I highly recommend that you read a book called Mindset. It is not going to help with any learning disabilities. But it can help with esteem. The book will give you as a parent an idea od phases to say to encourage your daughter based on effort rather than ability. There is also a good book called. Right-brained Child in a Left-brained World. I was tutoring a child very much like your daughter. She had been diagnosed with ADHD. She wasn't squiggly, but she lacked focus and confidence. There were some good strategies In that book.

I did the these at school and I loved them. I remember being in at least 4th grade, maybe even 7th grade doing them. Not sure there was much keen ring value at that grade but it was a fun class time activity. My son has the miniLUK. He started at 3. He is not 4.5. He does okay but i do need to get more advanced books. The sample was quite limited. But certainly a good test. Check to see if YouTube has any reviews or demonstrations.

My son read it. Forgot about the use of the N word until he started saying it! :o Thankfully it opened up a discussion about how things have changed and how words can mean certain things and when to use certain words. We don't cuss so this was like the cussing conversation many parents might have. Fwiw even though my son read it, he didn't really like it. He prefers girl heroines in general, Heidi, Alice, Laura, Dorothy. I was just striving to even out the genders.

Does anyone have any idea how I was able to quote from apn entirely different thread in here? I am perplexed. See post #173.

The milestone charts are avergages. They don't cover the within normal range advanced or delayed children. They are used to asses children for developmental delays, not for giftedness. Being ahead on the charts means very little in the grand scheme of things. Being significantly behind in 1 or 2 things, or mildly behind in many things is generally a cause for concern (though that is not always the case) and early intervention can be extremely beneficial. My son qualified for early intervention due to speech and social delay, failure to thrive, oxygen deprivation and extremely low APGAR score at birth. It was almost a certainly that he would have some Mount of mental retardation. 4.5 years later he is excelling, in pretty much all areas except social. I really can't confirm gifted or not. I doubt we will ever need to test. I just make sure I try and bolster his weaknesses to make him well rounded. But he is is who he is. And I love him for who he is. I think that is my response from now on when people say something to me. I will just smile and say, "oh he is just James."

My boy is loaded with energy but he is also sensory seeking. He is hypo SPD. Which just means he has diminished tactile response. He doesn't feel much pain. What helps him with wiggles is the do Wilbarger (brushing) protocol before seat time. Some people prefer join compressions. He also does well when he wears a backpack with books in it, heavy boots, or bike helmet. Sometimes he likes all three together. I know other kids that like to wear a tight belt, or wear a weighted blanket on his lap. My son is also a chewer. His shirts have been ruined due to this. Getting fidget and chew fidgets can help with this. When all else fails my son does his work running around the living room, tumbling or just on his head.

We are a so-so tech savvy family. My husband is. I was.... A lifetime ago it seems. I used to know quite a bit about computers. I studied IT in school. But tech changes faster than I can afford. So we are often a bit behind the curb. We don't even own any Microsoft office program due to cost. I use Open Office. And it is quite different to when I was using Microsoft Word back in the day. If I am ever befuddled by something I intend to do I often just look for a YouTube tutorial. I guess I can do more than the average non computer person. But only because I can learn on the fly. I have a 4 year old. I have not explicitly shown him how to use a computer. We don't really use one much. (I rely on iPad for everything) But I have a computer tower hooked up as our TV. I was shocked to see that my son was able to navigate the internet to pull up a show to watch on YouTube all by himself one day. So, I have no intention to teach him computer usage. I think he will learn as needed. When he reaches high school grade I think I will have him take some computer classes for free at the library, if he needs them. They are always offering classes on word processing, excel, how to make a blog etc. But I doubt he will need them. I would like him to learn how to code and in a few years I intend to introduce a few programs like that for kids.

I am not sure it really matters what answer is given. Some people are going to be offended no matter what. Some may judge and assume that one is hothousing if a parent claims the child just read a lot. Others will be insecure and feel that they are doing something wrong. If one is to say that their kid is born that way, parents will be upset that theirs is not. There seems to be a no win situation. To be honest, I know more mothers in real life that claim that their (seemingly average) child is gifted (more often they say a genius) once their infant or toddler meets a certain developmental milestone. Walking at 10 months? Genius! Taking in sentences at 2? Genius. Knows colors, shapes, letters and numbers by 3? Genius! More often than not it is things that are within developmental norms. But I am never going to burst a parent's pride bubble. Let them rejoice. I will cheer them on. All little people may not be gifted. But they sure should be celebrated for being who they are.

Hmm. I may have got it already on sale and then added a coupon. $75 isn't bad for a year. The scholastics true books are really nice too. But I would pay the $75 again for both brainpops.

A years subscription of http://www.testingmom.com/ will give you access to both brainpops and much more. Search online for a code. I was about to get the entire year for $63. My 4 year old loves both brainpops equally. There is a great deal of more information in brainpop as opposed to brainpop Jr. But he still enjoys Jr and is learning a lot.

Indeed! Personally I am not a fan of poetry. But I love the Jaberwocky. And Edward Lear and several others. I don't know why I am shocked at times when I find that my son is an awful lot like me.

