/agree

My DD (7) is in 2nd grade and just now about 1/2 way thru AAR 1. We got the AAR hardcover level 1 reading books last year to supplement another reading program we were doing (They are great phonetic readers). After a year on that program and having already tried many (and I mean MANY) others since the age of 4, we decided to go ahead and order the whole AAR system this year to go with the readers because she still wasn't developing any fluency and she liked the books so much. Her older brother is profoundly dyslexic, and while we recognized many of the same problems in her, something was different. (I like the approach to AAR very much and the phonetic training is very similar to the OPG/Wilson's my son received for 5 years 2x a week from a therapist...without the expensive co-pay) He is now 13 and pretty much on grade level for reading. We finally discovered what was "different" about her dyslexia watching her read fluently for the first time from one of AAR's fluency builders from the student book. I had torn the page out and laid it down on the table. She turned from working on the board and began reading, clearly, fluently while looking at the text upside down..... She still struggles with any words more than 4-5 letters, even upside down. But she reads 200% better this way. (So glad we homeschool, I mean how exactly would a public school deal with this?) Her doctor has heard of it, but claims its rare and has no idea how to really "treat" it...alot of the research he and I have done seems to conclude that eventually upside down readers will "convert" to normal reading when it developmentally "works" for them. I don't think there is any right or wrong age for AAR. When you find a program that is working just do what you can, as gently as you can and let the child's abilities dictate where they should be. My MIL worked for over 20 years as a Speech/Language Pathologist....If by age 9/10 she still can't read a book independently I'll really start to worry, until then I'm letting her set the pace and it has made reading lessons around here so MUCH more relaxed. I stopped trying to catch her up to where she should be, and just let her find her own way....Even if it means we don't get to AAR 2 until 3rd grade. (We also supplement with ETC worksheet pages, Starfall & McGuffey readers....but we don't push it, and we find she's slowly but surely making progress this way...In fact she now asks to do the extra readers/worksheet, where before it was all tears/tantrums)

Neither was I, but it led to a lively discussion on attitude and behavior toward parents in my house...lol.

We paid for it last year, and the video quality and even the search function was so poor I regret the purchase. Only use we got out of it was dd trying to watch the Magic School Bus Videos. This year I just bought the Magic School Bus DVD set of the entire series....and we use Netflix/Library for Documentaries...So much easier and cheaper.

Got an email about a sale on American girl movie DVD's yesterday and bought all 4 for Christmas gifts....(On sale for $5 each, until 9/30 and shipping/tax was around $6) I have used these American Girl videos with alot of success while studying that particular era of history. They are both entertaining and help kids really see the *era* we are/were studying. In the past I just rented them from the library, but I know DD would love her own copies. http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/thumbnail/id/1254

My DS loves GSWL, and we've taken it slow because he is very dyslexic. We also use English from the ROOTS UP (Flashcards Vol. 1 & 2) We've had great success in increasing and maintaining both English language and Latin language vocabulary, and he's excellent at Latin-English translation but struggles a great deal with English-Latin. I've looked into Lively Latin, Galore Park Latin Prep, Henle, First Form Latin, Latin for the New Millenium & Lingua Latina I think Lively Latin or Latin Prep may be the best option (I want to continue easing him into Latin so he doesn't hit a wall and become discouraged) I also like the immersion of Latin-English translation in Lingua Latina. Ultimately I could care less of which is more appropriate for his grade level (7th) I'm more concerned over which would follow GSWL the best in light of his special needs. Maybe I should ask which follows the method of GSWL in a gentle manner.

We bought a 1st Generation Prius brand new in 2004. It has over 150k miles on it, and has had to be serviced ONCE...for a $300 computer chip (the car stalled while driving late at night on a back road, I wasn't happy but it wasn't a catastrophe). The rest of the time we've just kept on top of scheduled maintenance, like oil changes & tune ups. NO OTHER REPAIRS or PROBLEMS. 150K+ miles and only 1 visit to the shop (unplanned) after 7 years = LIFETIME Prius/Toyota loyalty. When this Prius finally dies we'll be getting another....maybe even the larger version...But until then we plan to keep driving this one untill it no longer runs, even if we have to replace the battery. We bought the Prius because after considering gas prices & mileage in DH commute, we realized the saved gas cost would = the cost of the car payment (which was around $450 at the time) Granted DH had a communte of over an hour each way, 5 days a week so he went from filling up every other day to filling up the Prius once a week. (He really worked the interstate mileage and almost no gas useage within city electric driving under 20 MPH). The car is paid for now, and he still only fills up 1x a week, 10 gallon tank ($35ish total) and commutes over 2 hours a day. YMMV, but if the projected saved $ in gas can make most of the payment or at least justify the upgrade to hybrid go for it. Especially since gas prices are expected to continue to rise.

