I have a great deal of difficulty with a variety of sounds. Background noise helps (music that I like.....very quietly......or white noise) is helpful.....earplugs...... being very interested in something will diminish my awareness and subsequent reaction of various sounds.....but it's hard. K

I just stand them up behind the bookshelf where the school work is kept. I about died at first when I realized I'd need it......but it's much easier to attend to spelling now since I don't have to set up a million little tiles each time. :) K

I'd do something active and multisensory like All About Spelling. While you said you wanted to do spelling later, all about spelling will attend to both the encoding and the decoding. You will only need to add i a few minutes of reading practice based on what you learn in the lesson. There is little writing (could be no writing ifyou just use the tiles and perhaps write in sand/shaving cream when necessary). It's a wonderful, evidence based reading program. Also consider getting Read, Write and Type.....another evidence based multi sensory program - based on keyboarding......they learn phonics and typing at the same time. :) K

I can't help much on the school front but on the health front....be sure she's getting 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight. That's likely her best defense (all of ours really) against H1N1. data supporting the 1000 IU/25 lbs body weight can be found at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org All the best to you katherine

Seriously don't worry about it. Just trust the program and move forward. If it's working for the things you *have* done, you will get there with the rest. You will you will:) It is a most exceptionally solid program. Even using another program you'd run into the same thing. Everything can't be taught at once....there will still be something being spelled wrong while that word/family is in the que waiting to be taught. :) K

you definitely need three sets of letter tiles AND magnetic boards on which to store. I didn't get them and it's impossible to do it with two kids and no mag boards. An absolute mess. So three letter kits.....however, so far, i haven't needed two sets of cards....just one. K

by third grade....alone, this is not a symptom of dyslexia. dys-add.com has a great list of dyslexia symptoms broken down by age. I'd look at it and if there are enough to be concerning, act now- do. not. wait. K

Around the World in 80 days......read by jim dale. O.M.G. amazing. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Great reading by some British guy;p :) K

school....not much. but I like the idea of having a folder with weekly uploads to the device.....if I could get around to organizing that it'd be great. right now i have: chicktionary (great word game...even the dyslexic word phobic 10 yo dd likes it) a couple of lame math drill things: mathemagics and math drill lite, presidents, vocabulistic, states & capitals, SAT vocabwiz lite, fractionary, cardstar is *wonderful* (stores the barcodes for the library, grocery store, drugstore etc..) nytimes, instapaper, shozu, white noise, tweetie, facebook, weatherbug elite, amazon.... I'd love to hear more of what others are doing

you can access the internet where ever there is wi-fi....and it's free if the wi-fi is free. I'm betting another option is Clear (mobile fast internet access) but I haven't looked into it. K

I'm not that original poster, but someone with a fairly extensive body of knowledge wrt clinical nutrition....and a former client of Krispin Sullivan, CNC (krispin.com) There are a couple of things that can interfere with proper D processing in the body. the most common is gut damage affecting how it absorbs in the intestines.....this can be from celiac disease, poor diet, irritable bowel syndrome, chrohn's, colitis....poor absorption can also be because gall bladder function is compromised or the gall bladder has been removed (the lack of bile reduces fat absorption/assimilation), liver issues (the first hydroxylation of D occurs in the liver.....kidney issues (the second hydroxylation occurs in the kidneys). Most are pretty easy to fix. If there is gut damage, keep taking biologically physiologically appropriate doses of D while working on the diet (often getting off grains, dairy and other problematic foods) and taking enzymes and lecithin with the D doses. If gall bladder issues....take with digestive enzymes and lecithin (appropriate enzymes will 'digest' it.....lecithin mixes with the oil to emulsify it so it absorbs properly in teh gut) If liver issues, keep taking the d and work with your hcps to get off the drugs or herbs causing the issue......and/or search for other causes (hep a, b, c etc). Milk Thistle Extract/Silymarin and SAM-e are both highly effictive, evidence based treatments for some liver function issues. If kidney issues? Take more D. D receptors in the kidneys will essentialy wake up and start responding to higher doses of D, then start hydroxylating properly to convert the 25(OH)D into 1,25(OH)D. That's it in a nutshell. The most common issue is poor absorption b/c of gut damage or gall bladder issues. The reality is though that most take far far to little D. 1000 IU isn't enough unless one is of european skintone AND getting a fair amount of sun with skin exposed and no sunscreen. 2000 IU isn't enough unless european skinton, getting incidental exposure regularly and wearing no sunscreen. and if it's sept-may in the northern hemisphere and 30º or more latitude you're not getting enough no matter how much you're outside. Testing levels 4x a year really is the best way to know......if Quest does the test, then it's too high....they use a test that's no longer considered accurate for assessing D levels. To arrive at the accepted 25(OH)D value if your lab is Quest or your lab uses Quest, divide by 1.3 labCorp's values are fine. ZRT (the new home finger prick test) is fine too. They're both using the right process. :) k

