Ds12 has been working through First Form Latin this year, and it hasn't been a great fit. I haven't been very involved because of intensive time spent with Ds9, trying to bring his reading skills up to par. I do not know Latin myself, and just didn't feel I had the time (or inclination) to learn it with him. I realize that there is value in it, but I have some questions related to Spanish grammar and form. I used to speak Spanish fluently, and could again with only a little work. Ds would like to switch to Spanish, and I could be a lot more help with a lot less effort in this area. So . . . since Spanish is a Latin-based language, with what appears to me (again, I haven't studied Latin in depth enough to know for sure) a very similar grammatical structure and vocabulary, what are the advantages of learning Latin over learning Spanish, other than being able to read Latin writings after some years of study? Because you have the other side of being able to read a very large quantity of Spanish literature as well as communicate in it; this is not exactly the same as the live vs. dead language argument, but just trying to think it out when I don't have the Latin side of the equation under my belt. Thoughts and opinions, please?

Ahh, thank you, ladies! I'm interested to see what he does with these sites. We'll also look for some of these books at the library.

Thank you for the links, Arcadia! Actually, it was our conversation on the way to Scouts tonight that made me wonder about books--he was saying he definitely wants to earn the Nuclear Science merit badge. Nice to have that link.

My 12yo ds is reading Science Matters (thanks to recommendations on here), and is loving it. He is becoming more and more interested in nuclear science. Is that even a term? I am a right-brained liberal arts person, and have very little interest in science. He seems to learn best by simply reading engaging books (engaging to him, not necessarily to me ;) ) Could some of you science types recommend books he might enjoy? His quite deep comprehension of Science Matters has surprised me a bit. I knew we'd find his special area one of these days, and this seems to be it. (Or at least one of them--along with music, interestingly.) By the way, recommendations can expand this topic to others as well. And I want to continue stretching him up by supplying books along this same reading level or above. TIA!

I was going to suggest a journal. And I have a friend in a far-off other state who is very similar to me, and we "get" each other. So we call each other every few weeks for a phone visit. I am always amazed at what I can tell her and have her understand, or what I can express to her and have her say with relief, "Thank you for saying that!" Her friendship is one of my treasures. ETA: I vent to my husband as well. He's usually a good listener. But he doesn't always "get" me either. My friend has a lot of the same emotions about things I do, and those often puzzle my dh. :001_rolleyes:

I know there have been other threads about this, but I can't seem to find what I am looking for easily, so I'm going to take the easy way out and start another thread. :D My 12yo ds has taken classical guitar lessons for about two years. He has quite an ear for music, and is now becoming interested in piano lessons. I have a background in piano, but have never taught, and he is wanting me to teach him. :huh: We're heading overseas in a couple of months, and I am not sure what books to take. I'd like to take the first several method/theory books in a series. He does not like "cutesy" and so many of them seem to be written in that way. I'm looking for something that is straightforward, attractive on the page but not "busy," and solid in instruction. He likes a variety of types of music. There is a music store where we are going, but it is hard to get to, and they don't always have a wide selection--geared mainly toward exam levels. Suggestions? ETA: By "attractive on the page" I mean enough white space to see what you are working on, essentially.

One of my daughters used them for 9th grade. We used a mixture of correspondence and online. Overall, they were easy to work with, and there were several courses in particular she enjoyed (unfortunately, I don't remember which ones-sorry). There were some typos in the materials that annoyed us, but she was well prepared to move into an international school when we unexpectedly changed plans for 10th grade. Because she only used it that year, I can't answer your other questions.

Joining the conversation late. I have six children, four of them out of the house now (1 college grad, 3 college students), and two young ones still at home. My oldest child was my huge challenge in homeschooling. Everyone else has been easy in comparison. He did not have a diagnosed learning disability, and I don't know if he has one or not. But he definitely learns differently, so I tried all kinds of things with him, as typical curriculum did not work for him. He actually would have been an excellent candidate for unschooling except in math and grammar, as he absorbed information from everything and was a prolific reader, especially our World Books, but we hadn't heard of it back then. In the areas that are your more challenging ones, this is what helped us the most, and got the job done (and I have not read all the posts, so ignore if I am repeating): For LA: Winston Grammar Editor in Chief Wordsmith Apprentice (and later, some of Wordsmith) I really didn't have him write a lot other than the WA workbook, but he read a lot and these gave him a good enough background to handle what he needed through middle school. WA allowed him to be creative without overloading him. He was an excellent writer in high school and beyond. I can't remember if we did Advanced Winston Grammar or not. It took a lot of pressure off of me, and was different in the approach than anything else we had tried. For math: Math-It for early math facts. I just recently pulled this out for 9yods to help him learn his multi. facts, because he wasn't getting them learned. I had forgotten about it. I never used it for the more complicated problems that he explains, but more for getting the basic facts down. Once ds moved on, well, back then there was only the traditional books or Saxon, which was new and exciting to us back then. The first math book he ever completed was Saxon 5/4, which was the first of the series. These may not work for you, as they don't seem to for many people, but they were a lifesaver for us with his learning style. It repeated enough to keep his mind fresh, but only had 25 (or 30, in the later books) problems, with an easy-to-understand explanation for each new steps. I actually prefer the old hardbacks to the newer paperback ones. The paper looks cleaner and less cluttered to me. It was still hard to get him through the school day many days, but those things made it tolerable. Maybe something here will help you.

