I think this is the thread littlefamily is referring to: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50166

:iagree:

:grouphug: Heather and everyone here :grouphug: Thank you for starting this thread. My DH has taken medication for 10 years. He still has ups and downs but for the most part is stable. My 13 yodd recently started meds and is in counseling. My mommy's heart aches for her. She can't stand bright light and finds our overcast Oregon winters to be soothing. In fact, her room is painted a twilight color. My depression seems to be seasonal. I've noticed that I usually take a severe nose dive in February. Last year it was awful. I'm actually shaking in my boots as fall and winter approach. I've never tried anything, but I HAVE to this year. Not caring if you live or die is very scary! I've seen what suicide does to the family members left behind, and I don't want to do that to my girls.

How do you manage to homeschool and go to appointments without losing your mind? My oldest at home (13) is going to weekly counseling appointments for depression. Plus, she is going to her pediatrician every couple of weeks while they try to find the correct dosage for her anti-depressant. I schedule these appointments in the afternoons BUT they are still making me feel rushed during school. I feel like I spend the whole morning trying to cram everything in before we have to leave. Before this we visited the doctor maybe once a year. I'm not used to living my life around counseling and doctor's appointments.

We're in the same boat. I've been surprised by how many problems dd is missing. It's not bad, but it is more than I expected. If I have to, I'm going to sit by dd and have her tell me how she plans to work a problem before she writes anything down. That will allow me to ask questions that will hopefully redirect her thinking. It will be time consuming, but I think dd's problem is just a lack of attention to detail rather than not understanding. Good luck!

Rose, I'm SO sorry for ds. It is hard enough to be the new kid and then they make him feel even more awkward. Bureaucracy is so heartless. Grrr!

We don't need one but when I have to fill out a form I give "Last Name" Homeschool. This past year my 10yodd jokingly came up with "Polly ____ Builds Better Minds" She was being sarcastic. :glare: I kind of like it though I wouldn't put it on a diploma.

:thumbup1: Congratulations!!!

Thank you! We have a lovely child's size guitar hanging on our wall, because dd wanted it and then couldn't follow the adult lessons. Hopefully this will give her a starting point.

THANK YOU!!

Did you switch brands of pasta? Recently we switched to a different brand of rice and it boils over every time. Very annoying! :glare:

First of all, my apologies! After watching my mom for years, I was in tears when I started having problems myself. It can rule your life. My Mom & Dad carry a portable potty chair with them at all times in their vehicle. For me, it seems to be hormone related. It started when my 3rd child was 6 weeks old. I am more susceptible at certain times of the month. I have trigger foods such as homemade chicken soup (the fat?) and cheese crackers. Sometimes I can eat them and sometimes they set me off. When I do eat these foods, it is in moderation and with a "wait and see" attitude. I definitely avoid them if we need to go somewhere soon. Avoiding constipation is my best prevention. Drinking enough water and keeping myself daily (gotta eat my bowl of bran flakes every morning), has kept my bouts to just a handful a year. Good luck with finding what works for you.

UMS? University Model School?

I told my girls we would wait until public school starts (Sept. 3) to begin ourselves. But, I confessed to them today that waiting is driving me crazy! They weren't thrilled, but they weren't surprised either. ;)

My opinion - not every child needs reading curriculum. I taught my girls the basic phonics sounds and then we used library books that were on their level. My girls have been on different ends of the whole word vs. phonics spectrum. I'm not against reading curriculum. I think the important thing to remember is that you can't force a child to learn to read until their brain is ready. Plateaus happen and they can be frustrating. Good luck! :)

Don't worry about negative rep. :001_smile: Let's see....I guess the word "debate" would be better to use than "argue." I would like to be able to present different perspectives to him (respectfully of course) with confidence. I tend to let emotion lead my thoughts. Yes, I admit that I would also like to put him in his place occasionally. He is condescending towards us and I'm a little tired of being run over :auto: ! All of dd's former boyfriends treated us with respect, so this has been a bit of a shock for us. BTW, the guy is 28, and I tend to compare him to how mature DH was at that age. There's a huge difference.

:lol: You mean I shouldn't use it on him? :lol:

My social butterfly (10) won't be able to concentrate until her ps friends return to school so...I'm impatiently waiting until Sept. 3rd.

Okay, my son-in-law drives me nuts! He thinks he is an expert on everything. He says things that I disagree with, but I don't know how to argue my point. He has recently been accepted to law school, so I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse. Do you have any recommendations for me? Thanks, Polly

How we use R&S: Drill - use as a warm up, do not time Lesson - read together, do as much mentally/orally as possible, use the chalkboard for the remainder I was a bit overwhelmed when we switched from Saxon. Hang in there. It gets better. :001_smile:

Kim, thanks for explaining watermarks. Those are cool. I'm kinda dense ;), so I had to read the directions here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA010563291033.aspx?pid=CL100636481033

Another link: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/

1. My bed! That's where we do school. :) 2. Laptop/DVD player for watching Teaching Company lectures.

The desk apprentice is large. They have a smaller junior apprentice called "Spinworx."

Ah, the joys of jumping through hoops :glare: You are not alone. We had quite the time getting oldest dd into the local community college. She finally got so frustrated with all their rules that she gave up and waited until she turned 18. It was magical. Suddenly they were nice to us. Good luck to you and your dd. Here's hoping she has better luck than we did. Polly