Sniff, who is 6, is diagnosed with ADHD. After many months of frustration (for both of us), I cut all sugar out of his diet, and strictly monitored his consumption of grapes, bananas, carrots, sweetcorn and dried fruits. The difference is remarkable - he has much better control of his impulses, much better attention. It's not quite at the level of my other kids, but I can live with him like this! What's more poignant about all of this is that Sniff knew that he was doing something wrong when he gave in to impulses to hit his siblings or to destroy something, but just didn't seem to be able to stop himself. I would say, "why are you doing this?" and he'd just stand there looking perplexed and say that he didn't want to do it but he just did it anyway. He knows that sugar makes him behave badly, and he doesn't want to go back to way he was before, so he's very good at staying away from sugar even when we're out. If he's offered something, like at church, he will always ask whether it has sugar in it. We also make sure that he has something nice that he can eat, if we're having a snack. He loves fresh soft fruits, nuts, cream and greek yoghurt, and we'll often have that sort of thing for dessert. We're probably better for it, to be honest!

Wow. That is awesome. Would you mind if I quoted this on my Facebook? I can credit you or keep it anonymous, whichever you prefer.

:( :grouphug:

:lurk5:

Thanks for the update :001_smile: Ya have to do what works - it's no good living a life that continually oppresses you. Best wishes!

:iagree: I've just passed my copy on to my dad. We've both been diagnosed CFS/ME, but I would like to see if I can get more specific tests to identify whether I have CFS or AF.

2-4pm sounds like a sugar intolerance slump... You could also check out whether you fit into an Adrenal Fatigue/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome profile.

It might be worth discussing this verse: "Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." 1 Corinthians 7:5

Oh my. :lol: I needed a good laugh! I am just wondering which term will go down in WTM forum history as the definitive term.. a raincoat, or a wetsuit? I think I prefer wetsuit, the imagery is slightly more accurate.. :D

Camera - In a wicker basket on top of one of the bookcases. (There are several such baskets which hold things like candles, games and puzzles.) We don't have a video camera. Flashlights - In a box in the understairs cupboard. Purse - On the stairs by the front door. Mail - In the tray on the computer desk. Dh's wallet - His problem!! I have no idea, most of the time. Library books - In a basket on the floor in the sitting room, between two chairs. Items to be returned to stores - Don't often have many of those.. but if I do they go in a bag in the trunk of the car, with the receipt in the bag. I have a box in the trunk, for things that need to be going somewhere. Outdoor toys - In the garage. ALL of them!!! :lol: Completed homeschool stuff - In a box in the loft (attic). Game system accessories - Apart from the PC and dh's laptop, we don't have any games like that. In our minute house, I really don't know where we'd put them if we did!

:iagree: I had to do this when I had very little ones, too!

:iagree: Same goes here, for Moominmamma. The Snork Maiden, who is 10, has finished Song School Latin and has just started LfC A. She totally loved SSL - even the loopy songs on the CD! When we started Latin, Moominmamma tried Prima Latina and I'm afraid she was bored nearly to tears. We had a look at GSWL and that didn't look much better to her, either. I think I probably found out about Latin for Children from a recommendation on here. We'd probably do Spanish for Children if it weren't for the fact that we wanted Continental Spanish, not Latin American. (We're in the UK.) And as a final positive point, I can say that Classical Academic Press have excellent customer service - they were very accommodating of my requests when I wanted just CDs and not DVDs.

Agreeing the with sentiments of the rest - and - I see that you want to do it right, or at least, the very best you can. I know that you are a very diligent, conscientious mom. But the thought occurred to me that even if you did no formal history until 9th grade, they would still get one four year rotation of history, wouldn't they? And at a stage when they were really able to get their teeth into it. (Perhaps that's going too far the other way, but I hope you understand what I mean.) My take would be, as everyone (almost everyone?) else's seems to be, that history doesn't have to be done in a certain way. You do seem to have a lot of spine type resources; that's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you are genuinely using them all in which case I admire you for managing to get through a heck of a lot of material! We could not do that here! Personally, I think it would be better to give your kids a good summer holiday. It sounds like they were expecting it, and I would be inclined to say that you all deserve a break. Then when you start back at the schoolwork, you could either do a two-week stint of Rome, just to get the basics so that you are back on track with the four-year rotation, or, you could ditch the four-year rotation altogether and just spend as much time as you need, going into as much detail as you want. FWIW, if it was my family, we would do the second option, because I prefer history to be interest led. We do it chronologically, and I have a minimum that I want them to do, but they often do more according to how interested they are. HTH some. x

We're in the UK, so that's another step away again. We just used the money sections as written, because I figured it did no harm for my dc to learn another currency, and I did extra work with pounds and pence. It wasn't much. They use it in daily life anyway.

Is the Greek to GCSE book a beginner's text, Laura? Or would you need some basics before you began it?

My oldest is younger than your dd so take this with a pinch of salt, but I think I'd be tempted to try something like the Art of Argument instead. (Classical Academic Press)

Yes :D it's called DIVE Compass, and it's available from Rainbow Resource.

:iagree: I believe this is true. Moominmamma is currently using DIVE for Saxon 7/6. I have a feeling that I have seen a non-religious version of DIVE somewhere.. I am going to go look that up.

Very nice! Loving the colour of the tiles.

Surreal. I biked to school and back for 5yrs - 4miles each way on fairly busy roads. And guess what - my school even provided the cyclists with a bike rack!!

With my scatty dd10, the Snork Maiden, I decided enough was enough. I bought her a programmable watch with a loud alarm, gave her a schedule, and let her learn. I decided that I was not going to get stressed out about it; if she was late or missed her commitments, then she dealt with the consequences (apologise to the teacher/leader, miss the stuff she really enjoys). I warned her that missing too many of her commitments was a waste of money and if it got too bad, I would refuse to pay for them any more. It's by no means perfect, but much improved. And our relationship is in decent shape - I don't nag, and she's not resentful about it because she's actually realised that she likes the feeling of being in control of more of her life. I suppose it could easily have gone the other way.. she could have just given up bothering with her activities, but she didn't. Maybe I just got lucky!

:lol: I hear ya. I think I'm supposed to be putting my feet up, and enjoying a glass of wine. Or maybe that's just what I want..

Have you had a look at MEP? It's worth watching the video clips of the origin of MEP - Math teaching in Hungarian schools. Back along, we had a Hungarian au pair who had been a primary level teacher and she verified that the MEP videos are pretty accurate in their portrayal of Hungarian math lessons. I used to use Saxon for everyone; I now use MEP with my dysgraphic/dyspraxic dd10, and ds6 who has ADHD and it's working well.

Sniff takes a 1000mg Flaxseed oil capsule every day and it definitely helps him. FWIW, he's also benefitted greatly from Osteopathy sessions.

:iagree: Spelling City is a hit with both Moominmamma, and The Snork Maiden, who is dysgraphic.