WAIT! I know how! It is called the Disney YES youth Education Program Series. Our tickets were 40% off. My friend told us and I absolutely would not have believed him if they hadn't used it three times. Now I can say that we too have used it and it is awesome. I'm going to paste from an email from them in case it is helpful. The deal is you register for the INDIVIDUAL enrollment. We had to list 2 kids under my husband and two under me. I called and they said this is fine. We even were able to all attend the same class. You can register for up to 10 days pass each and you all get to attend a free class. The thing is, the class is wonderful. But even if you skip the class you still get the deal. Our class was on our final day I think. This will only save money for those who either sign up as the adult or those old enough to attend. Your other kids will have to pay regular rates. Then we stayed at a gold crown RCI -details below -literally right next to Disney. We waited until they offer it for $200 for the week. IT WAS GORGEOUS. AND it was two full units, joined by a foyer, each with their own kitchens and master suites and pullout couches. It was awesome. HTH! We lived in Orlando for a year and had year passes. We miss it and this trip was great. We recommend 8 to 10 days park hoppers. I realize you mean the other Disney, but will post this for those who read this and want FL info. Vacation Village at Parkway Resort ID:4940 2949 Arabian Nights Blvd. Kissimmee,FL 34747 USA Phone:407/390-7242 www.vacationvillageresorts.com Greetings! We are very excited to share that the remainder of the 2015 schedule for the Disney YES: Individual Enrollment is open for registration! Our June dates are already starting to drop into the site automatically once the class is inside 6 months. You don’t have to wait for them to show up automatically to register. If you don’t see your dates of travel listed automatically, try typing them into the Arrival/Departure Date boxes near the top of the list and then push the “Update Listing†button. If classes are available during your dates, they will then populate and you can begin your registration. These programs are available on select dates in January, February, and June – October. We don’t offer programs in March – May, November, or December due to increased guest attendance at the theme parks. To register for our Individual Enrollment programs please visit https://www.studentguest.com/yes. Do you have questions about this program? Email our team at [email protected]<script cf-hash='f9e31' type="text/javascript"> /* */</script> We truly appreciate your enthusiasm and passion for education and hope your family will be able to join us for a program in 2015. Thank you and Have a Magical Day! Disney Youth Group Programs

I can relate! It can become consuming for me. I think your comment about the friends with cancer is what we have in common most. I've known three male friends who have suddenly died in the last 3 years. All were under 50 and seemingly as healthy as the next guy. All left behind fairly young kids. My best friend is dying of cancer in hospice care right now. My mom died from cancer and ate homemade foods her whole life - she was a fabulous cook. I think I am fear-driven and don't know how to let go and stop worrying. I can only do so much.

We used 1850-Modern and enjoyed it. We own both of those SL cores so my kids read the books throughout that year and the previous one in addition to MFW. We have since moved to HOD and it is my favorite of all, but I digress. I'd vote MFW.

Did you read this together with your child and answer questions together, or assign it to them and check their answers? I'd like to do this with my 4 kids and wondered if each needs a copy and if I need one and how best to cover the material with them for best results. Thanks for any input you may have!

We had an IgG instead of an IgE done for my son and it was very helpful. The comments about cinnamon are interesting because it is one of the things ds is sensitive to! My friend has a child that is anaphylactic to many things and said the Great Plains Labs IgG caught all of the ones they already knew. I think that is a pretty good indicator of its effectiveness!

A bit off the topic, but I wanted to say that I also freeze the jalapeño and the cilantro for guac. I grow or buy jalapeños and food process tons of them at once. Then I freeze them in ice cube trays and use 1 cube per jalapeño needed. I freeze the cilantro whole in a big and crumble off the amount I need to use. HTH someone!

Thanks! I will order those pencils. He holds too tightly and does tire when trying hard. But mostly he is in a rush. We don't have old letters so I think I'll lookup old famous documents. Thanks for the ideas!