3.57 @ Virginia Beach Oceanfront (Filled up a few hours ago after news story promised +.50 or more over the next few weeks)....Price had gone up from 3.49 yesterday (Hubby filled up his car)....*sigh* It could be worse....but I remember paying .99 a gallon regularly 12 years ago. (Just before my oldest was born) And the gov't says we have no cost of living increase??? (Gas Prices rising = higher food costs as well...I just don't understand how they do their math. And don't get me started on minimum wage being a sustainable living wage, when milk is almost $4 a gallon, $8 if you want organic/hormone free.....My son and I were working "real life math" recently, in an effort to show him his *options* after high school, and no matter how he budgeted, he couldn't *survive* on a theoretical minimum wage job and still manage rent, food and car insurance.) We are fortunate to be able to live off one income, and live comfortably....I have no idea how people making minimum wage could even survive, much less keep afloat. Needless to say, he's decided to go to college or at least trade school/apprenticeship after that lesson.......

Same problem here. My 12 yo could only do 4-5 words at a time, and that was with repeating the sentence 10x. Even then he couldn't repeat it back to me correctly. (Dyslexic with severe lack of working Mid-term memory) I would end up saying each word individually...UGH And if he didn't know how to spell a word, forget he lost his whole train of thought..... I gave up on pure dictation. (And I tried WWE 4, then we ordered WWE 3. It wasn't any easier, and since my 6 yo is working on WWE 2 I knew I couldn't take him back to that without a meltdown.) Now I just have him do a narration summary on lit readings, and he has to create his own "independent" sentence regarding the reading. I admit I gave up, but it wasn't worth :banghead: .

;) Give those kids that complain a chance to teach the class and you might be surprised. First of all, my 12 yo, adamant that he would hate the *physical* lesson, giggled the entire time he watched me try to pantomime the immersion language lesson with his sister..... HE GIGGLED....(he's almost 13, it's been so long since I've seen a giggle from him, that alone was worth the cost of the book.) He wasn't excited about being the student, (after all it was too babyish in his opinion) but when I offered him the chance to *teach* his sister, he jumped on the wagon, had a blast and has agreed to keep *helping* during each lesson. (He has the experience of GSWL and we plan to move into Cambridge/lingua latina next year, I speak will help keep him comfortable and hopefully more fluent until then) I had initially set aside 20 minutes, but I may make it 45, they had a blast with simon says and really seem to be getting along while learning together (almost unheard off most days with a 6 year age difference) So the only reason I can give is it may through off your daily schedule if you try to plan it for just 20 minutes. :lol:

You may want to check into auditory processing disorders. (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) Everything you mention, especially the covering the ears at loud noises and then again with the signing are all typical of children with CAPD. So is the "la la land" type appearance of being in their own world sometimes, or blatantly refusing to cooperate (at least this is how it appears to us, to them they merely processed the request differently) I'm so not trying to diagnose here, but I had a son who they thought might be autistic, when that test failed, well then maybe asperger's....well it had to definately be ADHD...no wait maybe he's just defiant.....eventually testing diagnosed CAPD. Your daughter may not be defiant, her brain may not be translating the oral requests into commands she can understand. Have you ever told her to go get her shoes and she brings you her socks? Can you give her a multi-step request that she completes correctly or do you have to ask her to do one thing at a time. Either of these scenarios are also typical of children with auditory processing disorders. But the hands over the ears in response to auditory stimulus that is too loud or confusing (singing) is VERY much a signifying factor of CAPD. HTH....and big :grouphug:

Good to know...Fortunately DD has a very low lvl perscription for her glasses. If she ever needs a higher perscription we will definately go somewhere else.

My DS got green and vomited at the Field surgery tent when visiting the Yorktown battlefield. (and it wasn't a reinactiment, it was just a guy holding and talking about the instruments.....DS has an entirely too active an imagination.....:lol:) I can just Imagine what would happen if I tried to have him help mummify a chicken......he'd take one look at the light pink fluid present in all types of fresh meat when unwrapped and pass out. (How do I know this, well lets just say he's been failing cooking meat 101 and First Aid: How to handle the sight of blood since 3rd grade) DD on the other hand....well, after watching Dear Bro pass out....she would smirk and ask if we could mummify her brother. Yep...*tearing up*....I'm just so darn lucky....;) Seriously though I did mentioned it......We are studying Egypt now and I want to do it. But I got stink eye from my hormonally challenged pre-teen, so after some discussion DD has agreed to give DS a year or two to become comfortable with the idea. (But only if he lets her help dissect the Frog he's doing this year for his BIO lab.....As I was walking away I heard him promise her she could, in fact, do it all).

