ditto.

sorry, just read the update. Glad it worked out. Sometimes it is so hard to get to the bottom of things. I've been there.

actually, you did just fine. My 2e aspie-ish 15yo boy pulls this stuff routinely. very routinely. I respond very much as you did, with occasional variations. I mean...how else should we respond? My son doesn't do escalating responses well at all, but needs to just reap his own consequences. Maybe you could have oh so casually thrown in there that you duly noted the disrespect, and would be thinking creatively about an appropriate consequence while he was having his rotton day? I don't know. I ignore as much as possible. Natural consequences seem to work best with mine.

I voted no, because I'm assuming you mean real tv as in cable. We have a television set, but it is only used for video/dvd/wii. Any shows we watch - and there are certain ones that my girls and myself like - we watch streaming on the computer. I guess "no television" is sort of nebulous anymore. We've never had cable, though, and I'm really glad.

actually, kb alg2 covers pretty much everything that tt precalc does except for ch 9,13, and 14.

Not Jann, but I would say that the material in the first 5 chapters are frequently covered in standard algebra 2 texts. If it's algebra 2 plus trig, then add in the next 5 (matrices are frequently covered in alg 2, so might as well add them to the pile) here, for example is the toc for kinetic books alg 2, which is very thorough. So I would say at least 50% of what is in the precalc would be considered alg 2 in many other places. 0 Welcome 1 Expressions, Equations and Functions 2 Graphing Linear Equations and Functions 3 Systems of Equations and Inequalities 4 Matrices 5 Quadratic Functions and Factoring 6 Polynomial Functions 7 Powers, Radicals and Complex Numbers 8 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 9 Rational Expressions and Equations 10 Conic Sections 11 Sequences and Series 12 Probability and Counting 13 Trigonometric Functions 14 Trigonometric Identities and Equations

I would look at Don Kilgallon's books that work on sentence composing to help with the interesting part. They have 3 different levels, so you could choose where to put him. They are excellent. http://userpages.umbc.edu/~killgall/ http://www.amazon.com/Sentence-Composing-Middle-School-Worktext/dp/0867094192 To work on straight editing, you might get an appropriate level of Editor in Chief computer version. Again, you could choose the level that is best, and doing it on the computer might be fun. I think the books are about $15, the computer cds are $26. The Kilgallon is about $20 a workbook.

open office. free and fabulous :o)

Oh, and Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of Chris Gardner a Wall St. legend. He was a poor medical equipment salesman with a girlfriend and a young son. Girlfriend drinks, and ends up walking out on them. He ends up homeless with his son, living anywhere he can, but he lands an unpaid internship with a competitive stockbroker training program where only a small number will make the cut at the end. It's really an amazing story of all the stuff he has to endure with his son and his determination to succeed. Really good movie.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one, but "Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith is a really inspiring movie along these lines.

Here is some info for CA http://www.calagtour.org/

yes they are. Yesterday was like that for me with my ds who is the same age as yours. Thankfully not the worst day he has ever had, but definitely bad. I desperately wanted someone to vent to who *got it* about sn kids (in my case a 2e, bullheaded, melting down, mildly aspie 14yo bundle of testosterone). Sigh. Wish I could take you out for a latte. Boy could we shoot the breeze ;o).

My oldest at age 3/4 in the backseat of the car...*big yawn* "I'm SO soporific!" too funny! Now she's an engineering major in college ;o)

In general, no, but I live in a really good city in socal that takes quite a bit of care to keep everything looking good.

Can you not just unsubscribe to her? All it does is hide her on your wall. You don't have to read her comments, but she is still your friend. I don't think someone can find out that they are unsubbed.

gosh....I don't let mine have one till they are 18. The stuff that teens usually put on there is of marginal value usually, with a few exceptions. Not worth it for me. It's just NOT important imo. But then my kids didn't get cell phones till they had a job either.... nope, I vote not unreasonable in the least. 13? geez, NO WAY JOSE!!

Oh yeah, I'm right there with you. DS 15 is having one of those years. I don't know if I will survive.

