We listened to the Audiobook of Whales on Stilts - I recommend that for your list. The kids really liked it (the story was unique), and I will admit to wanting to know how it all resolved because it was so bizarre, but the style of the writing bothered me. I was glad when it finished. So many odd ways of setting up events and phrasing things. I am sure that in written form it would be even harder to enjoy.

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YEAH! Been thinking of you and your family. So glad to hear that your DH is able to be with you and is doing all the things that need to be done. SOOO HAPPY FOR YOU. :)

Slightly OT, but dmmetler, have you heard of the high school at the MN zoo? It is a regular high school, so perhaps it wouldn't suit, but if they would allow early entry, it would be FULL of kids that have similar interests, and a lot of courses that focus on what you mention. http://sesmn.org/ Also, in MN juniors and seniors can take college courses for credit for free at various institutions (this is called "post secondary enrolment options" I believe).

Is your daughter possibly feeling like she is missing having a close friend? It is one thing to have various friends, it is another to have a close friend you share your highs and lows with. There are various ways of growing close friends (take activity friends and invite them to do things outside the activities, for instance).

Ah, they DO follow the process (but have been "fast tracked" in front of other nationalities), but that is not what our Most Honourable Prime Minister intended to do when he made his promises. Or if he did, he was doing it with NO forethought. How can you promise to bring in that many people in that short of a period of time and think you can do it through the normal channels? You can't. It was either a blatant lie, pandering to the emotions of the populace, or it was a hugely ignorant promise - and making promises you are going to be unable to keep may be how one gets into office, but it isn't a good way to run a country. Years of ignoring our international obligations - obviously we come from different ends of the political spectrum. Each party does focus on different areas and uses different tactics to approach issues.

As an aside, I bolded what you said about no one advocating for doors wide open and no screening, because that is exactly what Canada's New Prime Minister declared he would do and tried to do when elected to office. His campaign promise was to let in 25,000 more Syrian refugees in a few months time - without thought to the refugees that have been working the system and waiting patiently in other nations for YEARS. Without thought to screening. And while he has not come through on his promise (which was an impossible promise, so of course he didn't - it was clearly a lie to pander to the social conscience of a country that prides itself on being "nice"), he has succeeded in bringing many Syrians to Canada in a short period of time. He vows to bring in more. There is no good answer - yes, Syrian refugees are in a terrible spot, but so are the millions of other refugees that have actually been going through the process for years and years. Should Syrians jump the queue purely because a little boy of that ethnicity drown during our election campaign? It's the dilemma of a mom in a tsunami - which child do you hold while the flood waters pull and you hold onto the tree for dear life? Neither solution is a solution, and whatever you do is easily "wrong" in someone's eyes. You have to do SOMETHING, but there is NO GOOD ANSWER. Also, for what it is worth, I think that military intervention is an important part of an answer we can live with as a society. Where would the world be if we were not forced to act against evil in government? ETA: I think that part of what disgusts me personally about the way the refugee crisis has centred on Syrians where I live is that it smacks of racism. Where is the heart for the East African refugees?

Well, we have used Simply Charlotte Mason copybooks successfully with someone who really struggles with the things you have mentioned. It has example writing directly above the space for writing, and a lot of room. It does graduate to smaller lines at the top of the page, but that is after many books of practice. ETA: We've also been told to do typing, and we will, but I did want to have my child spend a number of years writing as well in order to be able to write when they NEEDED to when they are older. I feel what we have done has been good, and while the writing isn't fancy or even or fast or whatever, it is DO-ABLE now. I should also say that I specifically chose a style of writing that has directionality in the letters to help some with reversals. It also transitions easily into cursive (and SCM has those books too) and has been great. BBC DanceMat is a free typing program we've been recommended and will try when we have the time. ETA again: For the math facts, you can get a board where you push in a button with the problem and the answer shows. You can allow your child to use that while doing math work. We do this at times, but also have a separate math fact drilling practice activity where the cheat/answer board is not allowed. So the facts (after years, again) are coming along. It is just slower. For the reading, I would see what kinds of issues you are looking at and see what the person you are working with thinks would be helpful. If they don't have it in your report, ask them. I gained a lot of insight by reading the report and then asking the person who wrote it (in a short email) if I was understanding the priorities and steps of what to do next. What I thought we should do was in the report, but the psych responded to me with a different order of priority than I had intended and it was helpful.

I am not in your situation at all, so take this idea with a grain of salt, but for sitting at the table for meals, can he be buckled in to a booster seat? I would think it would not be totally constraining - because he could likely unbuckle it himself - but it would provide that physical input to remind him he is to be sitting during the meal. For what it is worth, I think your experiment in tomato staking sounds like it went really well, and although you don't feel it is sustainable, it sounds like it might be a good current mode of operation. Learning and working alongside a parent is actually very fun and valuable for kids, it could be a while before he personally misses having more of other kinds of play. Just to encourage you that while it isn't a permanent solution, it sounds like a tool you have in your box for now.

One starting point could be the local tourist information booth. Tourism websites may help too, but I say the booth or building there itself because when I have gone to ones in different areas they have sold books by local authors and have things related to local landmarks (and habitats). Have your kids learned about how lakes function? Thermoclines and how they freeze and thaw, how animals survive in winter in them, etc.? You could likely get data on when the lake you will be visiting has frozen and thawed, and what inhabits it. If there is a local conservation officer, that could be a GREAT resource.

Continuing to think of you all as well.

Sonlight Preschool, Pre-K and K also have a lot of good picture books in their lists. It is pretty easy to tell which ones are not secular by their descriptions.

As you're thinking about it, take a little time to learn the alphabet and practice finger spelling. I don't know how long it took me to realize how important the alphabet is in ASL. So many of the signs use the different letters in how they are made, that it makes everything much easier if the alphabet is automatic (and, of course, finger spelling is a useful tool when you are not fluent).

Some kids are really hard. Try to find ways to get yourself time to re-energize, so that you can handle the conflict more easily. That might mean going out once a week with friends, starting up a new hobby, etc. For your other kids, try to find something to do with them that is special after your exhausting child is in bed (or when that child is otherwise occupied). I don't know if your child has an underlying syndrome or issue that is making life more difficult for them to live. It's very possible. And you've been proactive about trying to find out what that might be, and have come up empty. It's okay to step back for a while and realize that label or not, your child is a handful and you need to find ways to cope that will function longer term. For what it is worth, if your child is "sleeping through the night" when someone is in the room, and isn't when someone isn't, the issue isn't sleep, but wanting to be with someone in the night. Why they feel anxious without someone may be an underlying issue, but the thing is, you don't know why, and it doesn't really matter if you can find a way to help them be okay with waking and going back to sleep on their own, or to share a room. If you want an independent sleeper, have you told your child not to wake you? Have you put them back to bed without interaction? Alternately, if you don't mind being in the same room have you set up a small bed for them in the corner of your room? I can identify with a lot of your feelings - I've had to come to the point of celebrating the things we figure out that work and having a lot more grace and patience with the things that don't work.

I bought one because of the boards and so far so good. I wish I had somewhere visible to keep it because it really is not part of my routine, so I forget to use it. It has felt good to use, I am not sure about long term effects.

I was going to come on and say I am "heartless" too, but then I was reading the thread and people kept mentioning various celebrities that have passed away and I'm like - WHAT?! NO! NOT MR. ROGERS! - so, it seems that I do care about some celebrities being gone. I can't actually bring myself to read the whole thing because as I go along I keep finding out about people who are dead that I thought were still alive. And I suppose it doesn't really matter in my life, but somehow it's unsettling.

Sonlight helped me with figuring out pacing. There are many other free or cheap options that do the same sort of thing. I used Sonlight as our minimum amount of expected reading, then built from there. It has gone well the years I've done it. Other similar options: Build your Library, Book Shark, Ambleside Online... They have lists of books which you can either use a given schedule for or divide them up yourself.

The book, What to do When you Grumble Too Much, would be a great one for you and your DD to go through together. It talks about attitude and obstacles in life. It could give you and your DD a good way to talk about having a positive attitude, and give you both a common vocabulary for moving forward in a positive way. It does sound like your child has a lot of anxiety which is coming out in controlling and grumbling behaviors. It also sounds like you do have a routine in place, it just isn't one that any of you like! For us, some things that have helped: Things should not be repeated more than three times. This is one of our rules. I have explained this MANY times - how it is socially unacceptable to keep repeating the information. I am sure knowing the rule helps some with internally stopping the monologue on their own, but for the most part it has helped me be able to quickly remind them when a topic must be done. I will say something like, "You've said that more than three times now" or "remember, I have heard your idea and know what you think, now it is time to stop saying it" and they are not defensive and angry about it, they know that is a social rule and I am just reminding them to stop. If they say it again I will repeat again - "That is about the same thing, and that is more than three times. Please stop." I also remind for good things they are talking about, not just complaints, so it is clearly about the repetition, not just about grumbling. Kids are to be dressed and ready before breakfast. Breakfast is at 8:30 or before. If child comes down before 9am, they can have a little something they eat quickly, if they come down after that they missed breakfast and eat at lunchtime. Of course I help them learn to get themselves ready, but when they are able to do it they are expected to do it. They have clocks in their rooms. I will even tell them "It is 8:30!" YES, the day or two they first skip breakfast is miserable for all of us. I just tell myself to be compassionate (I'm sorry you missed breakfast, I am sure it is frustrating! The kitchen will open again at lunchtime. You'll get better at making it on time! Rinse and repeat). Then they start coming on time, and they get themselves ready for their day (I am not dragging them through it). Much nicer for all involved. As long as I keep the attitude of compassionate cheerleader, not angry coach. FWIW, It sounds like what you are choosing to use for academics isn't suiting your family well. It may be great material, but it doesn't sound like it is functioning well for you and your household. I agree that shifting how you choose to learn as a family will likely be very positive for all of you. If that means changing curricula, that's fine. If it means having a certain thing for your 3yo to do in another room for the 1 hour you do math and LA with your older child, that's fine (a video, perhaps?). For lower elementary math, games really are a GREAT way to internalize the facts and the way numbers work. It isn't lowering your standards to intentionally use games, it is changing the media to suit the user. It is hard to have one of those terrible, horrible, no good very bad days. If they are happening too often, it is important to look at what you may need to refill your tank of patience so you are able to shine the attitude you want your kids to reflect, instead of reflecting the attitude they are dumping on you. HTH

I have a few ideas. There is a neat old series called "The Value of..." which does biographies of different famous people focusing on a virtue or value of importance. We've read one on Beethoven, and there might be other ones on artists. One of my children has enjoyed this chapter book on Mozart. I haven't read it, but have read a picture book by the same author and I highly recommend her. Venezia has a series that might really be what you are looking for. We have yet to really get into them, but they seem like a great resource.

Sorry not to have read everything, but I recall from your OP you are thinking about Kindle Fires, so I'll just comment on what is working well for us. Using the free on-machine freetime app works well for setting an on/off time for use, as well as for regulating content. It is a very easy way to have a time limit without any arguments (the machine shuts off). You can decide if the limit is 30 minutes or 5 hours or whatever (and it can be different on weekends). For us, having screen use come AFTER a few simple life needs are met works well. They know not to bother before they are done with necessary tasks for the day (school, dressed/teeth/hair, clean room). Well, I do ask about their rooms because sometimes they try to slip past that one, but it is easily asked and answered/checked. For us, having a certain amount every day or at a certain time drove the NEED to do it. When it is not a daily expected thing to be lost, but instead an option that comes without prejudice after requirements are met it seems to go well (and having to have a clean room first keeps it from being daily ;)). FWIW, we've had the pocket Minecraft on the Kindle and it hasn't been a problem. The kids intensely enjoy the game for a few weeks, then do something else for a while, then come back to it. From what I understand the natural limits of the pocket version keep it from being as all encompassingly addictive as the full version. ETA: I personally think that if you set the devices to be relatively restricted and regulated, it is easy to loosen those restrictions as you see them unnecessary (or as you see it all working well and you want to give more freedom). It is much more painful to add in regulations than it is to add in freedoms.

I don't know if this is the ultimate answer, but we've tried to keep the kids on different instruments. It is obvious that they have different innate musical abilities, but they are not directly competing when playing different things. ETA: And for the comments, I think I end up doing what I can to give more positive comments myself (at a different time) to the child that isn't included in the random stranger comments. We also do a lot emphasizing our pride in hard work.

It has always been my understanding that community colleges fill the gap between high school and college. I would expect algebra and the like to be available at a community college and not at a university or non-"community" college (or they would be available at the university or college but not for credit towards a degree, purely as a prerequisite).

Every couple of months I put up a few pictures of a trip we've taken and/or the kids to update family/friends from where I grew up. I have shared one or two things I saw and liked (over the course of a couple of years). I use Facebook to keep up on the local home learning groups and news about our town (and other news). I do very little posting.

I hope you don't mind my asking, but I've always wondered WHY someone posts their daily life activities. Are you living far away from friends/relatives who want to know this? Is it a very public form of journalling?

Dragon Box and the other related apps are very good.