:lol: With my luck............:001_huh:

Not sure where you are located but we have used a place called America's Best. For $69.96 you get 2 pairs of glasses and a free eye exam. ($99 for Multifocal) Not sure how their prices work if you are bringing in the perscription, or if they charge more for *thinner* lenses for high perscriptions. http://www.twopair.com/

So far I can tell you my 12yo loves Ko's Journey. It is alot of information, but spread over 11 segments (I'm pretty sure it's 11 or close to it, too tired to find the log in info to double check) about 30-45 min each (some faster) but the information it covers is broad and you can revisit the lessons if you want to practice and master the material. He begs to play Ko's...I actually had to ban it so he would do his other work. I also got Trickomatics (also advertised at HSBC) He didn't like it at all. For around $30 Ko's is adequately priced. TBH I wouldn't pay more than that because there are only 11 segments...but It has made him excited to do math...which is really hard when your a dyslexic trying to master algebra.....

Its not hard up so much as CHEAP (I admit it..*Smile*)....I look at every dollar I don't have to re-spend on Curriculum I know I am going to reuse with the next child, as yet another dollar I can spend on other BOOKS. Our library isn't that great, and timing ILL and Hold requests has becoming increasingly inconvenient, not to mention the waste of gas to get there. With the availability of super low prices, 4 for 3 offers and free shipping from Amazon its just easier to order our monthly reading/literature books. And yes...they love getting new workbooks, but they love getting an audiobook copy of a beloved story or a Leatherbound Classic from B&N to add to our collection even more KWIM? I remember being in school and never using workbooks. Seriously, maybe its my age but we used textbooks that had 8 other children's names in them. We wrote on loose leaf paper in notebooks...we listened to lectures and took notes, we copied the questions out of the textbook and answered in full sentences. WE Did have alot of photocopys and handouts.....(I'm only 33 so I'm not that old, and I went to a rural but affluent public school...but the difference could very well be the rural part)

;) I also have a 2 year rule (which I didn't mention..lol)...If I'm not going to have the other child use it within 2 years then it is also out the door....Software is resold that same year (That stuff goes obsolete entirely too fast to hold on to) DD6 is a bit advanced and DS 12 is dyslexic/dysgraphic so she will be flying thru MCT and FLL 4 very soon, material he just finished in my efforts to reboot his language skills from the beginning. Fortunately he doesn't seem to mind that she is close on his heals......but then again he has always been my laid back, go with the flow type child. I wish I could keep everything pristine....but my 6yo is my "wild child". She's a force of nature who is constantly changing where and how she studies. I found her today cutting the pages out of her book to reglue the words in a random order.....I used to stress it, now I just roll with it. (But I'm telling you, I'm guarding those MCT books with my life.....)

*Gulp* I just added up my 3 orders....I got $1405.00 worth of clothing for $322.57. (I trolled the outlet for lots of great deals...and used the 40% off coupon code on top of that) I look at that number and cringe inside, but considering we usually spend $500 every year when we get our tax return, and a few hundred at the end of summer to revamp DH's wardrobe, I think I did GREAT. (I do most of my shopping @ thrift stores ~ I hate to spend money on something as trivial as clothes) but DH's job has a strict professional dress standard. We've found out the hard way that dress appropriate apparel from most department stores just doesn't hold up to repeated wear. I spent $300 on new polos in August from Old Navy and they are already falling apart.) For that $322 I got 15 Polo's (A mix of Spring/Fall Colors, so the whole year is covered) 4 Pairs of Pants, 5 Cashmere V-Neck Sweaters, 2 Backpacks (Bright yellow to make the Emergency EVAC bags for our vehicles we've been talking about doing for months but haven't gotten around too) & a Lunch Bag for DH, and I also got 3 Cable sweaters, 2 pairs of leather/suede mules (shoes) and 7 pairs of leggings for DD. (She was due some non-hand me downs) The Best part...DH said I get to keep the difference I saved from the clothing budget...*SCORE*