That's also turning out to be a problem b/c of the amounts of vitamin A. No one knows the ideal ratio of A to D and it does look like there is one. It's looking like a lower ratio than was considered a couple of years ago. Some cod liver oils have A to D ratios of 10 to 1....Definitely too high. It might be as low as 1:1. Higher A blood levels are correlated with increased lower respiratory infections, increases in fracture rates etc etc. It's not that A is the problem persay but that the amount of A in relation to D is too high. At this point, until more is known, it's reasonable to 1)stick with a 1:1 or slightly lower ratio of A to D or 2)avoid preformed A from supplements and get lots of beta carotene so that the body can convert as needed. I take about 25,000 IU A once a week and a total of about 42,000 IU vitamin d per week. All the best, K

One of the many things that makes getting D tricky. In SF, you most assuredly, on a cloudy day, were not getting sufficient D from sun......but getting plenty of damaging deeply penetrating UVA rays to burn and cause photodamage. it's very very easy to tan and be D deficient. K

Actually it absorbs over 24 hours.....though majority of it absorbs in the first hour. :) K

And whatever it is and whatever you do, take sufficient vitamin d. Start now. 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight. Today. Start today. K

Singapore is strange? Howso? I love it. We did a year/year and a half of RightStart Math which was massively helpful (I wouldn't do it if I didn't *have*tto) then we switched to singapore. Looooooove Singapore. I had montessori through 3rd grade, then traditional private then public school math education and I don't find Singapore Math strange at all. Just fabulous. :) K

it's part of phonics (that's the 'code' in the title) and is often still helpful after they're reading well if you notice that they're making mistakes with words/syllables when reading aloud. Spelling is different.....ime ETC is definitely not helpful for spelling. That would be All About Spelling.:) I love FLLFTWTM for Grammar. :) K

I so agree. Whether it's RAD, depression, anxiety, or whatever.....before adolescence. :) K

certainly that can't hurt and may help *a lot*. however, when there is brain development from early (even fetal) malnutrition issues, trauma, alcohol or drug exposures some issuesn't aren't very fixable;/ But it's worth pulling out all of the stops. I'd get the book _depression free naturally_. Even though it's not depresion based on what you've said or read, the book will be helpful. It covers just about everything wrt affect, mood stability, various 'mental' health issues that are really just physical ones..... Saved my life. Seriously. I'd get to work asap with a great child psychologist and child psychiatrist - preferably ones associated with a major research university. Brain imagining studies could be very helpful. :) K :) K

still could be fairly minor,....fibroids.....but also pcos......thyroid issues......could just also be perimenopause in combo the slow loss of core muscle strength that happens over time unless we're really active in maintaining it. ETA: but seriously go. go in. Do. Not. Wait. K

400 IU won't be enough for most kids....and 1000 IU won't be enough for most adults. A few years ago, that's exactly what we took b/c it seemed like huge amounts compared to what we'd been getting. After continuing to test at different times of the year, and follwoing the scientific D literature carefully, a different picture emerged. It takes the 'lay' press and the average practitioner to catch up with the science which has painted a very clear consistent picture over the recent years. It's really not curious. It's not a mystery. Humans were meant to be out of doors most of the time. Our current lives and recent history are very different than the life we were 'meant' to lead (whether by evolution or by creation). We came inside. Our vitamin D levels plummeted. Science responded by essentially guessing that we needed a little. B/c a little was enough to stave off the most obvious and immediate effect: rickets. But 'a little' isn't enough for health over the long term. 'a little' isn't enough for our babies optimal brain development in utero. 'a little' isn't enough. if you're not sure how much to take, get your D levels tested. For the person who asked about getting 'vitamin' levels tested, that's really a whole different issue. D is a steroid hormone precursor, not technically a vitamin. Most vitamin levels are difficult to measure accurately......it requires expensive intracellular testing. D is pretty easy and the test has come down dramatically in price.