Lol. My kids still refer to the "creepy cow puzzle." Took us forever to figure it out.

Well, Monday night I started feeling a little queasy. Then yesterday it increased with a lot of indigestion until I vomited in the late afternoon. One more time I had dry heaves. And a huge headache. No fever. Then today, back mostly to normal with little appetite until supper, just very tired and kind of wobbly legs. Stomach still a bit squirrelly, but nothing like yesterday. I was blaming this on adding magnesium vitamins, but had come to the conclusion that it must have been a quick bug. This helps confirm it.

My list includes: anti-perspirant (deo is available, anti-p is not, and I need the stronger) make-up (they don't carry for my shade of skin) maple flavoring (for making my own "maple syrup" for pancakes) selected spices that we use that are unavailable (for example, sage for Thanksgiving or making sausage) Bras (can't get good supportive ones as easily) Shoes (except for tennis shoes, I have to buy shoes either in the U.S. before I go, or when I am visiting another country because my feet are a little hard to fit and I need good support) A couple of good cookbooks for whole foods cooking such as: La Leche League Whole Foods for the Whole Family, and the More-with-Less Cookbook. So many newer cookbooks call for processed items that are not available overseas. You might want to load up on iTunes because your country may not include U.S. options. Any items that are special to your family for holiday traditions or other family traditions. Of course, where you are going may have all my top list available, or a good substitute.

I haven't read the posts after this, but I was wondering this same thing. Alzheimer's can cause behavior changes in the beginning that just look like the person is being selfish or idiotic (like having an affair, or acting irresponsible, or hanging around with people they normally wouldn't have). Later, when it has progressed, it is easier to look back and see that those were early signs of its development. It might be worth checking out.

I, too, find it fascinating that my paternal grandmother had two sets of identical twins (one set had a genetic disorder), and I had identical twins as well. But I read over and over again that having identicals is not genetic.

This is our favorite--and everyone raves over it when we take it somewhere, even though some of the ingredients do not sound like they'd get along together ;) : 2 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese 1 small can crushed pineapple, drained (6 oz.) 2 cups chopped pecans (you can use less--maybe 1 cup?-recipe calls for saving back 1/2 cup to roll the ball in, but we just mix it in) 1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese 1 tsp. seasoning salt Mix in order. Chill well and serve. :drool5:

What is SWR? (I'm looking for resources for my ds9. If he is dyslexic, it is mild, but he has something going on that is similar, and the same resources seem to be helpful.) TIA

When I was feeling very stressed about some living circumstances combined with "picking and choosing" from curriculum choices, I decided to use Calvert for several years. It is an "in the box" curriculum (I chose a separate math program), and just followed the day-to-day instructions. Very straightforward to use, it is classical in nature, and I knew that my kids would be well-prepared at the end of it (goes through 8th grade) to enter any high school if we just did the daily assignments. The assignments were not too much, and we did not do any of the "optional" assignments. We also did not add any of the extra courses, though my girls did take violin lessons in addition to their school work. It put my mind at ease, relieved me of the feelings of "am I choosing to include the right things?" and those who used Calvert were well prepared for their following studies, and are now in college. It is traditional, but not as workbook oriented as Abeka, and tends to build strong writers. Just a possibility to consider. ETA: Calvert does not have a huge quantity of literature books that are covered--they take a few books and go through them slowly. However, we had plenty of good books on the shelves that they read for pleasure "outside of school hours." Also, now I have gone back to a more 'pick and choose' approach, because I don't have the stresses I did at that time. It was nice, though, to not listen to the too many tempting voices to try this or that. I knew what I was using was effective.

Your update makes me happy.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to hate leaving the good libraries we have here! We've gone through SOTW orally, and I was thinking of getting some of the historical graphic novels from High Noon for history next year. Have any of you read and used ideas from Ronald Davis' The Gift of Dyslexia? The more I read, the more I think that if he has dyslexia, it is mild. However, at the same time, I am thinking that the same strategies will be helpful for him. I did have a vision test done a year ago, which showed mild tracking problems, but I am pretty sure that has resolved itself through time and exercises. Again, thanks to all of you for the help.

