Has the EPGY programme opened up yet for Aussies? Has anyone used the programme when overseas (from America:001_smile:)? Ideally I would like to enrol DD8 in the cheaper option of EPGY as I don't think we would be using the tutors at all (wrong time zone). Also, how fast can they progress through the programme? I hs DD for 18months with MUS...it drove her to tears and refusal to do anymore work. Due to other circumstances I had to place her in school - where they have complained bitterly about the gaps in her knowledge. DD has just decided its time for her to learn again (she is PG) so I want to take advantage and fast track her through to keep her interest alive, however we might need to start at the beginning for EPGY? Any ideas? Cheers Fi

I've just begun the path with my DD. I figure that it is my job to help (facilitate) her in knowing the techniques needed to learn anything that she wants to learn. As to achieving the best grades, be the highest achiever, the youngest child ever to go to uni etc- not for me or for her unless she wants it. I would like her to have a good solid education so she can go and do anything that she wants to - including being a SAHM like me:001_smile: I switched off at an early age and never achieved at high school what I could have (did at Uni though). My DD is also repeating history. This is not what I want and something that I am trying to figure out how to break the pattern. I would go for the testing, find that baseline. You can deal with what you know (your DD ability and your own experience) but its alot harder to deal with unknowns. As for mothers - yeah mine thinks she a wealth of knowledge and I say with love, she did a jolly bad job with my education, until I took over and went to Uni. However that is now to my advantage as I can apply my knowledge to my DD. Good luck

Does that mean its open to non US residents as well (under the hs district thing.) ?? (Australia) If so can I be counted as one please. I know I can do it through their normal pay per quarter class (way to expensive in AUD). Fi

I have been trying to wrap my head around my DD(7yr old) situtation (gross underachiever). I read WTM and realise she is certainly capable of starting the logic section (i.e. she is thinking that way already.) So how do I radically accelerate her? Maths is OK (I will just continue working with MUS). I am assuming I will just start history and science the WTM way for grade 5 (and just read everything for her.) Would she be missing anything by not doing the grammar stage for science and history? However what do I do for grammar/spelling/writing? Just because she is not reading well (approx 6yr old level), do I keep her back in grade 1 for these subjects or should I just throw her in the deep end and see if she will swim? To date grammar/spelling and writing have been no problem (except the physical act of handwriting is still very much age appropriate.) I have already CW Aesop and Homer, WWW level 1 and 2 and Apples and Pears spelling series and FLL 1/2. We are halfway through WW level 1 and FLL 1, and in the first book of Apples and Pears. Should I just ditch FLL and go to another grammar programme thats recommended in WTM for Grade 5? What about writing - stay with WWE and try and accelerate it (continue a weeks lesson per day - which we were doing but she is bored by it.) I do realise that reading is the most important thing, but its just not happening at the moment. I'll keep plugging away with a dyslexic programme (Dancing Bears) however I need to start challenging her for both her and my sanity. What curricula have you used that is easy to accelerate rapidly? TIA Fi TIA Fi

Thank you all so much :001_wub: Its morning here in Australia and I am feeling alot better about my 'failure' as a parent. I have alot of changing that I need to do, however I feel positive that with the help of the professionals (that being you wonderful people!) and the psych that I can do this. Gut instinct is that I know school is not the answer, so I am just going to have to change the way I hs (but I soooo like the WTM method!) Thank you for your success stories - they were a great help/ motivation/ reality check. I am off to check the links and read, read, read!!! Thank you again. Fi Having knowledge is great, but having the wisdom to know when to apply the knowledge is greater still.

DD7 is 2/3 rds of the way through the WISC IV. She has not done the verbal part yet (extremely shy and will not talk to strangers.) We have been having great problems in hs for the last 3 months and have been hs for 12 months now. I knew DD was bright maybe gifted, however she was having extreme trouble in learning how to read (can read now but refuses to - says its to hard.) Combined with the "emotional" problems that we have been having, I decided to do testing, mainly to see if there are any LDs. Yesterday and today she hit the ceiling in a couple of the subtests. I know most parents would feel proud, however I just feel so sick. I feel like I have let her down somehow - how can she be so underperforming (reading/ writing etc)and be so intelligent. How have I contributed towards her refusal to learn? What am I doing so wrong!!! She is only 7yrs old and she has no love of learning. Do I try and find a school for her? I dont feel like I am successful at hs her...yet I also know that no school is going to meet her needs. Intellectually I know that she needs alot more than I have obviously provided her...but I also know I have done my best. So what do I do? :confused: The clinical psych (highly recommended in the professional world) is really excited by DD results; she said its very unusal to have a consistently high scores in the subtests that she has done. If we had to, I know we could just manage to send DD to a top private school....but am I better of trying to find a tutor for her at home? See if someone else could do a better job at hs her than me? I am so confused..... Fi who needs to :chillpill: but cant.