<<I've talked to a counselor that I know, and his answer is to get her to talk about her feelings.>> Generally n ot helpful. It just helps them and us be more entrenched in what's 'wrong'. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is often the most effective tx for a wide variety of affective issues. I'd just get an evaluation.....then you'll know where to start. Is she getting enough D? ie 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight on the days she doesn't get midday sun in a bathingsuit.... :) k

Also be sure to send an email, a fax or a letter to corporate BN expressing the differences between the two stores. that is amazing. have fun!! Katherine

I'm so glad someone is posting about this besides me!! :) I'm one of the friends Abbey mentions above......my kids didn't have the multiple fracture issues, but rather the asthma (asthma is very possibly nothing more than a symptom of vitamin D deficiency), sinus infections, frequent upper respiratory infections etc etc. I also had very low D levels - and I tested mine 1)while living in Atlanta 2)in August 3)never ever ever having used sunscreen routinely Ever. I'd worn sunscreen only on ski or tropical vacations *period*. I had two small children and was outside all of the time. I did seek shade when possible but was constantly out at the park, the pool, running errands, going for walks etc. For us to get an appropriate amount of D, we'd need to be 1)outside midday 2)with most skin exposed (ie bikini bathingsuit) 3)to the point just prior to a burn occuring (ie don't burn or get pink....come in right before that happens) 4)it has to be at a latitude where it's possible for our skintone to produce D from the sun 5)it has to be at a time of year that UVB intensity is sufficient. FE, an person descended from equatorial populations now living in Canada or Denmark or Sweden or Minnesota (etc) cannot ever get sufficient D from sun. even naked in the summer. A person of western/northern european descent who now lives in Australia or Phoenix, AZ can get sufficient D much of the year if they go out for a few minutes, midday, with no protection, every day. AM sun doesn't do it. Late afternoon sun doesn't do it. Sunscreen completely blocks D production. So does glass. So do clothes. (none of those things block all sun though....just the part of the sun that's good for us:)) The rest of us can get some sun, sometimes depending on the above numbered variables. It won't be enough though. A Danish study of veiled muslim women indicated that they needed about 6,000 IU of D on average to both reach optimal levels of D in their blood and in their breastmilk. When I was only moderately sun protective, in summer, I needed 2,000 IU per day to maintain good levels. Now that I'm more sun protective, I need 6,000 IU D per day year round.....though if I get my midday sun without protection (occasionally I do), then I don't take my D that day. In the summer, I now let my kids play midday with no sunscren on body (face gets s/s) for a chunk of time, then apply to protect from further damage. When they're inside midday, I give them 1,000 IU per 25 lbs body weight. From september till may, they get 1,000 Iu per 25 lbs body weight per day regardless of sun or time outside....... vitamindcouncil.org has great articles discussing D as a likely causative factor in autism learning disabilities type I diabetes type II diabetes multiple sclerosis all other autoimmune disorders low D levels are definitely involved in the disease process of: asthma lower respiratory infections tuberculosis ear infections colds influenza lung cancer osteoporosis osteopenia breast cancer prostate cancer pancreatic cancer colon cancer melanoma (!!!) increasing vitamin D is known to: increase survival time in pts with advanced lung cancer increase survival time in pts with advanced pancreatic cancer elderly pts with higher vitamin d levels fall less and have better muscle mass. Good stuff. Take it.

I put it in a google doc to make it easier to access. (ETA: I put *their* PDF in a google doc......I can't claim any credit for any part of this lovely work:) No sign-in should be required.....email me if you can't access it. http://tr.im/vREG Very very handy. :) k