I wanted to mention, I agree with this post very much, but want to point out that with your daughter's challenges, the 3Rs might be the hardest part of homeschooling. They might not be the best part to only do as school and then have nothing else. I have a child with a number of the same issues you are dealing with and the times that the joy has been sucked out of our homeschool are the times I pared it all down to the minimum 3Rs. Of course there was more free time, but then the time of life that was focused school work was all drudgery. So I'd suggest that even if you academically do only do the 3Rs, you make a million other fun things be "school" and assign them. It may just seem like semantics, but if you are trying to sell homeschooling, you want the part of the day that she considers to be school to be rewarding and successful.

My kids are in baseball and now this year they are each responsible for selling $150 worth of raffle tickets - $10/ticket. So that's $300 worth of lame tickets no one wants. We can't try to sell these to anyone. To say I am thoroughly disappointed is an understatement. It's not like we don't pay for baseball either - we pay about $200/kid already, and they are not even tweens. And we bring our own equipment.

It clicked for us when we got intervention and support. I could tell that things weren't just slower, they were terribly much HARDER and it wasn't getting better.

The ADAM Test is here. http://www.letsgolearn.com/lglsite/ADAM_math/educators It's $20, and it sounds like just what you would like. Look it over and see. IIf you use it, be sure to tell your child they must give an answer on all of the questions. The test will let them say "I don't know or I haven't learned this yet" and then it cuts off the testing in that area. It also will give you Khan Academy info linking to which lessons are appropriate for a challenge, if you like.

I find that with any problem, having all the time in the world seems to help me. So I want the craft box put away. I tell the child their response was rude or inappropriate or unkind or whatever, and we choose to be kind in our family and I will wait for them to calm down and we will try again and/or they will put their box away. I will try to help them find the right words. I will wait. And wait. It doesn't take too many times of me waiting them out patiently for them to realize it isn't worth their time to act out and be stubborn about it. Of course, the effectiveness of this technique varies by child. Some kids it cures the problem, others it just helps us resolve the conflict more quickly each time. That's still a good thing. In some ways it helps to consider what you would do with a child you were minding instead of your own. The attacks don't feel as personal, and you may be better able to frame your response to be firm but kind.

Cookies or pies. If cookies, they need to be the chewy kind you can cut. Have him make the fractions and compare them, see how to convert them, etc. Eat them. Understanding and fun. Whenever math gets confusing in our house I always change it over to cookies and the kids figure it out. Now I am sure they wish I always actually had cookies on hand to make it a tangible lesson, but talking about cookies even seems to work. :)

A relatively cheap way to test your child is to do an online test. We've done the ADAM for math, the DORA for reading, and the Gibsons test for learning styles/strengths-weaknesses. We had to do them for our cover school, but we also did IQ (WISC) testing and the WJ test beforehand with a psych. The ADAM, DORA, and Gibsons tests did generally match up quite well with what we saw on the testing the psych had done. For us, we have dual exceptionalities, so it was extremely helpful to have gone to a psych and to get the help they gave us, but without 2e in the mix (or a need to document for some other reason) I'd be very happy with just the other tests.

I don't know if this applies to you or not, but you said the school would do some tutoring, and we've had extreme improvement with a similar profile using an online tutoring program through our available school program. Fast ForWord. It works with phonological processing - which you have done a ton of work with already, so maybe it doesn't target what you'd need, but if you look at what it does and think it'd suit, I can't say enough good things about the improvements we saw. Improvements in reading - for sure, but also improvements in hearing/listening faster, which seemed to make it easier to think faster. I had a child who was mostly unable to talk with random people because of slow processing, able to actually be in conversations with people outside the family (because before it would just take the child too long to answer, so others would have moved on). So anyways, here's a link: http://www.scilearn.com/products/fast-forword/language-series/language you can click on the different activities and see what they do and decide if that practice would be useful for your daughter. Also, I didn't think about it this way, but my child also began an ensemble instrument that year. I believe the musical work also has helped my child make huge strides in the metronome type stuff.

There is that ramen noodle cabbage salad which is pretty standard fare in my circles. Roasted slivered almonds, shredded cabbage (if you buy the mix, the carrots and red cabbage make it prettier), crumbled ramen, possibly sesame seeds. Make your own dressing with oil and sugar (with a little soy sauce, IIRC). Yummy!

If you change your mind about Minecraft, only playing in Creative mode where he can fly would work better. FWIW, if your son deals with anxiety (which is what you described), then blocking that thing out of his life isn't necessarily the best course of action. I have done it when necessary, but generally the intent is to build up internal courage to then re-conquer whatever it was so that the fear isn't self-fulfilling. I agree with good device passwords.

Is he getting his regular amount of exercise? Stuff like this comes up for my boy when he needs to burn off more energy. As far as the Minecraft, I know it isn't really my business, but since you mentioned it - it really doesn't sound like your family decided not to do Minecraft, it sounds like the adults did, and that perhaps there should be either a lot more discussion about why not or a loosening of what he is allowed to do. Of course, this is said by someone who lets their children play Minecraft on a tablet (which has a nice little timer that shuts it off after 30 min). I say this because putting on strong top-down rules about things leads to sneaking and lying (like you had). I suppose there is the benefit that you see what happens when you make rules he doesn't like and doesn't agree with - be aware this could be about much bigger things when he is older if he is not on board with the principles behind the rules.

We've memorized some Irish blessings I've found online. May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and my trouble avoid you wherever you go! :)

Hydrocortisone cream or strong dandruff shampoo (stay away from eyes and keep it out of your mouth - yuck!). Either one will likely work if you are dealing with seb. dermatitis.

I have one that is quite prone to tears. Tears come with the feeling of powerlessness and futility. Telling someone not to cry is pretty ridiculous unless they have the fortitude to stop it. We do a lot of emotional coaching about calming down and about how your brain freezes when you are upset so the first goal is to calm down. Perhaps that would be helpful for your daughter. Doing what I can to support the person through their sadness, instead of trying to have them stop their expression of sadness, has helped the most. Proper eating and sleeping helps a lot too. For instance, just recently a child of mine began to tear up at an extended family dinner because someone dished a vegetable onto their plate that they hate. They didn't feel like they could tell that relative the mistake they had made, and they truly hate that vegetable with the passion of 10,000 burning suns (and will gag and almost vomit when trying to eat it). Thankfully, now after years and years of coaching, my cry prone child came to me and DH with the plate and sputtered out the horror of the situation between stifled sniffles, and we were able to 1.remove the vegetable and 2.remind the child that they can always just leave anything they don't like to eat on their plate. Then dinner continued just fine. Did some of our family think it was over the top - for sure. I did too. But I didn't make it an issue for my child or for others. I didn't shame the feelings, and I didn't let it devolve into a scene.

I've had a device ask me if I wanted to resume at the last spot it was opened on other devices, however I do not have a phone involved. I think you can only know by trying.

FWIW, whatever the underlying cause, it sounds to me like your son is throwing tantrums because of anxiety. In our house, I have a child like this who has been this way since birth. It is beyond exhausting. There is an ebb and a flow, but we don't know the exact triggers. My child who does this explodes when they are anxious or overwhelmed by their feelings (and when they can't remember what kind of apple they like... ;) ). For us, it has worked best to be very free-flowing AND very strict. For reference, we are at 4yo now. Clothes/bedtime/daily tasks that MUST occur are very matter of factly done. We get dressed first thing - so it is not a fight when we need to go somewhere. It is just a fight right away, but then that fight is out of the way. Well, there are still the shoes and jacket, but... small victories? ;) Bedtime - I have two books I read with my child. If they get ready nicely (relatively nicely, only one or two reminders), we read both books. If they are too tired to control themselves I drop the longer book (chapter), with a mention that their behavior is telling me they are too tired to read books. I remind that we will still read the short book if they are able to control themselves. It works 85% of the time now, so I call that a big win. For church, I can totally understand how this happens because this type of behavior backs a parent into the corner. I've had to step back and hit the reset button on a lot of things like that. I don't know what the right answer is for you, but a possible option would be to remove the idea of sunday school from the equation (reduce anxiety), and expect quiet behavior sitting with you in class. If it doesn't happen, out in the hall with DH instead of you? Also, FWIW, I never ever bribed my other children. Was morally opposed. I will bribe this child to do things and it works where nothing else will (and I am able to get rid of the bribe after a few successes for most issues). Ultimately, I often have to step back and remind myself that stopping the screaming or being polite or whatever really isn't the goal - my child developing self control is the goal, so I have to make choices that lead me towards a long term gain even if the short term is more painful. HTH

In favor of SSL2, I like having the video to help with pronouncing things. I looked at GSWL when I was buying SSL2 went with SSL2. I don't remember why (probably the videos), I have one "stealth dyslexic" and non-dyslexic child. Also, they did like Simeon and were excited to have him around again. I agree that I can correct all of the work in SSL2 by just reading the chapters, but it'd be much faster for me to use a key. Especially for the crossword puzzles or wheels where they match things- stuff like that. ETA: I should say that I am living proof that you can definitely do SSL2 without the TM - we're almost done with it and it has worked. I just have actually wished I had it a few times this year and I didn't at all with SSL1.

I'd suggest Story of the World - Audiobook with activity guide for history. There are a lot of supplementary picture books and chapter books which can make the stories come even more to life if you have the time, but the audiobook and activity guide are also great without extra things. Find videos that go with some of the things you are learning about. Timelines are really great too if you can be diligent about keeping it up (says the person who tried but isn't). Science - the Let's Read and Find Out series is very basic, but would be a place to build a foundation of scientific vocabulary. Real Science 4 Kids has books that are written to the kids (and easy enough experiments).

We're almost done and I don't have it, but I sort of wish I did. It would make checking the kids' work A LOT easier. I had the TM for SSL1 and didn't use it, so that is why I skipped it.

I was in Poland once for Easter a LONG time ago - I recall there being one day of that long weekend where people threw water on one another. So beware! :)

What do you think of planning a cycling tour for you and your DH through the south of France? It would motivate you to practice your French (sign up for a class or club too in anticipation of the trip). Alternately, I know of people who have done some famous hiking trails across Europe, if you prefer hiking to cycling.

I'm so glad to hear your DH is doing so well! It sounds like you are still in a flurry of stress, but you have great perspective on it. Hugs and sweet dreams (when you can snag them!).

I can't answer your questions, but we've also enjoyed the readers through the years and Core E looks really neat to me, so I would bet it would be a good year - however you sort out family history. :)

Yeah, I'd talk to someone (a lawyer?) about what it means if you move out as opposed to him. Also, the evidence of him being unfaithful may be useful/necessary in dealing with how the divorce is handled.

Prairie Song - if you know that the mom has issues with depression or other mental illness, then your observations and concerns may line up to the mom needing help. Children of moms with depression can have that flat affect and can have problems when mom is not able to interact with them at a regular level.