We are testing this week. (Although I am still questioning the wisdom behind it.) Our reasons are: always knew DD was very bright, fitted the gifted "criteria" however she hates reading and it has been one long uphill battle. So we are testing to see if she has a learning disability. However I deeply suspect that it is a personality challenge. We have had huge conflicts over doing hs for the last 3 months, numerous tantrums etc. Its been one big battle field. So to cease the battle I plan to start from the top by testing for learning difficulties. If no learning difficulties then its time for psych appointments. I dont expect to get an accurate result with our testing, it will be more of a base line test. DD results will be heavily influenced by cultural factors and the negative space she is in at the moment.:confused: To sum up, another reason for testing is personality challenges.....just so you have a baseline to start with.

Well after all the moves that I have done - you would think that I would know how to do this! My house is in a constant state of looking like some has ransacked it. Part of the problem has been moving/living in very large houses and downsizing into a small house with a packrat of a husband. However I have worked very hard at getting rid of stuff but i'm still overwhelmed with stuff.:tongue_smilie: I keep thinking if I just could organise it better, then it would work. Main bedroom is largish and I have bed, tv, antique lounges (cant give away), large antique wardrobe and a table. Yep it is squashy. Ensuite has robe space and thats where everyones clothes are stored. (2 kids). Then there are another 2 bedrooms. 1 room (tiny) just fits 2 single beds and 2 night tables. Both kids sleep here (well ment to when not invading my bed). Other room is slightly larger and is the playroom. They have lots of toys and play with them. All stored in Ikea trofast storage units but not alot of play space on the floor. Tend to drag all the toys into lounge. Front room (ment to be formal lounge) overlooks the street, so has a nice "view". Has 7 bookcases, 4 Ikea trofast units, large computer table, paino, large keyboard, 2 small school desks and a LARGE treadmill. This room is ment to be the school room, if I could actually make my way to a desk.:glare: Its crowded and busy. Have culled alot of books but need alot of stuff for all the paperwork etc that comes with having a busy life. Rest of the house tiny kitchen, tiny dining area, another bathroom/laundry, and small lounge area with tv and amoire with games etc. I am "happy" how these areas work although I wish I didn't have the train set all over the floor. Kids like to play in this area. I think its the light and space that is appealing to them. Any ideas? DS is almost 5 and loves pulling everything apart and seeing what he can get up to. DD is 7 are very arty. They love having lots of space to get really creative in whatever game they are playing. They play alot and generally very well together. I dont know if this will change when they get older. Do I have a seperate office and then school/play room? do I give them their own bedrooms and have toys in their rooms? Really need the treadmill easily accessible so it is used. Do I turn the current school room into a bedroom for the kids with their toys in it? Any ideas/ suggestions? TIA Fi

No primal screams here......however lots of tears (mine), whimpering and saying stop over and over again. I just withdrew into myself, trying to protect myself. No thoughts to the baby at all. I was trying to grap my OB hands and getting her to stop....so I was pinned down by a nurse (nicely!!). I had a csection and the epidural/spinal block completely failed. Last recorded case (until mine) was 1997 to some poor woman in Japan. So thats it for me - 2 children only!!

We were doing 1 - 2 lessons a week whilst focusing on reading. However we have just picked up the pace and we are now doing a lesson a day. I am finding that one complete lesson in a sitting does cause multiple meltdowns....so I think I will revise my strategy once we have completed Book A. My aim is to one book per year. The authors advise to do one lesson per sitting and each book is ment to be one years work. Cheers Fi

Sorry about the delay - computer problems Thank you so much for replying, I just love this board :001_wub: There is still debate as to whether my son has a mito myopathy or a muscle myopathy.......the biopsy is still be analysed. Thank you so much for the I See Sam link. I have wanted to purchase them for awhile, however with the postage costs is was way too expensive. This will be a great help. We have put forth an enerolment into a private speech and language school. ...however his name will be on the waiting list to see if any vacancies arise. For just two days a week it costs $6500; I cant believe its so expensive. I think I will homeschool him when he hits the official achooling age. I just cant see him surviving the rough and tumble of an Aussie school. However he is such a social fellow it will be interesting. Once again thank you for all your help.