Since he is so good at independent work, you might check into CLE. It is very thorough and independent. My kids' test scores are great. They diagram well. I think you'd want additional writing but it covers the basics of writing. It thoroughly covers grammar and diagramming and incorporates spelling. We did AAS before beginning cle so we did continue with AAS.

This is off topic, but I wanted to say that two years ago, my dd(then 11) had low Language scores. We bought CLE LA and had her begin a year behind where she placed and do two lessons a day. She jumped over 3 years in her scores in LA in just the one year of using CLE. She continued at the pace of two lessons a day. Her scored increased significantly again this year, but not quite as much, and I saw that specifically she now needs remediation in just the punctuation aspects. We will continue with that. For spelling, we've had good success with using AAS from levels 1-7. We are just finishing 7 now but I think I will find something to continue with and will looking into Megawords I think or Phonetic Zoo.

DD has diagramming down cold. She understands parts of speech well. But in end of year testing she scored lower in punctuation and possessives. She has covered them well in CLE LA but she is my girl who needs massive amounts of repetition for things to sink in. I've searched the forums and found these resources. Can anyone compare any of them or comment about which might help the most? I want it to stick! http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/writing-and-english-grammar/english-grammar-recitation-workbook-one --does any particular book in this series contain all of the rules for punctuation? Jensen's Grammar. It's one book, cheap, and thorough. Editor in Chief http://www.criticalt...r-in-chief.html IEW Fix-It program http://iew.com/searc...eld_category:17. http://www.amazon.co...=kaplan grammar She has done CLE through CLE LA 8 so could do: CLE's English I: They break it into volumes 1-5 in 9th grade and 6-10 in 10th grade: http://www.clp.org/store/by_course/147 http://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/12 Hake 8. Just the grammar part and have her write in the book. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus - recommended for use with IEW Fix-it

Can you tell me how to know who to call to get a good evaluation done? Thank you!

I agree 100%. We adopted from Korea and it has been very, very, very, very hard overall. I still love adoption and recently asked dh to adopt from Philippines. I think deep down I wish it could be a tiny bit easier and try to tell myself that next time it will be.

I don't think anyone has mentioned esalon.com - They are selling root kits now too I think. I've loved using them! Try it and you can do it every 4 weeks if you like!

You aren't too young for menopause actually. For various reasons, often genetic, many women go through menopause early. My sister did at 19. So don't rule that out.

Melinda S - this is much the way I work too. I wanted to share that I have started using 67 lb paper for this and LOVE it! No pens show through and I love the way my pens write on 67 lb paper. Also, I had odd colors of it and use them for different lists. Also, we switched meal planning to plantoeat and my shopping list is on there. It syncs to my phone! Never again will I be without my shopping list! My kids know to go to plantoeat app and add items. And it has a staples list I can review to remind myself of staples we might need as well. Love it. HTH!

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Laurie4b - how did you decide to do OT? I hadn't heard of or considered that. How much does cog med cost? I haven't heard of it either!

What is your current interest rate on your mortgage? Have you compared it to the going rates to see if they are lower now and you'd be able to afford a bigger house after all? We got a 20 yr mortgage when we moved...

We've done this for two years. We don't eat processed foods any more, eat most things organic, etc. We did fish oil in large quantities per recommendation until recently bc/ it is such a huge fight to even get him to take it and all supplements. About 5 days out of the last two years have been better. I think I'd attribute that to his weekly attainment of dairy/candy/etc from any source possible. It seems like we could keep him from it. But we try hard and social events have proved impossible. I won't pull our family out of all social life just for this. I "think" the diet would work if he cared to stick to it. But who knows?

Can you share? DS9 is dairy free, gluten free, egg free, free of other items that an IgG revealed sensitivities to, and we have tried rounds of consistent vitamins/minerals/supplements including Biology of Behavior. We did one $6000 round of Brain Balance faithfully and did some amount of Brain Gym exercises afterwards. He manages to obtain dairy and items with dye in it weekly despite our massive attempts to thwart this. He does everything in his power to obtain it if he can as he craves it so badly. We buy him and make him treats he can have. It doesn't seem to help. Every time I know by his behavior before I discover the offending food. I am at my whit's end, and may resort to drugs (for him-lol). But I wanted to check if anyone can suggest anything else first. Thank you!

