My 11 yo dd was diagnosed with intermittent strabismus at 9 months old. You could only notice it when she was tired, but it was there. She was under observation for a year and she was released because her vision seemed to be developing fine. This was in the UK. After relocating in the US I took her back to the ophthalmologist for regular checkups, every 1 or 2 years. We noticed an increase in her wondering eye around age 8 again. She also said she was having double vision at times. We went back to the pediatric ophthalmologist and just took a wait and see approach with the possibility of surgery in the future if things did not resolve themselves. After a year he recommended surgery. At this time I looked into VT, and she started therapy. She has had once weekly therapy for the last almost two years. We are now on a two month break to see if the gains she has made are kept without ongoing therapy. She is no longer complaining of double vision and we have noticed a decrease of her wondering eye. The therapist explained that my dd will always have this tendency, but the therapy is supposed to teach her to control it. Repeated therapy will achieve her to do this almost unconsciously. For us I guess VT is working, but it is very costly in terms of time and money. The reason why we looked into VT in the first place is because I had had two surgeries for strabismus which didn't fix the problem. Granted, this was a very long time ago and in different countries, but still I wanted to exhaust all other venues before resorting to surgery.

I am taking note of your replies! Thank you, veteran ladies :)

My 2 girls have very dry skin but they still bathe almost every day even in the winter. I just make sure to put some Aveeno bath oil or oatmeal bath powder in the water instead of soap. It is relaxing and their skin actually feels softer after the bath. The exception is our "stinky Friday", when we like to just hang out late in the evening as a family, so we skip their nightly bath.

Wow! Thank you so much for all these! I just started using Starfall and Preparatory Leter of the Week with my almost 4 yo. These websites will help me spice up the math part. Mabelen

Tough decision. The thing with Malayalam and Hindi is that they are from two different linguistic families. Malayalam is a dravidian language, like Tamil, whereas Hindi is an indoeuropean language, like English. Don't forget that English is also a commonly spoken language throughout India. It is true that is more prevalent among the middle and upper classes than among the poor. They also have a distinct accent, words and expressions back from the old British colonial days, but it is there. What I am trying to say is that even if you go for Malayalam, you will be able to get by in English in other parts of the country. The poll sounds like an interesting idea. If your dh carries it out, don't forget to share. It would give you a picture of the availability of native speakers in your area, which takes us to the availability of learning resources for either language... not great in Hindi, but how about Malayalam? I guess I am not being much help here, I am probably confusing you even further, so I'll stop. Mabelen

Thank you for your help. MAbelen

I am just beginning to use Starfall with my 3 yo (almost 4) dd. I am planning on using HWT. What is the style in Starfall that most resembles HWT? The Block Print or the Starfall Manuscript?? Thank you for your help. Mabelen

It depends on what your goals are. Do you want to get to know your dh's native state and people mainly or the whole of India? India is such a vast and diverse country! Kerala is a very progressive state, its literacy rate is one of the highest in India. I have a friend from Kerala, she learned both Malayalam and English at school, although she also speaks Hindi, and Tamil, which is a closely related language. I wouldn't say however Malayalam is the main language of Southern India. Tamil, the language of the neighboring Tamil Nadu state, has around 60 million speakers.

My dh is from Sri Lanka, his mother tongue is Tamil, and for a while I wanted to learn some. Rosetta Stone does not carry Tamil, but I managed to find a CD Rom by Eurotalk which my oldest dd has used on and off since she was 6. It is a basic level, but they do have other languages and levels. I don't know if they also carry Hindi, it might be worth a try.

I forgot about the nightmares. My dd also started having more during that time. We stopped and then tried valerian root tablets. They worked better for her. Now she is off anything and although she still is a night owl we are almost good.

I tried it with my oldest, at the time she was having trouble falling asleep, but once she was asleep she would stay asleep all night long. She basically could not switch her brain off at night. Melatonin did help her fall asleep. For the first time whe would actually start yawning and feeling sleepy a little bit before her bed time. The problem was she then would wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back to sleep. So in our experience the fix was not worth the new problem, but I know others had good results.

?Jajaja! Patricia, te aseguro que no est?s haciendo el rid?culo escribiendo en espa?ol :) ?Te criaste aqu? en EEUU? Me parece que eres demasiado modesta, he visto una foto tuya y t? tambi?n eres guapa. Ya veo que eres una experta en mudanzas. Me gusta viajar, pero no me gustar?a tener que mudarme tan a menudo como t?... ?Plaza S?samo! La coproducci?n con la cadena estatal de televisi?n espa?ola se llama Barrio S?samo. Tengo varios v?deos de esa serie, a ver si ma?ana pongo uno y lo vemos las tres chicas juntas. Ya me voy a la cama, estoy en la costa Este, y aunque soy trasnochadora, ya es muy tarde. Mabelen

Hi, I already introduced myself on the other thread, but I will again. I have two girls. My oldest is 11 yo, she is in 6th grade at a small independent school. I support her school curriculum at home and make sure she keeps her Spanish speaking skills up. My little one is 3 and I am just beginning the Preparatory Curriculum to Letter of the Week. I find these boards an incredible source of information. Mabelen

Another vote for Everyday Math! Mabelen

Muy buena suerte con tu estancia en Ecuador, espero que sea muy fruct?fera. Por cierto, tienes unos hijos preciosos, ?son guap?simos los tres! ?Tu esposo es norteamericano? Mi marido es natural de Sri Lanka, pero tiene nacionalidad brit?nica, llevamos ya ocho a?os aqu? en EEUU. Nos gusta, pero echamos de menos tener a familia cerca. La m?a est? toda en Espa?a y la de mi marido est? repartida por distintos paises.

