My oldest restarted at kindergarten when he was 8. We didn't rush to catch up. We just did what we were ready for as efficiently as we could. At this point he is WAY ahead. It took 1 1/2 years for him to catch up. Except for writing as he has a processing disorder. That didn't fully catch up until this year. You are doing your best and you will get there. Just keep on going.

We sometimes take a short break so they feel a reward of sorts for finishing well. Then we move on to the next thing. With some subjects we use the leftover time to do some extras that we have a hard time fitting in. Such as more art or music appreciation, more science, or more museum trips instead of heading into the next thing. Sometimes I will have them do 'review' of sorts with the subject in a different curriculum to make sure they are understanding it from a different angle. I always plan more then one year's worth of work in a year though.

I remember my first book report. I had to say it in front of the whole class in second grade. I must have written and re-written that thing a dozen times before I had both me and my mom happy with it. I remember not understanding when one paragraph was supposed to end and another start. My verb usage was picked on a lot on that one. I also seemed to have a problem with run-on sentences. But really, it was second grade. Beyond that I don't remember much about learning my composition skills until high school.

I've just been an observer in this thread, but now that you've worded the question rather well, I thought I'd pipe up. If the friend has asked for advice or help and has been receptive to your input or help in the past, then by all means keep helping. If there is a specific subject you are good at, you could say something like, "You know, if you ever need a break in the afternoon or sometime, I wouldn't mind taking (child) and she could do (subject) at my place while you get some other stuff done. I'd love to help in that way if you ever want or need it." Some mom's I know would be receptive to that. I am a researcher by nature, and I tend to be a bit of a know-it-all sometimes. I have had to learn, over the years, to gauge how much help people want carefully. Some people I have to wait for them to ask every time and just leave them with the knowledge that I am willing. Some people are more open to a suggestion here or there or an observation, so long as I am willing to take their observations in my own life. It can be hard to take help or advice if it always feels one sided. Let her feel like there is something about the relationship with her that you value. Let her feel that she is also contributing. It's easier to take help from a friend if you feel like something you do feeds back into them. Good luck. And really, don't get insulted by the ladies here. Advice online always comes across blunt, but they give amazing advice and this board is full of the most amazing information. The people here are really rather awe inspiring at times.

I love it said like that. It's a part of who they are. Not the whole sum of who they are, but a part. It is just as strange to purposely avoid it as it would be strange (and tacky) to totally focus on it. Although, in some people it is a little more of a definer then in others.

Dd's Cocker is named Kit Kat. She calls her Kitty. We have had a male Couscous, male Oh Henry (Henry), Chocolate Bunny (Bunny), Sufganiyot (Suffy), Rocky Road (Rocky), Evan, Phineas, Jack the Jack Russell and the kids have already stated that if we ever have a female Jack Russell come through here it will be named Jill. I know I'm leaving some pups out of here, but those are what comes to mind right away.

That's where I've come from too. I have two boys that have needs that are attached to their intelligence. Suddenly the terms gifted and knowing IQ became more important. For my mildly gifted dd, it really doesn't matter. She'd fit in and do alright in almost any setting. For my boys, it is hugely important. Also, it would be impossible to really be able to talk about the unique struggles that go with raising these boys if I wasn't willing to discuss their giftedness and their learning disorders. That sounds like a pretty lonely way to raise any kids regardless of their IQ.

True enough, good point. I can agree with that.

Nope, not at all. Guys are always going to look. I don't have control over them, and I refuse to have their actions dictate my actions. If I'm dressed modestly, I'm allowed to wear clothes that flatter my body and if a guy notices, well I guess that means I look alright. Beyond that, I really don't care. I've had a guy hit on me and ask me to prom with him when I was 6 months pregnant with my oldest. I had another guy ask me out while I was buying groceries with three kids. That's not my problem. It's theirs. So take the flattering and leave the rest. It's not your problem.

He sounds rather conceited to me. She might not think the same way as him, and might not have the same type of intelligence then him, but for him to think of himself as not her equal and to think of himself as more intelligent makes him sound rather self absorbed. I would be telling her not to marry him because he will never see her as his equal. Dh and I are not intelligent in the same ways at all. He is very spatially intelligent. He is good at building and putting things together. If he had had a better schooling experience I think he would've excelled in an engineering field. I am more verbal, artsy, and social science oriented. I have no idea where he actually sits as far as IQ goes. I know I'm gifted. All three of our kids are gifted. We have had to find things in common and over time we have learned to rely on the other persons strengths and to allow for their weaknesses. It's no different in any relationship. I don't think that a person will be attracted to another person that is to substantially far off from them IQ wise, but I also don't think that they always have to be intelligent in the same areas. My mom is very intellectually gifted. My dad is not. They have been married for almost 40 years and had 7 kids. I have learned to find outlets for some forms of conversation that I crave. A persons spouse doesn't have to be their only source of stimulating conversation.

