Lol. I think I need to revise my signature - sorry! We were using R&S, but dropped it at Christmas because ds has been doing so well with EIW. I also added MCT's Sentence Island which covers parts of speech. Grammarland has also been one of our resources too. We do MCT and Grammarland for fun and reinforcement; however, they are not necessary when doing EIW (imho).

I bought MCT Town for next year (5th) for my reluctant LA son. I think it may have been Chrysalis who suggested we read SI first since Mud is such a good character, and it sets a nice foundation for the rest of the books. We are 3/4 of the way through SI, and my son is LOVING it (I am too). He is so excited for the next level that I may not wait until the fall to begin it. We are thoroughly enjoying MCT so far. Although I haven't started Caesar's English, in looking through it, I'm very impressed and looking forward to it. I know my son is going to enjoy it.

I can't speak for the grades you need, but we are using it for 4th right now, and I would say it's 55% grammar/45% writing. Some of the lessons have the student rewrite a given paragraph while adding adjectives, adverbs, or both to make it more lively. I like how it's not grammar in isolation. My son is really enjoying the lessons as well - I should add that he is a reluctant writer. The DVD lectures are short, and the follow-up application sheets are "challenging" (his words). The author is very accessible should you have any questions. You can access his email address from the website. I wrote to him and received a thorough answer back the same day. HTH!

My almost 6yo (ds2) hates PP. I need something different right now, but I'm not sure where to go. My eldest pretty much taught himself to read with some PP for remediation/clarification, so this is new territory for me. Ds2 is enjoying the BOB books and the "Learn to Read" section of starfall.com, but I'm not feeling comfortable that this is enough. He wants to learn how to read, so that is not the issue. I'm so worried about gaps later. All advice is welcome!

I also cleaned my house Thursday and Friday, so today is a much needed down day. I'm grateful for it! I'm not tackling anything today, except for making dinner later.

I'm so glad the CT was clear. Ds#1 has had 2 concussions from soccer injuries, so I completely understand your fears. I hope he had a good night. Prayers for healing are still coming your way.

Praise God! I'm so happy to read this!

We usually always have more than one cat because as others have said, they do like the companionship. In the fall, we introduced a 16 week old female kitten to our 12 yo male because our other cat passed away about a year prior. He was lonely, but kept putting off getting another. That was until the kitten followed ds home and refused to leave. After a vet check for the new girl, we slowly introduced them. It was dicey at first (growling/hissing/some swatting), but it only lasted about 3 weeks, and now they adore one another. My male has always been easy-going, and this kitten is very easy-going as well. As someone else mentioned, try to go for personality above all other things. Fwiw, I would have a houseful of cats if dh would let me :)!

I just read Some of My Best Friends are Books. It has an entire section devoted to book discussion/groups with gifted children, and it has an excellent anthology of books for various ages that are targeted for the gifted child. So far, ds has loved the 2 books I've given to him from the list.

You have received some great advice so far. Like you, I recently learned that my son is gifted (he's almost 10). He also has ADHD and low working & processing memory. According to the stats, only POINT FOUR % of the population fit this profile. He often baffles me with his asynchrony, and every day is a new adventure with him (some exciting, some utterly frustrating). He is borderline for generalized anxiety disorder and SPD as well. I am still working out the "kinks" of how to teach him, and I still don't have all the answers. One thing I have learned is that he needs small chunks of work, and I cannot expect him to be able to focus on long assignments unless he has many 5-10 minute breaks where he moves around. He sits on a yoga ball to do work & he often has something in his hands to fiddle with if he's listening to a read aloud. Timed tests are nearly impossible, and I worry about this for the future, although I have learned that he can receive accommodations. I guess I don't really have any advice; I just wanted you to know you are not alone. As for identifying your boys late, do not worry. You still have time to get them what they need and help them figure out who they are. That is something for which to be thankful. The mantra ,"one day at a time" (although completely cliche), is what helps me get through each day with my son. :)

I'm sorry! He sounds like a wonderful man. Thankfully, his wife, family, and all who knew him will have warm memories of him. It doesn't change the pain or sadness, but in time, those memories will be so helpful. Sometimes I wish death did not exist.

Congratulations! Enjoy your your TWO new bundles of joy!!!

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She is so cute! I absolutely love her name too!

Prayers are with him. I'm sorry.

So sorry, Audrey. Prayers and hugs to you and your family. :grouphug:

This thread is a goldmine! Thank you, ladies. I'm trying to fish out how I want to do year 1 with ds#2 who is a completely different learner than ds#1. This is an incredible help since I've been wondering if AO would be the right fit for him.

My first thought was beans? Okay, let's see what's in this thread... No way am I going to voluntarily eat organ meat. The thought of it makes MY stomach turn. However, I know many people who really love it!

YES! I had yellow ones, red ones, and orange ones!!! We used to dance around the house to Saturday Night Fever with my mom! Great memories! My all-time favorite 45 was "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I would play that over and over again until my mom would threaten to take away my little record player. :coolgleamA:

The list of seed companies has me wondering what everyone's favorite companies are. We haven't ordered our catalog yet - we've been buying organic ones from a local hardware/farm store, but we are not opposed to branching out in our choices. So, what seed company do you love and why?

We have 2 side-by-side hampers in my room with a total of 4 compartments. The boys have a hamper in each of their rooms. They dump their clothes into my room, and I sort by color. whites (these will be bleached) - underwear, t-shirts, socks - hot water darks - jeans, blues, browns, blacks - all material types - cold water tans/lights - khakis, creams, light colors (pastels), whites that do not get bleached - warm water reds - oranges, reds, pinks - cold water This is how my mom taught me, so I just kept up with it. We also have a pile in our bathroom for towels that includes bath towels, face cloths, hand towels, cloth napkins, and kitchen towels.. They are washed with hot water.

How great! I love how small of a world it really is!

This made me laugh because a friend of mine lives in Newcastle and there are many times when I talk to her that I need her to slow down and "translate" what she was saying! Her boyfriend, another good friend of ours, is from Maidstone, Kent. I could listen to him talk forever. He often teases her for her "northern accent". Dh's grandmother came to Ottawa from Wales. She has passed, but I truly enjoyed listening to her speak. She had picked up some of the Canadian euphemisms ("eh?") and how they tend to end each sentence as if it's a question, but her Welsh accent was still very strong. It was beautiful. A woman from our church is from Gold Coast, Australia. Although, she recently moved back to Perth, I used to love talking to her. Her accent was general according to Rosie's post. I'm from NH originally, and I've always been told I don't have a northern accent; however, many of my relatives sound like they are from Boston (some are). My mom definitely sounds like a Yankee. I now live in the south, and we have some very Southern friends who have a slow drawl. Apparently, my mom says I'm picking up some of the sounds. I don't recognize it, but she teases me often when we talk. My boys are definitely starting to sound Southern. I'm fine with it since this is where they are from. Accents fascinate me.

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I have no idea what the nurse means, but I'm sure you are getting the right answers so far. Just wanted you to know that I'm praying for him right now. :grouphug: