I would first make sure to get a full vision exam. After that, try using a notched card to help with tracking. You move the card along uncovering the words sound by sound which really helps with tracking. The I See Sam books are very good for using this method and for kids with reading issues. http://www.3rsplus.com

I don't know of any resort type places in the area but there are lots of nice places to stay along the lake. I grew up in Holland and now live just north of there.

I wonder if things will change over time once school starts. Does this boy WANT to go to school or is he being made to go? Maybe he thinks he has to distance himself from your son in order to "fit in" with the new middle school kids, etc. This might not be logical thinking but he is a 13 year old boy. Has this boy liked your son in the past? It may well be that once school starts this boy will treat your son just fine when you guys all get together.

DO NOT feel guilty about getting some help so you can leave for a few hours.

I have used many programs trying to teach my kids to read. The I See Sam Readers were the best and easiest---and worked. Like Angie said, they start assuming the kid knows nothing and moves up slowly from there (you can move as fast as the child is able though). They give LOTS of practice using the new sounds and the new words that the child blends. Many other programs introduce all of the consonants first, then add a short vowel like /a/ and expect the kids to be able to blend all short vowel a 3 letter words. This is too much for some kids. The I See Sam books introduce 3 vowels (I (long sound as in the word I), ee (long sound, 2 es together, and short a) and then S and M in the first book. That gives you the words I see Sam. From there they slowly add consonants and vowels with lots of blending practice. The more difficult ones are saved for later and they keep b and d, p and q apart from each other in the instruction. My girls learned to read with these books when they were older but my sister's kids learned to read with them at 4 and by 5 her youngest was reading at a middle school level when he was tested. Also, compared to other programs, the I See Sam books teach all reading skills in the context of a story. No drills, no word lists to go over, etc. The kids put the skills to work right away in the stories.

I agree with first trying to find a cause/trigger for his headaches. For my 21ds lack of sleep is a big one. He takes Inderal daily for his migraines and rarely has a migraine now. My 12dd has migra-seizures (a migraine/seizure combo). She takes Lamictal daily for this. It is a seizure med but also used for migraines. With it, she is basically headache free. Any chance you could get him in to a neurologist/head ache specialist before he leaves for college?

Big thing is to get the NAME BRAND meds and stick with those. The generics can vary from brand to brand and the pharmacy will give you the brand they got the cheapest that month which can affect your levels. Make sure to do the follow up blood tests to monitor your levels.

Check the special needs board as well. I have a 13dd with bipolar. I would suggest reading The Bipolar Child and a few other good books on bipolar in kids. I would also try to keep a mood chart--recording his moods each day, if they change rapidly, are they more severe than the situation warrants, his sleep habits, diet, outbursts, depression, irritability, etc. I made up a spreadsheet with this and rated each thing from a 0-3 each day and it took only minutes a day. Over time though we saw a clear pattern. It also helps when you are looking at meds. You can then see if the meds are helping, if anything is getting worse, if the meds help during certain times of the day and not others, etc. I agree though with ruling out other causes. I good pdoc (psychiatrist) should also order blood work for CBC, vit. D levels, thyroid, anemia, blood sugars, etc. If any of these are off, they can cause bipolar like symptoms. If there is any question of seizures, an EEG should be done. Very often a CT or MRI is done (at least with our pdoc) which then rules out any physical brain abnormalities, etc. Family history is also important. Very often bipolar is genetic. Go through a few generations and list for the doctor those that had trouble with drug/alcohol abuse, deprssion, bipolar, mental breakdowns, etc.--just relationship and what they had--no need for names. That all said, YES, bipolar meds are strong and need to be prescribed and monitored by a specialist BUT IF they are needed, they can be a life saver. My dd was once thought not to be able to live at home past her toddler/preschool years. Now at 13 we hardly see the mood stuff (beyond typical 13 year old stuff). She is quite stable on her meds. No more hallucinations, no more homicidal/suicidal ideations, no more extreme irritability, etc. She is on a combination of 3 medications for the bipolar. I am sure that some kids are over diagnosed and over medicated (but often by pediatricians and others not well trained in bipolar in kids) but there are also kids who are NOT diagnosed and NOT treated and really suffer. Ask your doctor what training and experience they have with bipolar in kids. How recent is their training---ours attends seminars/conferences frequently. Feel free to pm or email me. [

I agree that it is normal but I would gently correct him when he is doing his school work (if you are to that point) and have him rewrite the letter/word correctly. Just say, "opps, that is backwards, let's have you fix it". Not to make a big deal about it but rather prevent the habit of letting him practice it incorrectly. I WISH I had done this as my girls are 12 and 13 adn still have problems with this.

Check out http://www.3rsplus.com for a great reading program that is super easy to use, moves along more slowly and interests the kids. All you do is read the books, no worksheets, no drills, etc. I would also go back to lots of picture books for read alouds.

