has he had any specific work on his disabilities? also, at this point you need to start working backwards from what he wants . . . at some point a job is needed to motivate him to take his studies more seriously. Does he have ANY passions or interests?

I had one who used to wake up crazy early. One year I told him he had to walk the dog before waking us up, because otherwise he'd just have to wait for someone else to do it anyways. So he snuck in and told me the dog wouldnt walk . . . uh, yeah, cuz its FOUR IN THE MORNING!! Now they sleep longer - if they are both up, they can come get us, but it is unlikely to be before 7. We used to wake up dd to join us, but she would always come, even if she'd only been asleep a few hours.

You might want ot check out a slow cooker recipes. The quality of cheese you use makes a big difference, too. If you like velveeta texture, you might want to use some. If you like natural cheese, i think white melts better. crumbs are just a topping and always optional.

I very rarely accuse anyone - i might ask them if they did something, but I dont punish so they have no reason to lie. If they DID leave the mess, they just come pick it up. If they did finish up all the desert, I might lecture them about how unfair it is and make sure they get it, and next time a dessert is made I will make it clear how much they are allowed to have, and threaten punishment if they do not obey. But I believe in respectful dialogue, NOT instant obedience. IMO, if I'm falsely accusing someone and think they dont have the right to defend themselves, _I_ am the one being disrespectful. Even if that someone is a child.

I cheated on a few hints and finally found where someone had posted a screen shot. but nothing popped up - did they know i cheated?! I read that they were not going to publish the solution and would rely on users to tell each other . . .

I've always seen distributive property taught that way, with numbers first. I thought it was so you can see that it works clearly.

I used to live on a commune which was clothing optional in most places - but no bare butts on upholstered furniture or anywhere in the dining hall. The shower room bench was acceptable - eh.

Yes, bowel problems and low weight do point to food allergy issues or mild celiac. My kids had solid poo as soon as they went on solid food.

I dont know if you can move a thread, but I'm in love with Logic of English. Essentials covers some reading, but we started using it when ds was 9, for spelling - and i also appreciate the grammar and writing, just about the right level for him. You can watch videos explaining her methods on youtube.

Have you gone to a store to see them in person? It really does help to see and feel, I think. But yes, I am not really out of the house all that often, and there is free wifi in so many places these days. I dont have a smart phone either - but i have an ipad2 my mom gave me for my b-day a year and a half ago. I keep it with me ALL the time in the house, but not always out of the house - its kinda heavy to take to the grocery store!

I watched all the free teacher training videos on youtube - i wouldnt pay for it, though.

Have you looked at Real Science Odyssey Bio 2? It includes a full section on evolution and many say its intimidatingly advanced for middle school. I've never seen it personally, but people were raving about it - its new this year

I grew up in PA and had no idea what grits were! I now love them, and eat them many ways. When I could eat dairy, butter and cheese was most of it. Today my favorite is sausage. I used to cook them partly with the liquid from canned peaches, then chop up a few peaches and stir in, plus some butter and sunflower seeds. I also sometimes cook them plain (ok, a little powdered milk for creaminess) and then stir in some creamed spinach and a raw egg and cook until the egg is done. And mix in parm cheese. I've had grits and shrimp, too, and loved it, but that was dinner.

My 10 yo has also started getting his work done faster. I only added some fiction reading (he was a late reader), but next year we'll step up a bit. I dont want it to feel like I'm punishing him for working harder!

Check out Bravewriter - its a more organic, open-ended approach and really helpful for kids to find their love of language

I dont usually comment on this board but - my daughter could write all of her letters by 4 (knew them before age 3). My son at 4 knew more pokemon by name than letters of the alphabet. They read at about the same time.

"autism" is such a spectrum that its really hard to know. Is the child verbal or non-verbal? Low functioning or above average intelligence? Mostly I'd just browse the educational apps and see how they look - there are a lot of free ones, and ones with free sample versions

My first pregnancy i was living on a commune - long story. But i was feeling so sick, i would just sit around in the lounge of the dining hall - until it was time for a meal to be served, then I would book out of there - it was so gross! Then I would work up an appetite, walk in the kitchen, and the smell of the compost bucket would send me running. Then one time I was finally feeling like I really could eat, and the dinner cook yelled at me to get out of the kitchen - i cried and cried! I lost weight the first trimester, even tho I did not start out overweight. It was horrid. Luckily my other pregnancies were relatively easy, food-wise.

I live in a great school district and my kids went to great schools. I still frequently hated the way they were treated. However, as long as the KID could handle it, I let it go. The world is not fair, employers are not fair, we have to coexist to some extent with people who have very different values. I would let it go and put another notch in the 'yes' side in your chart of whether or not to bring him home for next year.

btw, my husband swears pickle juice is a great sub for gatoraide?

I was not aware of my food issues when I started getting pregnant, but I did notice that I could handle foods I couldnt handle when I wasnt pregnant. I eventually learned that, yes, your immune system is dampened during pregnancy - so you dont reject the foreign body inside your own. I read a book about extreme pregnancy nausea, and that book was very big on eating whatever you WANT to eat. Getting calories in you is very important, and if eating is hard, just go with the flow and eat whatever you can stomach. Hopefully the grains cravings will subside shortly. If i was you, I'd TRY to still eat gluten-free grains. But I crave pizza enough now (i'm allergic to wheat and dairy and also all the cheese subs which are horrid anyways), if I was pregnant and having nausea AND craving pizza - i'd eat it!

we work together, talking about plans and options. If there was something he really wanted or didnt want, i'd be fine with that as long as it did not mess up his/our plans (he really has no goals but is comfortable with the plan i've put together)

I finally caved and got dh to ok it for my 10 yo. He's already done a fair amount of scratch programming, and the minecraft part is inspiring for him - he has a friend who makes mods already, and wants to learn how. I think its just good to keep feeding them inspiration for tech, kwim?

wow, it sounds like some of you do almost as much for xmas eve as we do for xmas day. xmas eve is usually JUST pjs here. I might 'open' the season 7 of dr who and watch the first episode.

Hubby says there is also a variant for 6, but you would need 2 copies and an expansion. He does not recommend the expansion until you've learned the game. I asked for other suggestions - he said that war games are really 2-player games. He says Memoir is accessible for kids 8 an up, so probably good to buy if thats what he wants. Small world (which i mentioned elsewhere) is possibly something to look at for family play - I was just reading people comparing Small World to a fantasy-themed risk.