I know my oldest is really good at shoulder whatever responsibility he is given, so long as it is handed to him in bite size pieces. Too much at once leaves him scrambling and overwhelmed. My middle child tends to fight back if she feels pushed at all. She doesn't want to be handed responsibility. She wants to look at it, watch others do it, and then take it on ONLY after she has decided she wants it. My youngest seems blissfully unaware of responsibility. It takes a rather large amount of repetitively trying to hand him new responsibility before he seems to even notice that he's supposed to do something. Then it will takes ages of repetitively working at it before he will remember it and consistently do it. He's gifted, so it's not an intelligence issue, it's a maturity and desire thing. Something to do with personality I guess. If my older two had lived a couple hundred years ago they would've shouldered the necessary responsibility at younger ages just fine. My youngest might not have lived past his 3rd birthday.

This reminds me of my constant frustration with American views on the war of 1812 in all the homeschool books I was finding. I have learned that for some events the kids need to hear/read the events from both sides in order to get a clear picture. I find it very unbalanced to have history from only one viewpoint. It always ends up distorted in some way.

We have neighbours across the road, neighbours just behind us, all the numbers are posted on the fridge. The kids know how to get out of the house, run next door and call for help if a fire were to happen. They know basic cpr and how to dial 911 should anything else major happen. I don't leave kids home unless they have shown that they can work a little under pressure. Not all children under 10 are unable to handle things. My youngest won't be there. He tends to panic first, think later.

I passed this on to a couple psychologists I know and they asked the same thing.

I try new recipes regularly too. Although the amount I'm brave enough to try has grown a lot over the years. The more I do the more confident I am in what I could play with and what won't work in our household. For weeks that I just need to stick with what we know and love, there are about 15 meals in that go to list.

As much as I'm not hugely fond of Saxon, I think it explains things more clearly then does CLE. I am using CLE as extra drill for my oldest. Math is not my strong point, but Saxon did teach me well enough that I am efficient and confident with it.

Oldest was fine at 10. At 9 I was leaving him for 20-30 min while I ran to get things now and then. He's always been pretty mature. Dd turns 10 in 4 weeks and she has proven herself trustworthy for months now. Youngest turns 8 in a week and I'm thinking he won't be safe for more then 30 min until he's 20. Ok, ok, seriously, he'll probably be closer to 12 before I leave him home for a couple hours. He's a little impulsive and has WAY too vivid an imagination.

It's supposed to be made with nuts so it's Nut-ella.

I do both. I want my kids to see the world from ancient forwards. I think it all makes more sense when we learn about it that way. I also want them to connect to their country and understand it. We do SOTW (and resources around that) for 12 to 3/4 of the year and then tuck in some Canadian studies.

I grew up pretty free range. I loved my freedom. I rode all over town on my bike by the time I was 8. I had my own paper route at 10. My dh was pretty much a free range kid too, but he was bullied horribly. He desperately needed more parental help and really, I could've used a little more attention from healthy adults in town. Free range has it's good sides, but after living it, I know that while I might want to give my kids those freedoms, I need to keep enough of an eye on things to know when they need me to step back in. As a teen I really could've used some help in figuring out the social thing and it would've done me a LOT of good to have been given more opportunity to work through it all. By my teen years we no longer lived in town nor close to it and I was very isolated. I see the same problem with my younger siblings. My older three siblings went to school and they were much more sure of themselves much earlier in their social skills. I'm not saying that homeschooling is to blame, I am saying that making sure there is social opportunities is maybe a really good idea. I'm planning on homeschooling my boys right through high school, but I am putting a lot of effort into the social aspect of things. My oldest boy does better with small groups and one on one. I can recognize that each child has different social needs, but there are still social needs, even if they differ.

I tried to convince dh to change our vacation time so that we would be able to hear her. And we would be coming from northern Alberta.

I wasn't sure how to vote. Our last bill was $375 and that was through -40 temperatures with a waterer for the horses. BUUUT, our house isn't heated with electricity, but by in floor heating with a natural gas heater. Our stove is also natural gas. Our last gas bill was about the same as our power bill. We don't have anything extra to help the house out and we have a shop/barn we heat with the natural gas too. So are you wanting energy bill (both together) or are you wanting electricity bill only?

This is pretty much what I was going to say. I have struggled with muscle spasms and Charlie horses and it is always when my diet is not balanced with the right amounts of calcium, potassium, and magnesium. You can also get them from not drinking enough water. My oldest has the same problem.

If they have been in a gifted program, I think SOTW 1 would be way too slow for them. I LOVE the series , but I wouldn't use it at those ages. At best, if I were to have my oldest read it at his age, I would have him read through it and discuss it fairly quickly and use it as a stepping stone/springboard to more in depth work. Perhaps the Memoria Press stuff, or the Greenleaf Guides. My oldest has been reading through Famous Men of Greece and enjoying it.

We have done about a months worth of Canadian History every year here. I feel a child should be familiar with the country they are living in, not just with the over all knowledge of the world they are living in. We have used a lot of Donna Ward products and CBC's DVD series called Canada: A People's History. My oldest two are reading through the textbook from our umbrella school right now but are just about done it. This is the longest they have ever spent on Canadian History in a year. We also hit museums wherever we can to help them connect with the area. I can't see us not finishing SOTW (youngest hasn't heard them all), but I think it needs a little extra for a persons own country.