I only have two: an 11 yo dd who is in 6th grade and a 3 yo (almost 4) dd. My oldest attends a small private school where she is very happy, and I just try to support her school curriculum. I also work with her at keeping up her Spanish speaking skills, so far I have not done anything formal, but I talk to her in Spanish since I am a native speaker. I am just starting the Preparatory Curriculum to Letter of the week with my little one. How did your oldest adapt to high school? I like to lurk in the High School board because I get to learn a lot about the American high school system, how it is structured etc, which I otherwise would know nothing about. Mabelen

Wow! I just noticed this board! It's great! I am actually an afterschooler, but I have visited the board for ever because you ladies are just an amazing source of information and support! I hope the news spread and we get more users in this new board! Mabelen

Patricia, he estado leyendo tu blog. ?Est? muy bien! Da la sensaci?n de que eres muy activa y bien organizada y tus hijos se benefician de ello. Yo no s? que m?s puedes hacer de lo que ya est?s haciendo ahora mismo o est?s planeando hacer. Yo he hablado a mis hijas en espa?ol desde el primer momento y aun as? la mayor me responde la mayor parte de las veces en ingl?s. La cuesti?n es que gran parte de sus vivencias ocurren en ingl?s y ?se es el idioma mayoritario, el idioma que necesita para comunicarse con casi todas las personas con las que se relaciona, con excepci?n m?a. La ?nica soluci?n que funciona sin duda es que pasen temporadas en pa?ses hispanohablantes rodeados de personas con los que tengan que comunicarse en espa?ol. Si no tienen la necesidad, siempre van a elegir la opci?n del m?nimo esfuerzo, es decir, el ingl?s. Lo importante es que sigan escuchando y practicando espa?ol a diario, de este modo cuando se vean forzados por las circunstancias a comunicarse en espa?ol lo puedan hacer sin demasiado trabajo. Mabelen

?Ojal? tuviera la soluci?n al problema! Estuvimos en Espa?a en noviembre para la boda de mi hermano y all? tuvo que hablar en espa?ol, pero no fue suficiente. Mi familia no sabe ingl?s, mi marido sabe un poquito de espa?ol, pero no mucho. Cuando se lo ped?an, mi hija mayor traduc?a muy bien del ingl?s al espa?ol, pero le costaba mucho hacerlo a la inversa. Lo que tengo previsto es empezar a cubrir m?s gram?tica este verano. Creo que usar? Break the Barrier, he visto muestras y me gusta bastante. Cubre gram?tica muy sistem?ticamente y tambi?n se trabaja vocabulario y geograf?a y aspectos culturales del mundo hispanohablante. Aparte de eso, por supuesto, seguir habl?ndole en espa?ol, leer libros juntas, ponerle pel?culas y canciones en espa?ol, etc. Now for the translation: I wish I had the answer to the problem! We were in Spain last November for my brother's wedding and she was forced to use Spanish, but it wasn't enough. No one in my family in Spain speaks English, my husband speaks a little Spanish, but not much. When she was asked to translate, she would do a great job translating from Spanish into English, but she would struggle the other way round. What I am planning to do is to start covering more grammar this summer. I will probably use Break the Barrier. I've seen samples and I quite liked what I saw. Grammar is covered systematically, as well as vocabulary, and Spanish speaking countries geography and culture. Other than that, of course, I'll keep talking to her in Spanish and have plenty of Spanish books, movies, songs around. Mabelen

I agree with Laura. I am also a native Spanish speaker, with 2 girls: 11 and 3. The older one usually answers back in English unless I insist on Spanish being used. The little one tends to reply more in Spanish than in English, even when I am using English when my dh is around. The playgroup option worked out really well while I lived in England. Unfortunately, we relocated to the US when my oldest was almost 3 and have not managed to replicate the set up over here. I wish you the best in your endevor. Please, keep us posted and have fun in Ecuador! Mabelen

Well, I do think it is unusual, the thing is, is it worrysome? I would call your pediatrician's office and explain what you see and that you would like the doctor let you know if it warrants a visit. Good luck! Mabelen

Wow, how exhausting it must be! I know that feeling. You need a well deserved rest now. If you have any questions, I am a native Spanish speaker, I'll answer if I am around! Mabelen