The person who did the testing was private, but works regularly with the schools. I can't remember her title, but she has the training, etc., for this kind of testing. I just didn't think she was very good at it. We got a written report, but the recommendations were things I was already doing, for the most part. And she recommended tutoring with a program she uses, but we didn't want to use her as we were not impressed with her. She was very nice, just seemed a bit flaky. We will be pretty much on our own for remediation, both because of funds but also because we will be moving back overseas in a few months. There will be no local resources for tutoring, etc. With the use of Reading Pathways and Pathway Readers, he is making progress in his reading. There are glitches here and there, but he is growing consistently in this area. He is using the second of the 3rd-grade readers presently, so I'm pleased with this. His comprehension is pretty good, with again, some glitches here and there. Yet, I know he would not test well on a standardized test. His oral language is pretty good--if you talked with him you would not think he had a problem, vocabulary developing, but now and then there are definitely words that you think he would know that he doesn't. Those words throw him off in following directions, comprehension, etc. I've been working with him in an analogy book, and he doesn't quite get it as to how the words relate to each other about half the time. He has trouble explaining things. If he writes something on his own without spelling guidance, it's pretty bad. Even though we go over his spelling words numerous times during the week, and the books are good and consistent (R&S), when it comes time for his writing them on his own, the very best he has done is to miss only 3 of 16. Usually, he misses 5 or 6. He loves to listen to audiobooks, and can narrate orally very well. He's usually pretty sharp as to word plays if it is familiar vocabulary. Overall, if he is dyslexic, it is mild. That makes it hard to know quite what the problem is; the best way I know to describe it, obviously from the above paragraphs, is "glitches." He was in a small school for K and 1st grade, and though I kept asking, they kept saying that there were no red flags. But I know in my gut that he is not quite "getting" things many times, and that if he were in a school, he would be getting further and further behind until they realized it with a big boom. I don't quite know how to explain. The website above looks helpful, and I will look at it in depth over the weekend. Thanks for the suggestions.

My ds9 was adopted internationally at the age of almost 4, so that is when he lost his first language and began to learn English. Reading has come very slowly for him. Last August, we had him tested for learning disabilities, and he was diagnosed with. . . a reading disability. No specification, and the recommendations were things I was already doing. It was not very helpful, and I was not impressed with the evaluator's professionalism (or lack thereof). I am not sure how to handle this. We do not have the funds to keep testing. He seems quite bright in general, and has some characteristics of dyslexia as far as I understand it (which admittedly, isn't very well). He is advancing in his reading, though he finds it taxing. His spelling is absolutely atrocious. In fact, I was prompted to write this after his spelling quiz today which left him in discouraged tears--he thought he had done so well, but alas . . . Writing is not up to par; mostly I still have him doing copywork or dictation; he can narrate quite well, however. I need to know how to help him. Book recommendations--both for educating me and for helping him? Is my understanding correct that language arts will just be an area where we have to do a lot of repetitive hard work, i.e., no magic bullets? Any help here would be appreciated!

Maybe a gift card to your favorite coffee shop for "those" days. Or, if you must be practical, some fun educational videos. I have no idea why my font size is changing like this. My computer is on its last legs. Ugh.

:iagree: My oldest was the hardest, no matter what age he was. The other (five) have all been easy compared to him. He's 26 now. I do find the early grades tiring, as they are so teacher-intensive, and you are still finding your/their style. The older grades have different challenges, but we try to move toward a lot of independence as they get older, and it is also very satisfying to relate to the thinking young adults. Right now, my ds9 is a challenge (ds12 is relatively easy), because he is so sensitive that the slightest correction, such as a wrong math problem, sends him into a funk. I'm trying to imagine that he is getting a little better. :001_unsure:

Thanks! I'd really like to use no self-control and create a huge stash of these courses, but alas . . . :tongue_smilie: Probably best to collect them slowly.

I have never ordered anything from the Great Courses site, but am looking at some of them for next fall and would like feedback from those of you who have used these: (oh, and these are primarily for 12yo ds) Secrets of Mental Math The Art of Storytelling (thinking this would be good for some pre-writing ideas as well) Physics in Your Life And how would the Physics one compare to Joys of Science? Ds is reading Science Matters now, and really enjoying it. I have the Integrated Science book for later. TIA!

Maybe this is too simplistic, but could you use a regular round cake pan, cut out a wedge (which would be the mouth), and put it on the opposite side as a tail. Then frost and use candy for the eye and maybe licorice strips for making gills, etc.? Depending on how many servings you need, you could make two or double layers.