What have you tried already---as in diet, medication, lifestyle changes, etc? What type of school program are you using--unit studies, traditional textbooks, a worktext program, or ??? Does she have any learning disabilties or delays? I guess the more we know the more we can help. Honestly though, medication here made about 90% of the difference and then we could work on behavioral things from there.

Well, I am assuming that the woman would need some extra income, not total income. If she is a widow, she would get social security for her and the kids along with any life insurance they had. I also see this as a way to add a little to the family's income level without her having to take on a full time job.

I would check out Christian Light Education or ACE http://www.schooloftomorrow.com Both of these are self teaching, self paced programs that are easy to use.

I love to go horseback riding. I have been going out early on Sunday mornings for a quick (about 20-30 minute) ride. I love to go out riding with friends. I ride with my girls 5-6 days a week but riding out with adults and no kids is wonderful.

I am not one who believes that girls should remain home until married (but I did ask the question on the other thread). I do think that it is important for girls to have some sort of skill. That might be from a technical school, a college degree or something like pet grooming, hair cutting, etc. I have a degree in Special Education but taught only 2 years before we adopted our oldest. I do use parts of it with homeschooling. A friend though went to school for a year to become a hair dresser. She now has 4 bio kids, 4 foster to adopt and can still bring in a little extra income by cutting hair in her home while the little ones sleep. If something were to happen to her husband, SHE would be better off than I am as she could work from home to bring in some income.

What do you think then about young women who do NOT marry? I have a friend that is now 38 and single. She would love to be married but has high standards and Mr. Right has not come along yet. Would you still expect her to remain at home with her parents?

Depending on your market and taxes, etc. it may or may not be worth the move for 3-5 years. If you were looking for 10+ years that would be different. We have a 1200 sq. ft. main level with 3 bedrooms (one is only 7x9) and then a finished basement with a 3/4 bath and 2 more bedrooms, an office and a playroom. Right now we only have 3 kids and our house feels large. We have had 7 at a time here (when we were foster parents) and it was still very doable. Outside space is important. My kids play outside so much so inside space isn't as important. Also the layout. We have an open kitchen/livingroom/dining area so we can expand out if we need to. Growing up for a while we lived in a house about 800 sq. feet (if that) with 3 kids.

I can try to post a recipe tomorrow. Remind me if I forget. I have one that is an Indian (as in Native American) fry bread. We make it and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Our church runs about 150 on Sunday morning but we are blessed to have enough workers. For nursery (usually 3-7 kids ages birth-2) we have: Sunday School: a grandma that serves every week, I work with her 2 Sundays a month and then 2 other ladies fill in the other 2 Sundays Church service: 2 adults and 1 teen--usually each one takes one Sunday a month. Sunday evening: 2 adults--again, usually once a month they serve Wednesday evening during AWANA: 2-3 ladies commit to being in there each week unless they are ill, etc. (then I will fill in). For children's church (ages 2 1/2 or 3 to 5): A couple or an adult and teen that serve one month a year. This group runs 6-9 kids. I think that the empty nesters, moms of highschoolers, young grandmas, etc. are great for the nursery. We do utilize teens but only with 2 adults present as well for the nursery.

I had to laugh at this as I face the same thing. My dd is missing her Sponge Bob ceramic bank that was empty, broke into many pieces and taped together. I missed getting 1 bag of stuffed animals out before she got home but those will be easy to gather up again. I have a load to drop off at charity today but I can't do it until I drop the kids off to speech therapy........otherwise I will have fits over what I am donating. When I dejunk, I often keep 21ds home with me to help carry things to the garbage (and bury them under other household trash), carry things to the car to hide for charity, etc. Dejunking when the girls are home is very hard as they want to keep EVERYTHING.

Thanks. I just requested this book and the others mentioned on this thread from the library. I am even cutting back on the number of books :eek: that we have here in the house. We have a great library system so we are keeping classics, our favorites and then reference books. We don't need a lot of fiction, magazines, etc. as we can just get them from the library.

It is an older book (unless there is a new edition) but the book, How to Make Your House Do the Housework by Don Aslet has a lot of great ideas on how to make cleaning, storing, etc. easier. Many ideas are easy to put into action when you can build your own house. If we build, I also want simple but functional. My friend is an architech that designs 1 million plus houses. I told her she will have to think SMALL and SIMPLE for us:)

Try to think how YOU will live. Some of the plans posted are really cute but would not work for our family. There is NO mud room, no closet by the door, etc. You walk right into the kitchen or living area. We are rural and have horses. We need place for boots, etc. that isn't in the main living area. Also think if you need a garage or not, how much storage space, etc. Picture yourself getting groceries--where will you put them, how easy is it to get them into the house, etc.? How about your mops, brooms, etc.---is there a place to store those?

Now, just to get STARTED on this. My girls are going to have fits. They are both savers and play with EVERYTHING they own. They just don't need that much. How do you scale back on things like shoes? We have: barn boots (the rubber ones for mucking out stalls, chores, etc) riding boots winter boots tennis shoes dress shoes crocs dress sandals walking shoes multiply that by 5 people and that is a lot of shoes.