I just returned something. They do not pay return shipping but other than that it was painless.

40 states, including Hawaii Singapore Ireland Northern Ireland Canada Later in the summer I'm going to Germany, Austria, and Iceland. Singapore was the farthest from home.

Here goes: Oldest will be in 9th but I'll include him anyway. 9th Grade: Public school for Algebra II, Biology, and Art Big History Project Tutor for Spanish II For English I've picked books, poetry, and two plays for us to work through together. He will also be working through a sentence diagramming book. I am working on what his writing assignments will be but they will be related to the books we read. Driver's Ed in the spring. 7th Grade: A highly tweaked Build Your Library for Science and History. A Fresh Approach to Algebra For English I have put together a similar program to her brother's. She's doing Analytical Grammar instead of the diagramming book. A home-grown six-week cooking class. Co-op classes. Computer programming with her dad. 5th Grade: Mostly the same as her sister. AOPS Pre-Algebra I found a bunch of books I thought she'd enjoy reading and found some activities/worksheets/writing assignments to go with them from Teachers Pay Teachers. K: Shiller Math Time 4 Learning Lots of science kits Lots of reading Co-op classes No clue what I'm using to teach him to read. Pre-K: Tagging along with big brother

We sent our younger two to preschool this year. I agree with everything in your post. We needed to do it, but no one is going back next year. I felt like the cons outweighed the pros for us.

In talking with others it would seem we should be looking for a college student who is maybe planning on going into a teaching career or a retired person who is just looking for something extra to do. I'm not sure which would be the better fit.

Thank you for taking the time to type all of this out. It's very helpful to hear from someone who has done this before.

That's what I'm telling people. I need another me.

The main things are the chores, cooking, and errands (grocery shopping, etc.) I may need some help entertaining my two little boys while I'm working with the older kids with school but we'll see how that goes. I'm really trying to think through what I'll need help with the most. I'm hoping trying to answer questions here will help me clarify things a bit so keep asking them, please.

I've always thought a nanny is someone who deals mostly with the kids. I am planning on doing most of that. Is there another term for what I'm wanting or does the term nanny still apply? I want to be as clear as possible in the job description.

They would be more of a support person. I will be around most of the time they are here. I'm not sure how to go about things as far as taxes go but we have someone prepare our taxes so I will be asking her what we need to do on that front.

I've posted before about what my next school year looks like. My dh and I have decided to hire someone to help me out. I need someone who can cook, clean, and shop, with a good driving record to help drive the kids to and from activities and appointments, experience with special needs kids or teaching is a bonus. It should be about 4-5 hours a day, Monday through Friday. We're in a fairly low cost of living area and also need to figure out what a reasonable hourly rate would be for this. Any input?

Is moon sand fairly neat? I can image it ground into my carpet and stuck to my blinds... I have the original Letter Factory dvd somewhere... He loves the magnatiles at the children's museum. I'll have to see what Kumon workbooks he might like. Thanks for the suggestions!

It's never dull here, that's for sure!

These all look like things my son would love! His birthday is coming up soon and I think I know what he's going to get!

I'll have to look into my options with the ABA. This one is new to me. I'm familiar with speech and OT but dd10 hasn't needed a behavioral therapist. Thanks for giving me ideas on what to ask for.

Thank you for your encouragement. I wish I had someone to help take them to appointments but I have no family here and my friends are all working moms. My dh might be able to help some because he works from home but I can't see that happening too often. I'm hoping to get appointments grouped together but it seems highly unlikely to happen. Right now it's at least looking like Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I don't know when ds3's speech and behavioral therapy appointments will be yet. There is some concern that insurance won't pay for the behavioral therapy until he's 4. I'm confused about that because he needs it now. He's so young. Doesn't that make it easier to change the behaviors? Can you tell I'm a little overwhelmed right now trying to figure all of this out?

Two years ago my DD10 was diagnosed autistic (high-functioning) and ADHD. We were also told she is exceptionally gifted. She goes to the autism center to see a counselor and a psychiatrist. She is supposed to be getting speech therapy, too, but the speech therapist quit and they haven't hired a new one yet. Speech therapy should resume next month or the month after. A month ago I took DD12 and DS3 to go through testing. DD12's results came back saying she is gifted but has severe anxiety. She sees a psychologist every other week and a psychiatrist every other month. DS3's results show he is moderately autistic and will need OT, Speech, and Behavioral Therapy. I plan on homeschooling all five of my kids next year but am really struggling with how it is going to work with so many different appointments. Any tips on how to make it work? Also, I'm still reeling from DS3's diagnosis. He's a lot worse off than I expected. His social deficits seem insurmountable. I am grieving. Any advice on dealing with my emotions over his diagnosis?

I will need to keep my kindergartner occupied while I work with his older siblings. I'm looking for lots of educational toys, games, and videos for him for next school year. He's the type of kid that gets into trouble if not occupied. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I hear you and I do understand what you're saying. I am trying to figure out my limit. I think I can manage if I can get the appointments all on one day. We'll just homeschool at the autism center that day. I'm already trying to think about what I have planned for homeschool next year. The history/science plan I have for my daughters can be stretched to two years easily. I realized last night that it really doesn't hurt my oldest if we take longer to get through his stuff as well. He will be doing DE his junior and senior years so he should get plenty of credits for high school. Some of the literature I am using for dd12 can be used with ds14. Obviously I would expect a higher level of thinking in his answers but it should work. I'm really only responsible for teaching three of his classes. Any more than that and I think I'd go crazy. I need lots of fun and educational things for the little two to do on their own. I really only have about a hour to work with the kindergartener. I'm looking into toys, games, and videos for him and his little brother will just tag along. I purchased fairly independent programs for math for the girls so I'm hoping I won't need to spend too much time with that. The ten year old won't need any help from anybody on math. Sorry that this is a bit rambling.

I am really focusing on #1 right now. This has been a process but all services except one will be at the same location. I have informed their psychiatrist that there is no way I can handle all of the appointments being on separate days and times. The problem is that this is really the only place for autistic kids to receive services and they are extremely busy. I am hoping they will work with me but right now I travel 30 minutes each way three days a week. I have had a request in to move an appoinment since January and it hasn't happened yet. I know I need to be patient but I really need everything on one day. That will free up 4 hours a week of driving.

I have thought of different scenarios. Full time public high school, as they are willing to deal with my son, does not meet my educational goals for him. He is gifted and putting him in classes he's already taken will probably result in failing grades out of boredom. His Spanish II for next year will be a tutor twice a week. She comes to us. That will help take a little of the load off. Dd12 cannot handle the stress of public school. Period. Dd10 is exceptionally gifted but behind socially because of the autism. There is no where to put her where her needs will be met. Ds4 has been bored out of his mind the last half of preschool. He is most likely gifted as well. He would be miserable in public kindergarten. I can see putting him in a Montessori school but there are no buses and I'm looking at taking him and picking him up every day. That is not sustainable for me. I'm trying to be home more, not less. Ds3 going to preschool creates the same problem that I had this year. Three days taking him and picking him up. Not gonna happen.

I'm confused and hoping someone can explain something to me. If I'm not putting the kids in school what good will going through the headache of getting an IEP do me? I thought it was just for public school use.

I have spoken with the head of the guidance department and the registrar. He is not allowed to take any tests to prove mastery. It is only because he is homeschooled. They would let him if he was transferring from another school but not if he's homeschooled. They are very unfriendly, even hostile, toward homeschoolers.

They want him to repeat Geometry, Earth Science, and Spanish I.