As I was sitting here sorting through a pile of DS's old clothes contemplating hand me downs and how weird it is that my DS "hands down" to my DD, it occurred to me that being on the receiving end of the "used" cycle isn't all that bad.... (I know he's 12 and she's 6, but HE inherited the 4ft tall..or should that be short...Welsh gene from my Grandfather, and SHE inherited the 6'7" daddy gene and now we have a 6yo only 3 inches shorter than the 12yo....who play's like she's 6 inches taller, Napoleon has got nothing on this kid) The 1/2 worn out knees in all the pants kind of suck, and wearing boy jeans is a bit hard on any true self-respecting DIVA's heart (even if she does prefer the high rise in boy jeans and hates the low rider/hip hugger girl jeans) But tonight I had a lightbulb moment....The ability to have free reign with most homeschooling "hand me downs" totally makes up for it. (When I mentioned this to DS he started laughing, and said with a smirk, "Your referring to the fact that she will never have to spend 2 hours erasing the answers out of the $30 workbook she should have copied in the composition notebook??? ...and the 6yo got quiet and started smiling like she won a prize) My last positive spin on hand me downs was the REUSE part of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.....It wasn't well received by the 6yo who claimed at the time, "We don't reuse Toilet paper, why do I have to reuse his pants?" Even though she readily acknowledged that if we bought new jeans they were the same type, from the boy's department, or older girl jeans from the thrift stores (aka pre-low-rise epidemic), she still had a problem with wearing his pants....after much discussion the reason became apparent...BOY COOTIES. After explaining there was a magic spray for that .....(think night-time bedroom monster spray) she accepted the new status quo. But accepting is not Embracing. She now embraces her position at the bottom of the "hand me down" chain, pants and all. All it took was realizing she gets to scribble, and draw. Write and read, highlight and bend without fear of having to keep the book usable for another student. (I'll admit patches/bedazzling helped too....for the pants, not the books...*smile*) Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless, I've been known to let a few workbooks under $10 slide, particularly math and handwriting...Miquon anyone? But series workbooks, language skills, composition these remain untouched.......I'm sure there will even be a few workbooks/series that even the mini-munchkin will be forbidden from writing in..... I mean like no WAY am I letting Level 1 of MCT get written in......RIGHT? But WWE 3 on the other hand....Spiral Binding here we come. I can't be alone in this....how many other HS moms keep their older children on tight leashes when it comes to handling/using HS resources, while letting their youngest just have at it and finish them up?

:iagree:.....yep, same here. Hardest person I have to shop for BY FAR!

And FREE SHIPPING, even if you only order 1 sweater....($12.60 with TAX)

Vineyard posted a new 40% off code (Donner Pin 1585) on the Land's end promo thread.... So I just had to go score some new work clothes for DH... and I found a GREAT DEAL..Today only (for the countdown to Christmas daily deal) Land's End dropped the price on their Cashmere/Cotton Blend line from $60 to $20, and the 40% off COUPON code works for these too!! They have Sweaters, Cardigans and Turtlenecks for Men and Women all $20. http://canvas.landsend.com/ix/index....tion=newSearch Though this may help some struggling for the hard to buy for person in their life.

Yeah at 40% I'm putting in another order too....... (I got an order the other night of some plain Tunic Dresses for DD...11.99 with Extra 30% off) But now it looks like DH is getting a new work wardrobe earlier than expected. (We usually do this at Tax time, but Polo's at $14.99 with extra 40% off = WIN..even better I found summer colors in the overstock area for as low as $7) I wanted to make sure everyone saw this though....Cashmere/Cotton Blend sweaters usually $60 on sale for daily deal of $20 and the 40% off works on these too!!!! ($12 for Cashmere!!!) They have several styles for Women and Men all $20 http://canvas.landsend.com/ix/index.html?search=391472+or+391473+or+403545+or+405610+or+406728&store=lecanvas&action=newSearch Also found a $85 Girl's LONG Cable Knit Hooded Cardigan for 14.99 + 40% off = 8.99! http://www.landsend.com/pp/CableHoodedLongCardiganSweater~230091_1187.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::FCM&CM_MERCH=search-_-cable+hooded&origin=search **For some reason link won't work...just type cable hooded in search field on Land's End site and it will show up...

We started typing ASAP (..today at 12yo our DS types around 30-40 WPM) We switched to Italic Cursive (Not having to lift the pen/pencil from the paper is huge for helping prevent hand strain, yet at the same time the Italic cursive is much more simple in construction than other forms) We save writing for when it counts (Writing/Language Arts) Everything else is done orally or visually with a whiteboard. We allow him to choose whether he wants to type/write his writing for assignments. Since 99% of the time he chooses to type, we still assign daily copywork taken from Historical primary sources to prevent any loss of skills. (There are lots of copybooks out there you can purchase that tie directly into history studies) Allow using a pen instead of a pencil if they prefer the "flow" more, even with math. (Pencils can create alot of drag on the paper.....very uncomfortable to many with dysgraphia...That said some dysgraphic students are the exact opposite and NEED the drag when writing for stability...It all depends on the student) Use graph paper for math. (Helps dysgraphic students keep their columns in order) Most importantly, separate the creative writing process (if you teach it or if your child is naturally inclined) from the mechanical process. By this I mean allow your child to tell you a creative story while you write it down for them. Don't let their lack of mechanical ability stifle any creative composition skills they may have.