I would say that first, you need to help him make his topic sentence more specific. All 3 points should be in it: swimming, looking for sea life, and glass hunting. "_,_, and _ are all exciting things to do at the beach"; "Some enjoyable beach activities are _,_, and _" ...something along those lines. Then help him make 2 sentences or so about each. Ask questions...WHY is _ fun? WHAT is it like doing _? WHO can you do it with? Add sensory details (cold water splashing, tickling sand crabs..). Restate the topic sentence in a different way for the conclusion. "_,_,and _ all make for a fantastic day at the beach!" or something of that ilk. Anyway, my 2c. He has stuff there to work with, it just needs to be worked with kwim?

I recommend you get the basic 79$ kindle. I had 2 kindle keyboards. Both of them had the screen go bad in the space of a year (lines across it, unreadable). The first time it was under warranty, the next time it was just past and I was screwed. Also, the bottom corners of the kindle keyboard tend to get tiny cracks coming from them. From personal experience, and also when I was at Target getting a Kindle Touch yesterday, the floor model of the kindle keyboard had cracks in both bottom corners. I personally bet the new model is sturdier. And cheaper.

I'm in a biggest loser contest at church :o). Everyone puts $20 in & winner takes all. Thats good motivation, plus we are all mostly on Facebook, so there's a lot of good natured competition going on. Also, I know that even if I don't win the money, I'll have lost the pounds.

20 - oldest, homeschooled all the way, undoubtedly 2e - gifted, teensy bit aspie but you'd probably never know it now, hyperactive from day 1. Used LLTL, SOTW, Sonlight with good effect. She loves books. More traditional in high school. She's an engineering major now at a Cal State uni. & doing very well. I had to keep her moving a lot, and she was very intense. 15 - youngest ds, also 2e, combo of (undiagnosed, but undeniable iykwim) gifted, aspergers, adhd, spd....some unique quirky swirling mild combination. Brilliant musician, loves theater, but has motor skills issues, mild but definite aspie traits, mild but definite adhd traits (horrible self motivation & organizational skills), definite sensory issues since birth, some visual processing problems, but off the charts smart. This year we're using Holt Geometry: Love it with the online videos that go with...my son loves the quirky humor; Teencoder computer programming: the jury is still out on this; Co-op history class that used BJU world history and a ton of other projects: good for him, but I want to shoot myself on a regular basis keeping him organized; an outside writing class that uses IEW/Writeshop style curriculum: It is perfect for him, and the teacher is wonderful; Apologia Biology: I think he likes the conversational style, and it is doable....we're just way behind right now. All in all this has been a difficult year with lots of transitions. Working on behavioral stuff & trying to tackle outside classes/expectations has been very challenging with a highly undermotivated kid. He does piano, taekwondo, musical theater, AWANA, and Boy Scouts as well. Sounds like a lot, but they are all very therapeutic for him each in different ways. We muddle through.

oh my, no! My oldest was hyper/intense/mild aspie, and didn't become a sane human being until around age 13/14, when her switch flipped from "out of control" to "hyper controlled", and all that energy got channelled into academic success. She is now an engineering major at the local state uni, and is very focused, but very much her own geeky spock-like person. Youngest ds (15) sounds exactly like your oldest. almost to the letter. throw in adolescence and I just want to move to siberia every other day. I guess it's good he is my last, and I can give him a bit more attention, but I commiserate that you can't with your son. hugs. I've had a bad week as well.

There are lots of apps for macs. Just go to the mac app store, and you can see whats available. just google it, and it will pop right up and you can see for yourself.

I've been hsing for 15 years, and my youngest is 15 and very 2e. I have never been able to successfully get a rhythm with him. Ever. I hope you can find one. Lord knows I try. We muddle through, but every day is different, because with him, you just never know which side of the bed he's gonna get up on LOL! He hates lists, he hates surprises, but craves novelty, hates being bored, but gets frustrated easily. Some days he hates everything, and some days he is on the ball and cranking. I've accepted this fact, though, and as I said, we muddle though. somehow. And I have to love him the way he is anyway :). He makes me tired though.

That's great that she wants to do drama! My mildly aspie/adhd son has been in musical theater since about age 9, and he's 15 now. He loves theater. He's a drama king, and a musician, so it's been a very good experience. He has always gotten lead roles, and it has helped him learn to focus better, take direction, deal with peers, deal with competition (auditioning for leads) etc. His directors are phenomenal people, though, and totally committed to helping all kinds of kids enjoy and learn from the experience. Over the years there have been several special needs kids in different shows. No one is turned away. Hopefully your dd will have great instructors and enjoy her time :)