Hmmmm, my Ds is in the middle of being diagnosed with a language processing disorder - his english is very hard to understand. We lived in France for 3 years and he was speaking French without too much of a problem. However in my experience, there were alot of people who spoke French with a variety of accents, that were all hard to understand - including the French to the French. So I would say go for it - he might have to work a little harder but hey great for him. I wouldn't worry to much about pronuciation - that really only comes when you have lived in the same region in France for 15 years!!:D Best wishes Fi

My DS, soon to be 5 has a variety of medical issues....one of them being a muscle disease. He has always been delayed in his speech and it hasn't helped that we lived in France between the ages of 1 - 3yrs. Yesterday he had another assessment with his ST who is concerned about his lack of progress (none) in the last 12 months (since returning to Oz). His intelligibility (sp?) is about 20% on a good day. Obviously I understand more as long as I know the context of what he is talking about. He can parrot back to you relatively clearly when you correct his speech, however when he has to formulate a sentence himself everything is jumbled; the sentence structure and all the phonemes in the word are mixed or eliminated. I will be taking him to see another ST for a second opinion. What can I expect with a language processing disorder? I have found lots written about it, but not much written on how to deal/ school with it. What do I need to know for the future? Currently he goes to Kindy for 12 hours a week (has an aide for 6 of those hours). I hs DD(7) and I had a rough plan on hs DS in 18 months time. (when he starts compulsory school). If he does have a language disorder, is he better being hs or being in the school system? Fortunately we are in a very good public school area, who are very proactive....but I just wonder whether they will say its to hard and just let him sit and do nothing. He has a smart little brain in his head, its just stuck in a body that doesn't work very well. If I do hs, what kind of resources will I need? Sounds silly, however I know money is going to be tight in 18months, so if I can preplan/ prebuy then I would prefer to buy now than later. I currently use Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears with my DD....so hopefully that will work? Finally how easy is it to hs two high needs kids when you are a solo parent? TIA Fi

Also remember the night time, when everyone is asleep in the house. I have heard of a few situations where the person waited until everyone was asleep in the house and then went into the childrens bedroom, removed the children to his bedroom so no one could hear anything. Door locks/ alarms/ sensors could be an answer.

Hmmmm...we are going for a wheelchair fitting this thursday. In the last couple of months, we have received lots of stares, comments and plain rudeness over my sons medical condition. I've even contemplated taking out an add in the local newspaper to say stop being so rude.:tongue_smilie: We use ACROD (disabled) car parking. We have all the appropriate forms etc displayed in the car. The other day I had a lady stalk us (yes stalk!!), look at the car for the disable sticker (yes it was there) and then stalk us some more and then verbally abused me (in front of my child) for parking in a disabled car spot. It was awful....my DS is only 4 1/2yrs old....fancy being abused for being disabled.:confused: Maybe you could get the church to give a sermon on treating people with disabilities respectfully. Either that or contact the local optometrist and explain that you come across alot of people with staring disease and what is the treatment so you can advise people?!:tongue_smilie: :grouphug: From one Mummy to another :grouphug: Fi

I have a geoboard (blue plastic square with little pegs to put rubber bands on that makes shapes). However I am looking for any free resources (books/ ideas etc) that I can use with it. Any books that I have found in Oz are $40 or more....way to expensive. Has anyone found any free resources for geoboards that they can share please? TIA Fi

I have a Will-i-am.......he was at Kindy the other day and they were being taught to clap out the number of syallables in their name before washing their hands. William clapped out 2.....I was confused, so I asked the teacher, why is he clapping two? (I had taught him 3 at home). I then received a long lecture on phonics etc, to which I politely pointed out then using (their) phonics rules that would be 3 syallables...:tongue_smilie: I then became that "homeschooling Mum".:D Interesting enough, when we lived in France, the French dont tend to pronouce the double l and nor could William pronounce it (3yr old). He called himself Wimwam. I think alot of it depends upon the accent....in French they tend to accentuate the second/third syallable eg Wil -LI-am. Here in Australia we tend to say WILL-i-am or just Will. Fi

