest. Since the K year still involves a lot of playing, I would suggest pulling out a new "educational" item each week & just have it available. Things I would just "set out" included a geoboard, base ten blocks, wooden shape tiles, a balance, a fractions birthday cake game, a tangram puzzle set and random puzzle books & workbooks. The new items always caught my son's interest, usually for an extended period, and if he wanted to pursue them further, then I was available to help.

I don't have a thing. But I went to an estate sale recently & saw a cool idea. On top of the cabinets was a menu collection - all these cool-looking menus from some high-end restaurants. I'm thinking "dust magnet", but this was a single well-off guy who probably had a cleaning person, so I'm guessing he wasn't so worried about dealing with the dust.

Great share -- thanks!

I love this idea. I think I might incorporate something like this, even though my son does watch & enjoy tv. I would consider throwing in some classic Looney Tunes episodes. Also, I would add The Ten Commandments, regardless of your religious beliefs. It really is a classic (and you get a bonus history/religious studies lesson).

I found this (free) site from an earlier thread on this forum awhile back, but I wanted to share it again because it might be really useful to people. http://www.mathfactcafe.com/worksheet/buildit/ You can generate math drill worksheets with whatever number ranges you want. Hope this helps somebody!

I don't watch it with my 5 yo in the room. The "F" word is used a bit. And there are some adult-themed conversations that I wouldn't want him to hear. In the first two episodes, there hasn't been any nudity. Hope that helps!

:iagree: This is basically what I do with my 5 yo son. Whenever the complaining or whining starts, I ask him to sit in the other room until he calms down & changes his attitidue. Sometimes it takes longer than others. But on the good days when he cranks things out with a positive attitude, whether it's schoolwork or chores, I heap on the praise.

If he hasn't seen this already, he might enjoy hearing Mo Willems reading one of his pigeon books. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/online-storytime-books-toys/379002381/

You may have already seen these, but my 5 yo son loves the Mo Willems pigeon books. Some of the words are more challenging, but he learned them so that he could read the books (again and again and again). And he does voices like your son. It's a bit different, but Silverstein's "Giraffe and a Half" was also a huge hit. Again, a few hard words, but he had no problem picking them up to enjoy the book. I'm interested to hear other suggestions for silly books, because they've really helped my son's reading grow.