For a long time I have flat out denied the possibility that my son was gifted. I figured he was normal (as normal as can be with high function autism) and that it was the fact that he was specifically taught, that put him ahead. Then I realise that all the kids that I have compared him to that I know well, and I had previously taught, are all in either GATE programs or GATE magnet schools. And I am being humbled as I am now teaching a child with the same methods that have garnered such success in the past and he is floundering. So it is hard to know what is normal. This! The constant need for revision and the lack of processing speed made me consider my son accelerated and just well taught. Certainly not gifted. I spent months trying to teach him the Pledge of Allegiance. It would not stick. He refused to learn it. Then just yesterday after listening to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass once, my son started reciting poems like The Queen of Heart and The Jaberwocky. So now I know he is capable, he just doesn't always have the desire.

Reading Bear is free. The programs by Red apple are very comprehensive.

Is kinder compulsory in your state. Where I live students do not have to enroll in school until they are 6. Which is 1st grade. They just need to show Kindergarten proficiency. Would the option of having another year to decide help you? That is assuming your state has similar age rules. I agree with many of the above who have suggested using the weekends and evenings to homeschool.

This is tough so I will choose my son's favourites. He is an advanced 4 year old. So in the younger age range. Wizard of Oz Alice in Wonderland A Little Princess Little House Mr Popper's Penguins or Heidi or Charlotte's Web

CLE. We use other stuff when we have time for fun. CLE has little prep,right now I just need to get coins ready. It is incremental, spiral with lots of review. But best of all it is intergrated and systematic. Each lesson contains a littler snippet from all differnt math disciplines. Counting money is alongside, data, math facts, geometry, skip counting. The lessons are short. My son is probably working below his ideal grade level, but he likes CLE and does 2 lessons per day. I thought about jumping up to second grade but there are some oddball, not at all bad things that I want him to cover. Things like congruency, early multiplication.

From what I understand is that is illegal to make a copy and pretend it is the real one. When you photocopy come documents it will clearly state "copy" or something like that on the photocopied version. So it is evident that it is a copy.

I think you have raised a significant point. It isn't the instructional aids that get the job done, at least in the early years. It is the child the teacher and the overall way that they can work together. Some people prefer more hand holding with TM and a myriad of instruction aids. Scripted lessons, lessons plans, entire laid out scopes and sequences give them comfort. So be it! Good for those people. They have found their way. Others are quite happy to let store workbooks serve as practice and reinforcement. They may be able to teach on the fly. They may be teaching in many other ways than just during "school time" each day. They have found something that works also. I think most people use a mix of methods and material types. I know many may frown at workbooks, but they have no qualms at using them for supplement. So I don't think the consensus is that they are entirely dreadful. But I also don't think a parent that uses workbooks as their primary instructuon material is not a dedicated homeschooling parent by any means. To each their own. It could possibly just be a part of human nature but wouldn't it be nice to stop judging what is in other people's carts. :)

Books like this. http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Curriculum-Basic-Skills-Grade/dp/1609963334/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1406607869&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Comprehensive+curriculum http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Curriculum-Harcourt-Family-Learning/dp/141149881X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406607924&sr=1-3&keywords=Complete++curriculum Or spectrum books. I won't call them complete all in one for a grade. But the certainly cover core skills.

Oh I completely agree! We have done and always will do what works for us. :) I was just curious and trying to get my head around why people have such a distaste for store available workbooks. And what the difference really is. I like reading other people's opinions.

Names are all just personal opinions in my eyes. If can't get upset at someone else's opinion.

That is what I was thinking. We don't have a literature rich homeschool. We have a literature rich home. I read a lot for pleasure. As does my son. In the last few weeks he has read Heidi, Tom Sawyer, a few of the Oz books for fun. Not to mention hundreds of books about a variety of subjects. He loves watching brain pop videos for fun. And he builds snap circuits for fun. It is hard to consider things like that as school when those are things he chooses to do in his free time.

Fwiw we do like Spectrum a lot. My son adores the math books and spent pocket money to get the second grade math book. Everything that he has learnt in Spectrum math books were in several other curriculum. Just condensed but complete. We use CLE more now because I like integration. I was raised on integrated Maths. I was ripping apart his spectrum books to reorder them and try and add a little of all the Maths disciplines at a time. And to make it spiral. It wasn't working so well. And I was stoked to find this has already been done! But I would take spectrum over Math Mammoth or MEP. We did those for first grade and we found nothing spectacular about them. We did Saxon in K. And I was not shell shocked either. I believe Singapore, RS and Miquon are too different to compare. But I only use those as a supplement myself. Thus far Spectrum LA/writing and reading books have been better than CLE LA, FLL 1 and ELTL 1 for us. But I need to give it much more time. I guess I am just trying to get an idea of why many look down on workbooks. I see them called fluffy and fully coloring. But that is not my experience with the books beyond the pre-k, K levels. There may be a little coloring in 1st. But CLE has coloring in first.

I have heard of Peaches as a name. Ooh and Cherry! And Pepper. And I am not sure if I should be shocked or not that a list like this exists. It is the internet after all. http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-names-inspired-by-food-and-drinks_10310050.bc

But why are workbooks like CLE or MIF or GoMath or Math Mammoth considered sufficient. Is it just the idea that they have teaching manuals? I know many that don't use them. That is what I am trying to get to the bottom of. People say that the workbooks are meager but many of them are aligning to CC just the same as many homeschooling resources are.