I'm in a strange situation and it feels really weird posting it, however here it is: It looks like my sisters twins will be staying with me for their summer holidays :hurray: Whilst I am really looking forward to it - I am also terrified.....I have a 7 and 5yr old, only hormones my house are mine!! I haven't been able to see alot of them as we have all been living in different parts of the world and my sister and I dont talk very much. (Very different people and life style). However the twins mean the world to me and I have just been biding my time until their parents let them have a bit more freedom and visit us. They have had a very tough year in England with alot of stresses (family and school), so I think they will really need a holiday, although it will be wet and cold here as it will be winter then and not school holidays here. (Australia). What should I expect? I have heard that they fight alot with each other (boy and girl), which I will not be used to as my two dont fight very often. I also believe that quite a bit of lying and (stealing?) and bad attitude has been occuring. I know in writing they sound dreadful, but they are really nice kids, bright (in the gifted classes at school) , but they have a really crummy home life and they are crying out for attention. I would like to be able to let them relax, have fun and know whats its like being part of a loving family - give them something to hold onto during the hard times. So what do your 12yr olds like to do? Do they play board games/ imagination games or is it all just computers and sulking in dark corners? How do you discipline them/ set boundaries? Do they still let you cuddle them? (loved giving them cuddles as kids but haven't seen them for a few years now!) Apparently they have no friends at school, so I am not too concerned about the social side of things - although there are at least 4 teenage boys in my street! How do I continue to hs my DD and DS with another 2 kids in a tiny house??!! Any advice in how to approach this would be much appreciated. I really want this trip to be successful (in their eyes and their parents)....so hopefully every summer they can come out to Australia and get to know the rest of their family. TIA Fi

Ok here is my take: Blood types: its not as simple as I'm B+ or O - negative.....it is actually more complicated than that and your blood group consists of several different types....eg - in real life I am B+, my husband is O+ but our DD is 0- From high school biology you would say that it is not possible for our DD to be 0- as we should have a B+ or an O + child. However what it might be is that I am a B+0- and my husband is a 0+0-, so hence our DD is a O-. We were sitting in the hospital, as my DD was about to go into surgery when we started reading her blood type report. You can imagine how huge my eyes were when we read the report. (not knowing about the secondary blood types etc.) Very kindly a doctor explained the complexities of the grouping of blood types (to which I have not written it very well.) So what I am saying is that it in entirely possible for you to have your blood type and your parents to be your biological parents. As for heritary stuff: well I have a genetic blood disorder and yep no one in my family has it. My son has a congential muscle disease and yet again no one has it as well in the family. So my conclusion is that heritary stuff or congenital stuff is just a word......mutations do occur and so do skipping generations. (There is no question as to who are my bio parents or my children.) Genetics is really in its infancy interms of all these complicated medical stuff....whilst I am no doctor, I am however a mother who spends alot of time and money and brain power on medical issues (for my son.) Really the genetical side of things in his treatment and his diagnosis has played less than 1 % in all of these appointments. Genetics may provide an indication of likely medical issues but only an indication. Its your DNA that is more important, not what your parents DNA is. If you personally/emotionally need to know who your bio parents are, then yes persue it........however dont base your judgement on finding out on medical reasons. Genetics and mutations are far to complex and deceptive to base your reasoning upon. Wishing you the best. :grouphug: From another person who is going to donate her body to medical science when they die. Fi

I'm living that life right now......and yep insanity is just a part of it. :D Seriously people ask me how I do it...I tell them that I dont do it, I border on the verge on insanity. It is a tough tough slog. I live in a tiny house, so its not possible for me however if you could, I would try and get an au pair to assist you. It would provide some support for you etc. The hardest thing I always found was taking my sick child to hospital in the wee hours and having to drag the well child with me. At least with an au -pair there would be some back up. If you cant then I would get a babysitter in one day a week or see if you can organise the kids to go to a childcare centre or something one day a week. I have my DD (6yr) go to a French school on Fridays. She is the oldest by 18months in the class, however it just gives me that little sanity break from the continual questions and conversation that occurs all week. Things that drive me nuts - no one to ring up and ask them to bring home some milk on the way home from work. Food shopping - we dont have internet delivery here so thats not an option for me. If you have it there then use it (even if it is more expensive.) Never getting time to myself to have a thought...... Beware of payback week - when DH visits (sounds weird!), the kids go on payback week and are incrediably revolting. Just make sure that you have everything organise prior to that week so you can survive their emotional turmoil. Benefits - less washing, cleaning and less relating etc. Sounds weird but when you are really tired and have finally got the kids in bed, you don't have to then relate to someone else....you just sit in silence and enjoy the silence. I have established Mummys time out. The kids know when I say Mummys time out, that they have to leave me alone for a set time (unless there is an emergency.) I generally use this when I am going insane. I have my 6yr old enrolled in gym, ballet etc. Even though I still have my 4yr old with me (special needs), it gives me a little break for that hour. Also I get to see/ talk with other adults. Can you enrol your 6 and 4 yr old in a class together? The classes also help with keeping their routine going. My DD gym has the perfect set up where you sit in a room with other adults (and their) littlies and you can watch your child through the window. Must go and do some parenting...feel free to ask me anything or just to have a winge....because I certainly understand. Good luck Fi

