I don't really know if you can "self-teach" singing, if you have no background, but I saw this book Singing Lessons for Little Singers by Gregory Blankenbehler. There's also Progressive Singing for Young Beginners by Peter Gelling. If you got either of these books and walked yourself and your children through them, maybe it would help.

I also have a child who has poor motor skills. Puberty, believe it or not, helps a little bit! But not enough that you should encourage a profession that requires good motor skills like nursing. As far as the awkwardness, it will probably always remain, but most social skills can be learned to a certain extent. Manners, after all, is a "social dance" where everybody is supposed to know the steps. American Girl has books like A Smart Girls Guide to Manners, A Smart Girl's Guide to Friendship Troubles, A Smart Girl's Guide to Knowing What to Say and A Smart Girl's Guide to Parties that may help her walk through social situations. If she has trouble reading these books, you could read them aloud to her and role play. I also love Miss Manners! If your local paper gets her column, you may want to (selectively) read aloud to her the situations and discuss how to respond. Miss Manners' Guide to Rearing Perfect Children is also a great guide. Oh, and by the way, my oldest (she's 20), who like I said had poor motor skills was also a late bloomer and a relatively poor student. Many years went by, and I thought to myself (including the summer of 2011!), "When will she grow up?" :glare:. Well, when she came home for winter break just a couple of weeks ago, I finally saw a maturity breakthrough! I should have known, though. My husband was also a late bloomer (and because we married young, I was there for some of the growing up process :lol:). So it could be that your daughter will just need a lot of hand holding for some time, maybe well into the college years. However, this is not to preclude a special needs evaluation. You would probably want to get one done, if possible. If nothing else, it may save you from regrets later, if indeed something serious needs to be done.

There is a book called A Trip Around the World: Bringing Cultural Awareness to Your Classroom with Activities Across the Curriculum by Leland Graham (and a follow-up book called Another Trip Around the World) that you might find useful. These books has reproduceable maps and flags and a list of words in the local language for each country "visited". There are also some simple recipes for each country. I would also try very hard to have a globe around the house (if you don't have one already, preferably with a raised relief) so that way your child can learn to find these countries on the globe (and get a sense of geography, in general!).

I live near the Dallas International School , which is run by an organization called Mission Laigue Francaise. Mission Laigue Francaise runs French schools all over the world, to promote French language and culture. The kindergarten there is about half day in French, half day in English, but I believe that the preschool is all day in French. When the French studies are going on, they use the same curriculum as schools in France use. I understand that French preschools are much more academic than most American preschools! (See this brochure, Ready to Learn). So you may want to check out whether you want your 4 year old to be in such an academic environment so young!

Coin 2 (with the scalloped edges) is no longer being minted or used in Israel. In the 1980s, they changed the currency in Israel; coin 2 is from before the currency change. It looks like coin 1 is also out of circulation too. It says in Hebrew "Shekalim" (shekel being the name of the currency used in Israel; it is called that because that is the term used in the Bible for ancient currency) and the currency used in Israel today is called the "New Shekel".

While I have never sent my children to a Montessori school, I have read many books on the Montessori method. One book, The Montessori Controversy by John Chattin-McNichols, states that studies show that children who have gone to Montessori schools tend to score lower on tests of creativity. And this book was written by a Montessori advocate! On all other measures, Montessori students are superior.

If you know what you are looking for, http://www.fes.follett.com/ is a site for schools to buy used textbooks. They will ship single copies to individuals.

Pam-- From what I understand, the study guides to French in Action are only necessary for casual (non-credit) learners who are not using the textbook and workbooks. (Remember, French in Action ran on public television, so some people were using it as "recreational" learners). You may find that without a teacher the study guides are helpful, but they were really meant as a substitute for the textbook. In other words, (I believe) if you have the textbook and workbooks the study guide is not necessary.

My 11 year old daughter has been playing guitar for 4 years (since the middle of first grade, after begging to learn guitar since kindergarten). After trying to teach her ourselves, we gave up! None of us had had a guitar background (although I had taken 2 years of piano). So we found a teacher who uses a franchised program called Childbloom Guitar, which is a group guitar program for children. Maybe it's available in your area? Group instruction is cheaper than individual instruction. First of all, it takes a while to get a hang of tuning! That was one of our stumbling blocks with teaching her guitar ourselves (you don't tune a piano yourself, but you need to tune your guitar everytime you play!). Your son's "ear" will get better at tuning as time goes on. Your best bet is to get a clip on tuner for the guitar, where the light on the tuner will turn green when it is tuned correctly. I believe that we had a Intellitouch PT10 Mini Clip-On Tuner. It did break after a while, but it was helpful while it lasted. You can also go to a store that sells guitars and have the repair people or the sales people teach you how to tune the guitar. Most places will do this for free. The programs that we tried to use to teach her ourselves included Progressive Guitar Method for Young Beginners (which includes learning both individual notes on the treble clef and chords), Progressive Classical Guitar for Young Beginners (which does not includes chords, which may be easier for young players), and Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course (which includes both note reading on the treble clef and chords). Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course and Progressive Guitar Method for Young Beginners have optional DVDs.