Do you have a price sheet you keep to price compare per unit prices? I have one for everything we use and I continue to try to find cheaper prices. I posted on here recently I think about cheapest dishwasher detergent and got good ideas. I use single ply tp as it is so much cheaper. We bought norwex cloths to clean instead of buying cleaners and really like them. I compared to ecloths and really preferred norwex and returned the ecloths. Sometimes buying things in bulk costs me more bc/ I will use more bc/ it is here. Also, the paper towels (if you use them but they are costly) cost me more in whole sheets bc/ usually a half sheet will suffice. HTH!

Best thing we've ever done for our budget is YNAB. We loaded it to my Phone, my computer, my husbands phone, his computer. All are synced live. When we purchase anything and everything, online or in stores, we immediately enter it. It subtracts it from the budget category and the account too, just like envelopes. And you can split transactions between categories. Every month you "reload" categories with any money you have in your accounts. It is the envelope system basically. It is changing our lives for the better month by month.

Thank you ladies! Swimmermom - this year we read aloud books like God King, Archimedes, and Golden Bull. She did fine with those. But what I notice is that ds9 is able to answer more of my questions than she is. Her written narrations are better than his, mainly because her writing skills are better. But she does grasp the content of these books generally. Independent work included Tiner's Exploring the History of Medicine and she has managed it well. We used Streams of History in our independent work and this was a harder series for her, but she can read it and follow it. But I think it was the most difficult work for her that we used. Two years ago we used MFW 1850-Modern and I recall her struggling to follow the reading and asking questions that made me realize she really was missing a lot of clues to meaning as we read. I think she has certainly grown in this over the last two years but still struggles in comparison to a typical 8th grader I think. Her comprehension (or lack thereof) of word problems in math make this clear to me also. I've considered doing the Landry lab intensives. Are any of the titles that I listed that others suggested to me enough to ramp up her reading to cover some HS level materials? Sewhappily - I haven't looked at Teaching the Classics. I'll check that out! Also, can she skip LL7 without hiccups in LL8? She is weak in writing, having had lots of dictation and narration and some MCT and WWTB.

I could use some input to make sure I am preparing ds14 for college but not killing her with too much. As background, she has a genetic disorder that has resulted in mild learning struggles, particularly in math word problems and in comprehension of reading. She is a very hard worker, very sweet, always cheerful, and will do anything I ask of her. She does not ever read for pleasure, much to my dismay, but does read what I assign and we do daily read-alouds. I don't suppose she'd end up in a STEM field but really don't know her interests yet. My goal would be to prepare her well enough to go to a state 4 year college with the expectation that due to financial restraints she likely will attend two years of community college to get credits towards that. We used BF Early American, then MFW 1850-Modern, then HOD Preparing which is a 1-year overview of history, and are currently using HOD Creation to Christ. She also is doing CLE Math 8, CLE LA 8, and AAS 7. We have dabbled in Latin with SongSchool Latin a few years ago and another program that I can't recall. But both covered only vocabulary. So she has no foreign language to date. This year we are using Write with the Best which is weak IMO, and I would say her writing skills are weak but she knows grammar well. We've used MCT in the past as well. So that's her background. I'd like to keep her studying the history cycle with us. HOD Resurrection to Reformation is next. If I add in the extensions, that makes it an 8th grade program, not 9th. I'll list the books scheduled and then list thoughts of how to vamp this up. Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church The Story of the Middle Ages Monks and Mystics Famous Men of the Middle Ages Gabriel and the Hour Book Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare Looking at Pictures: An Introduction to Art for Young People Tales from Shakespeare Exploring Creation with Astronomy (she hasn't had astronomy so I'd like to have her do this with us) A Child’s Geography - Volume I Exploring Planet Earth Along Came Galileo Isaac Newton - Inventor, Scientist, and Teacher God’s Design - Our Weather and Water Forbidden Gates Mystery of the Silver Coins The Illustrated Book of Knights Morning Star of the Reformation Ink on His Fingers Leonardo da Vinci Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation Good Queen Bess The Story of Sir Walter Raleigh The Legend of Squanto: An Unknown Hero Who Changed the Course of American History A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal The Tinker’s Daughter: A Story Based on the Life of Mary Bunyan SELF-STUDY EXTENSIONS THAT ARE SCHEDULED FOR 7th and 8th GRADERS: From Bondage to Freedom Black Horses for the King The Boy Knight Robin Hood The King’s Fifth Artist of the Reformation - The Story of Albrecht Durer The Hawk that Dare not Hunt by Day In the Days of Queen Elizabeth Voyage to Freedom Robert Boyle - Trailblazer of Science The World of William Penn Beautiful Girlhood The Companion Guide to Girlhood From Girl to Woman What is God’s Design for My Body? Memorizing Philippians 1 Biology 101 and PAC Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum Principles, Theories, and Precepts of Biology http://www.pacworks.com/biology.php Should I add in a lab? Neither has one. Our state (NC) requires High school Biology, Chem, and Physics with one lab. For language I own: Latin A GSWL GSWS Thoughts? Someone else suggested this: To make RTR high school credit: History You could add something like Drive Through History DVD: East Meets West for the first section of the study, and for the second section something like The Story of Europe: From the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation (Yesterday's Classics) by H. E. Marshall along with Courage and Conviction (Vol. 3): Chronicles of the Reformation Church by the Withrows to accomplish this. Literature portion of English Credit Add "a few classic high school titles that match the time period: Pilgrim's Progress - Answers in Genesis set with study questions. (I purchased this.) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare; this & Pilgrim's progress are the only ones I would emphasize for depth beyond just reading the full text. Progeny Press has a study guide for Merchant of Venice that would be great to use with reading the full text (complete answer in back of guide). The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped, and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (She probably read at least one of these in Middle school; I would just add the one/s she hasn't read.) The Prince and the Pauper by Twain, and a tale of Arthur such as Lancelot: The Adventures of King Arthur's Most Celebrated Knight by Chaundler (a less magical themed telling). You could add something like Balancing the Sword to the Bible Quiet Time readings within RTR. This would add time to that component to make it credit worthy and raise the level of the material, while giving some good thought-provoking questions to go with the Bible reading. We are planning to use this with our own son for high school Bible study at some point. Or, you could simply add some additional Bible reading and journaling (along with the Philippians study and Boy/Girl option devotional scheduled in RTR) to earn the Bible credit this year since RTR has some of this already taken care of for you. For a fine arts credit, (in addition to the once weekly Looking at Pictures study in RTR) in the area of art appreciation, you could add Short Lessons in Art History by Phyllis Clausen Barker along with Exercises and Activities for Short Lessons in Art History. It does include some nudity, and we have not previewed it thoroughly yet but it is a possibility. Or, you could add Calvert's A Child's History of Art course (which includes Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture). We have used this one with our oldest son doing one section each year, or it could be done all in one year. Either way it would be credit worthy. We enjoyed this one quite a bit. I'm considering the following: CLE English 9 - unsure if I should skip this. It has review and writing. I emailed and they said it isn't all review. Lightning Lit 7 - sounds good but it adds in reading the following books: Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Helen Keller All Creatures Great and Small Stories & Poems for Intelligent Children Any Progeny Press guides - maybe Door in the Wall and Bronze Bow Fallacy Detective IEW Medieval -already scheduled in HOD. The Tanglewoods Secret Star of Light Treasures of Snow Since writing is her weak point, I'd like to spend time in lit analysis and writing. What do you think? Can she manage this in a year and have a life outside of school? Are there things you'd add or delete? Should I skip the HOD extensions in favor of the Lightning Lit books? Thanks for your input! I'd be grateful if someone familiar with some of these works and curricula could help!

I'm not seeing this one: http://www.pacworks.com/biology.php Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum. Thanks for this resource!!!