Ohhh pick me pick me :hurray: I had one when we were living in Europe - 2006 - 2008. Travelled all around Europe in through their tiny little villages etc. Versatility plus. Just loved that car. It handled beautifully, drove like a real car on narrow twisty roads....was very sad when we sold it (moved back to Australia). The only negative things I can think of - snow. Was awful to drive in the snow....got caught out in a sudden snow storm one day, was not impressed. I have heard that winter tires make a huge difference. The other negative thing was the aircon for the final row passenger - had to really blast it for it to reach the back (imagine icles in the front). My 68yr old mother would often sit in the back row and travel with us for 1000kms on holiday. (The kids were in car seats in the middle row.) The versatility was great. Would buy another one in a heart beat if they had them here in Oz............ :auto:Fi - now stuck with a Prius....

Thank you Newbie: yes my Burmese are well trained - they even play fetch :D They are 8yrs old and have travelled the world with us (jolly expensive too!!) Margaret: thank you for that link.....indeed I will say hello for you:001_smile: I finially found a few more google links last night and had a good read. yes I definitely think having a trained by an organisation dog is the way to go....maybe if I apply now, in 10 years he will be near the top of the list. Thank you for pointing out that a service dogs life is 8yrs....as I said I know nothing about dogs. I now have the next 10 years to brush up on knowledge and skills. So once again, thank you. Fi:)

I have never had a dog. Have had lots of Burmese cats:001_smile: but I have never had much to do with dogs. I babysat two dogs on occassion, who were the worst trained dogs in the world. (Owners fault - yes but enough to put you off for life.) However I have a son who adores dogs. William also has a muscle disease and sooner or later will be in a wheelchair etc. I have always thought in the back of my mind that when he is older (and the cats have passed on), that I will get my son a companion/service dog to help make life just that little bit more special (especially in his teen years). I thought that I would have a few years to ponder this over and wrap my head around having a dog. (I dont hate dogs, I just haven't had alot to do with them.) Then I was thinking about the "tail end" of the equation....the end of the dogs life. If dogs have a general life of 14yrs, assuming that William will be medically able, leaves home at 20 (then that would be difficult enough without having a dog to look after as well)....then I should be thinking about a dog when William is 6yrs old - next year!:001_huh: I cant imagine having a dog now as I have to much on my plate. There are only a couple of charities that train companion/ service dogs in Australia and they have closed their lists for the next 5 years. So it would be up to myself to do the whole project. Tough order when you know nothing about dogs. I read that the average dog takes 2 years to train to be the standard of a service dog. So is this viable - could I really train a dog to such a high standard? Would I be better to try and foster (2 yrs?)the dog out to someone to train for me? I do have a BIL who has a dog that is very well trained on the other side of the country..... What should I look for in a dog? From general reading I see that they tend to use Labs and Retrievers. However I would think that a shedding coat for someone who will have respiratory distress would be difficult, let alone general grooming etc. So I saw that there is a curly coat terrior....however they mature late. Any advice for what I should look for, think about, what special things should the dog be trained to do etc.....I can see this will be a long term project, so i'm not about rush it, however any guidence would be greatly assisted. TIA Fi

Being an Aussie, its not legal for the average Joe here to own a rifle/ handgun (except if your Amber:001_smile:). Just curious on something; if someone owns a gun/ rifle for safety reasons (security in their own home) and they also observe standard weapons safety practice of storing ammo away from their gun......how do you use the gun for self protection? (I know this sounds like a facetious question, and I really dont mean it to be....i'm generally puzzled by the concept.) I have wild visions of someone breaking into a home and the homeowner jumping out of bed, runs to one area and grabs the gun, yells to the villian to stay where he/she is, then runs to another safe to grab the ammo, loads the gun and then prepares to aim whilst meanwhile the villian is quite happy to stay put and wait for you to load.:tongue_smilie: The only other alternative that I can think of is that you have to have the gun readily accessible with it fully loaded...I think most of us with young children find that concept a bit scary. Lost in bewilderment Fi

I tell my DD quite often that " having knowledge is wonderful, but its not the amount of knowledge that you know, but its wisdom thats important. The wisdom of how and when to use the knowledge." Translated for this post, I would say that: Being smart is great, but knowing when to be smart is even greater. Using good solid curriculumn is great, but knowing how to use that curriculumn is even greater. Fi - who is off to ponder more about the curriculumn that she has bought for her knowledgeable but lacking wisdom daughter.;)