What about The Complete Book of Spanish, Grades 1 - 3 or The Complete Book of Starter Spanish, Grades PK - 1?

I bought this last year to use for my first grader, but never really used it. The description on Rainbow Resource's website is very accurate. It is not a complete curriculum, but rather a list of resources (which are not included and you must buy separately) and a schedule of when and how to use them. It is rather pricy for just a list of resources and a schedule. If you need someone to put together a weekly list for you and lead you step by step, then it may be worth it. However, you can get a list of resources from books like The Well Trained Mind or What Your First Grader Needs to Know. Like the others on this forum, I also bought the first book from Artistic Pursuits and did not particularly like it. Many others on this forum like Scott Foresman Art, which you may be able to buy second hand locally or from a teachers supply company like Follett.

I found My Food Pyramid by Alisha Niehaus to be very good for nutritional information for children.

What about The Complete Book of Spanish, Grades 1-3 or The Complete Book of Starter Spanish, Grades PK - 1?

Sorry that it took me so long to respond. I haven't been on the forums lately.:blushing: Rebecca Stout, in her book Keyboard Capers, does say that it can be used both with and without piano (or other instrument) lessons. The first section of the book reviews the musical alphabet (both forwards and backwards). If your children are older, you will race through that ;). The next section goes through finger numbers, which are used in piano lessons. The third section goes through the trebel and bass clefs. Then comes the notes and their rhythms. Time signatures and intervals are next. Eventually, major and minor scales, high and low sounds are introduced.

My absolute favorite introduction to Hanukkah is Hanukkah: A Counting Book by Emily Sper. It has everything--a history of Hanukkah, popular Hanukkah customs, and an introduction to the languages (both Hebrew and Yiddish)! It is also available in reasonable paperback.

I use Kiss My Face Peaches and Creme Moisturizer.

From what I have read (probably in What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool), there was a religious revival of sorts in England in the nineteenth century. People felt that the Anglican Church had become too liberal. In a book by J.M. Barrie (the author of Peter Pan) called The Little Minister, he refers to the lack of piety of the Anglican priest in his hometown. Most of the sexual morality codes (particularly for woman) became stricter in the nineteenth century. If you look at pictures of the dresses of women from the late eighteenth century (ie. the period that Jane Austen was writting about), you'll see that they were quite revealing of the female body. Later that would have been taboo. Even here in the United States, a significient number of women were pregnant when they married at the time of the American Revolution (including Benjamin Franklin's sister; indeed, Benjamin Franklin himself fathered several children out of wedlock).

John Holt, the author of the homeschool classic Teach Your Own, wrote that if you want to learn something, use a book written for a child of about 10-12 years old. A Chinese cookbook written for children that is very good and gives lots of historical/cultural background about the cuisine is Cooking the Chinese Way (which is part of a series of cookbooks meant for children).

College Confidential has a lot of forums about Interlochen summer program, including this one.

Can anyone tell me how Keystone, Oak Meadow, American School or Laurel Springs are about accepting transfer credits from another accredited school?

I was going to suggest the Fort Wilderness cabins also (they sleep six and have kitchens). To get from there to the Magic Kingdom is a boat ride away! Plus they have a lot of activities on site too for kids.

You may want to refer to a phrase book to give you some stock phrases to use in everyday contexts like At Home Abroad French: Practical Phrases for Conversation by Helen and Nigel Harrison (it was published in Europe as Your French Exchange). Therese Pirz wrote child-specific phrase books in French; her most recent one is Kids Stuff French; an earlier version was called Speak French To Your Baby.

There is a book meant for upper elementary/middle school music classrooms called What's the Score? Go Inside the Conductor's Score featuring Handel's Hallelujah Chorus by Geoff Lorenz & Kris Kropff. I don't think that this is exactly what you are looking for, as you seem to be looking for a unit study featuring the religious aspects of Messiah, and this book seems to be focusing more on the musical aspects of Messiah. However, the publisher's website does have some sample pages, if you follow the link above, so you can see for yourself if this book suits you.

When I was on bedrest pregnant with one of my children, I watched a lot of Spanish television. While the Plaza Sesamo from Mexico was similar to Sesame Street in the USA, the other Spanish childrens shows from Mexico were frightening! No skirting around real-life issues like life threatening illnesses, illegitimacy, etc.

I only moved once during my childhood, when I was about 5, and it was hard, as I was (am?) very shy. However, from the more positive perspective, Therese Amabile, in her book Growing Up Creative, states that children who grow up with frequent moves are more creative.